William Murdoch (played by Ewan Stewart) was the first mate on the ship. He did his duty to the best of his ability, and even tried to avoid the collision with the iceberg (even if the decision came too late). But in the movie version, he was portrayed as less heroic, accepting a bribe, shooting panicking people, and eventually turning a gun on himself. William's remaining family were outraged by the film's portrayal and the filmmakers even went to his hometown to apologize personally, even making a donation to the Murdoch Charity Prize.