5 Richard Dreyfuss Roles That Made Him a Hollywood Favorite
Will we ever get another actor like Rochard Dreyfuss? The kind of guy who looks like your friend's Dad? The everyman who isn't overly muscular or handsome, just a guy who's the perfect conduit for something powerful?
In the 1970s, Hollywood made way for neurotic, fast-talking, intelligent, relatable characters.
Richard Dreyfuss was at the center of this surge, and no one has been like him since.
He attacked his characters and made them so memorable. You wanted to hang out with them, root for them, and cry with them because Dreyfuss made you believe they mattered.
Today, I want to go over five key performances that cemented Richard Dreyfuss as a quintessential Hollywood favorite.
Let's dive in.
1. American Graffiti (1973) – Curt Henderson
- YouTube www.youtube.com
- Director: George Lucas
- Writers: George Lucas, Gloria Katz, Willard Huyck
- Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Candy Clark, Mackenzie Phillips, Harrison Ford
Before he chased great white sharks or aliens, Dreyfuss was the heart and soul of George Lucas’s nostalgic classic American Graffiti. He played Curt Henderson, a high school graduate trying to decide whether to leave his small hometown for college. He takes chances on girls, seeks out advice, and ultimately finds his way.
2. Jaws (1975) – Matt Hooper
- YouTube www.youtube.com
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- Writers: Peter Benchley, Carl Gottlieb
- Cast: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton
…