'Jaws’ Star Richard Dreyfuss Admits He Begged for Role After Turning It Down
Richard Dreyfuss revealed he turned down a main role in Jaws, then panicked and asked for it back. In an interview with CBS News in honor of the film’s 50th anniversary, the actor admitted he initially worried about the rigors of the shoot on the waters of Martha’s Vineyard in 1974.
"I turned the film down a couple of times because I was thinking that it was gonna be a b--- to shoot. And I was not wrong!" Dreyfuss, 77, said. “If you had to pick one word to describe the shoot, it was waiting."
Dreyfuss played marine biologist Matt Hooper in Steven Spielberg’s shark thriller based on the novel by Peter Benchley. But filming was famously interrupted by mechanical difficulties, weather challenges, and multiple production delays.
Dreyfuss changed his mind about being in the role in Jaws after watching himself in the movie The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz. The actor played the title character in the 1974 Ted Kotcheff film, and his performance caused him to fear that he'd never work as an actor again.
"I said, 'If I'm not working when this film comes out, I'll never work again,'" Dreyfuss told CBS News. "And so, I went back to Steven and begged him for the part, and he gave it to me. They had started shooting on April 2; I was cast on the 3rd; my first day of shooting was the 4th; that was the way it all went."
In an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Dreyfuss explained that seeing himself onscreen in his first starring film role was jarring. “I had never seen myself for that long on screen. You know, it's one thing to see yourself in a Bewitched, and it's another thing to see yourself for 90 minutes,” he said. “I turned [Jaws] down twice. I saw Duddy Kravitz, I called Steven and begged for the part.”
While bigger-name actors Jon Voight and Jeff Bridges were considered for the Jaws role, Spielberg’s friend George Lucas reportedly suggested Dreyfuss.
Even after agreeing to make the film, Dreyfuss had his doubts about how it would do. In an interview with USA Today, the actor admitted he thought Jaws was “going to be a disaster.”
“I couldn't imagine how Steven was going to overcome all of the problems that he faced every day,” he said. “I know I went on at least one talk show where I said. ‘This is a total disaster.’ And then I went back on that same show and pronounced myself the stupidest actor in America. When I saw the film all put together, I realized I was a jerk.”
Jaws was a blockbuster hit in the summer of 1975. The movie won three Academy Awards and spawned sequels in 1978, 1983, and 1987.
Related: 'Jaws’ Child Actor Was Terrified For Years After Filming Key Scene in 1975 Film