Richard Dreyfuss

Richard Stephen Dreyfuss, born on October 29, 1947, in Brooklyn, New York, is an American actor whose career spans over five decades. His early life involved moves from New York to Europe and then to Los Angeles, where he began acting in youth theater at Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills Arts Center and the Westside Jewish Community Center. He made his television debut at age fifteen in “In Mama’s House” and gained uncredited film experience in “The Graduate” (1967) and “Valley of the Dolls” (1967). After a brief period at San Fernando Valley State College, Dreyfuss served as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, working as a clerk in a Los Angeles hospital while taking on numerous small TV roles, including appearances in “Peyton Place,” “That Girl,” and “Bewitched.”

Dreyfuss rose to prominence in the 1970s with significant roles in “Dillinger” (1973) and George Lucas’s “American Graffiti” (1973). His breakthrough came with iconic collaborations with director Steven Spielberg in “Jaws” (1975) and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977), both commercially and critically successful films. In 1977, he won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in “The Goodbye Girl,” becoming the youngest recipient of the award at that time. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Dreyfuss continued to deliver notable performances in films such as “Stand by Me” (1986), “Down and Out in Beverly Hills” (1986), “Nuts” (1987), “Always” (1989), and “What About Bob?” (1991). He earned another Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for “Mr. Holland’s Opus” (1995), solidifying his reputation as a respected and accomplished actor.

His career also includes extensive work in television and theatre. He produced and starred in “The Big Fix” (1978) and “Prisoner of Honor” (1991). On television, he played the title role in “The Education of Max Bickford” (2001–2002) and received acclaim for portraying real-life figures such as Meyer Lansky in HBO’s “Lansky” (1999) and Bernie Madoff in ABC’s “Madoff” (2016). Dreyfuss also actively engages in civics education through The Dreyfuss Civics Initiative, an organization he founded to promote public understanding of American governance.