Richard Dreyfuss admits he thought Steven Spielberg’s classic thriller would be a failure
At least he didnât pass on it.
In an industry where every major actor has regretful tales of future movie hits they turned down (just ask Brad Pitt about The Matrix), Richard Dreyfuss can point to one he simply didnât believe in, but still made anyway.
âEveryone had thought they had struck gold, and I said, âWhat are you talking about? Itâs just a little movie,ââ the actor told Yahoo Entertainment in a recent Role Recall interview when discussing a little film called Jaws â Steven Spielbergâs seminal shark attack thriller thatâs widely considered the first true âsummer blockbusterâ and scared Americans out of the water for years to come. (Watch above, with Jaws talk starting at 2:05.)
âSo when the film was released, I found myself going back to the talk shows and saying, âIâm the guy who didnât believe in it.ââ
Having made a slew of television guests spots before his breakout film role among the ensemble of George Lucasâs 1973 teen drama American Graffiti, the never-lacking-for-confidence Dreyfuss was just catching his groove in Hollywood when he was cast by Spielberg (at the suggestion of Lucas) to play Matt Hooper, the oceanographer who arrives on Amity Island to help investigate a pair of deadly shark attacks. (Spielberg initially wanted Jon Voight for the part, while Jeff Bridges, Timothy Bottoms and Joel Grey were also reportedly considered.)
Dreyfuss, now 72, remembers meeting the future film legend for the first time.
âThere was this young man with a kind of leather hat. [Someone said] âThis is Steven Spielberg and heâs got destiny written all over him and all that. And I said, âMe too.ââ
The filming experience was not a day at the beach for Dreyfuss.
He had a toxic relationship with Robert Shaw, the veteran film actor playing the shark-hunting Quint. âWhile privately, Shaw was the gentlest, funniest guy,â Dreyfuss told Bio.com, the moment he went to set, âHe was possessed by some evil troll who would then make me his victim. I was his victim.â
Recalled their late costar Roy Scheider: âShaw would say, âLook at you, Dreyfuss. You eat and you drink and youâre fat and youâre sloppy. At your age, thatâs criminal. Why, you couldnât even do 10 good push-ups.ââ
âIt got ugly,â said Spielberg, who recounted a moment Dreyfuss took a bourbon glass from Shaw and threw it out the window. âBut it was also Quint and Cooper living out that relationship as Shaw and Dreyfuss.â
Dreyfuss also had a harrowing moment on set when filming the scene where Hooper goes underwater in a cage to get a good look at the killer shark.
âThey were putting me into the cage and I had a line, which was âI ainât got no spit,ââ he told us. âAnd as I said it, the winch went [buckling noise] and the cage fell. I was caught inside the cage, mask is gone, the breathing apparatus is gone, the top of the cage is gone, and I have to not panic.â
Dreyfuss survived, obviously, and heâd live to see the film he initially doubted go on to become one of the most successful and beloved thrillers in film history.
Stream Jaws on Amazon Prime.
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