Richard Dreyfuss

(October 1997) Ranked #81 in Empire magazines "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list.

Suffered a well-publicized drug problem in the early 1980s.

Younger brother of Lorin Dreyfuss.

Son of Geraldine Dreyfuss.

Formerly, at age 30, the youngest man to win Oscar for Best Actor ( The Goodbye Girl ). He was beaten by Adrien Brody (29) at the 2003 ceremony.

Was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, he grew up in Beverly Hills, California from an early age.

Has a great dislike for rock music.

Auditioned for the role as one of the Von Trapp children in The Sound of Music , but cannot dance.

Treated for infection in right lung in a New York City hospital [April-May 2002].

Attributes much of his ability to end drug addiction to a life-altering vision experienced in hospital after a bad car crash. Under the influence of drugs while driving, Dreyfuss knew the crash was his fault. Though he was the only one injured, in his recovery state he was moved by the image of a beautiful little girl in a white dress. The girl served to remind him of the kind of innocent life he could have destroyed, and it compelled him to save his own life, he says, by confronting his drug demons.

Uncle of Justin Dreyfuss and Natalie Dreyfuss.

Claims to be a descendant of Alfred Dreyfus , who was wrongfully imprisoned at the notorious Devils Island penal colony in French Guiana.

Attended the same High School as Angelina Jolie , Michael Klesic , Nicolas Cage , David Schwimmer , Lenny Kravitz , Corbin Bernsen and Gina Gershon.

Twice in his career he has left high profile musical productions due to his inabilty to cope with the physical demands of his roles. The first was in 1978 during pre-production of All That Jazz and most recently with the West End production of The Producers.

Had a serious drug problem in the late 1970s and early 1980s. One of the side effects was that his memory was damaged, so much so that he still has no memory of filming the movie, Whose Life Is It Anyway? .

In 2004, he announced his retirement from film acting, and that he would concentrate on theater. He implied that he decided upon this course due to a lack of recent work in film and that his greater passion was always theater.

One of five actors to appear in films directed by both George Lucas and Steven Spielberg (the others are Harrison Ford , Liam Neeson , Christopher Lee , and Samuel L. Jackson ). Richard Dreyfuss is the only one whose films were not part of the "Star Wars" or "Indiana Jones" series.

October 18, 2004: Dropped out of his role as Max Bialystock in "The Producers" in a London production. He cited a continuing problem following back surgery and a recurring shoulder injury. He was replaced by Nathan Lane.

Is a Civil War re-enactor.

In Stakeout , his and Emilio Estevez s characters were quoting famous movie lines. Estevez said "This was no boating accident!" referring to Dreyfusss character in Jaws .

During 2004-2005, he took a short break from acting to lecture at Oxford University.

During his struggling actor years, he was constantly subjected to the ridicule of Hollywood casting directors after auditioning. The actor had written up a little list of their names which he kept as a reminder that he would eventually find success.

Was once played by Darrell Hammond in a skit on "Saturday Night Live" . Hammond played Dreyfuss auditioning to play C-3PO in Star Wars .

Was originally cast in the role of Joe Gideon in All That Jazz , but left the production during the rehearsal stage.

Was married to Svetlana Erokhin in Harrisonburg, Virginia while in town for a speaking engagement at James Madison Univeristy.

Passed on two sequels from films he made in the early/mid-1970s: American Graffiti and Jaws ... the sequels being More American Graffiti and Jaws 2 , both of which came out in the late 1970s. In each sequel, his character is briefly mentioned as being away in a region with a cold climate... his American Graffiti character, "Curt", is in Canada and his Jaws character, "Hooper", is on an expedition in Alaska. In both sequels, most of the original cast has returned to reprise their roles. Also, each original film was directed by two groundbreaking filmmakers, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg (both making their mark in the industry); and both sequels were directed by another director.

Attended California State University, Northridge along with Close Encounters of the Third Kind co-star, Teri Garr.

In The Buddy System , he played a truant officer who was a mentor to Wil Wheaton s character, in Wheatons first film. Two years later, he played an adult version of Wheatons character in Stand by Me .

Lives in San Diego, California.

Has one son with Jeramie Rain : Ben Dreyfuss.

Because of memory loss problems, as a result of his drug addiction in the 1970s and 1980s, during the brief run of "Complicit" at the Old Vic in 2009, he controversially used an earpiece to enable the prompter to feed him his lines during performances. The play, co-starring Elizabeth McGovern and David Suchet , and directed by Kevin Spacey , was widely ridiculed in the British press as a result. Commenting on his many fluffed lines, the Daily Mails theatre reviewer quipped, "Were going to need a bigger earpiece.".

While filming Moon Over Parador in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1987, he stayed at the world-famous Copacabana Palace Hotel.

His Oscar-winning performance in The Goodbye Girl was based on his good friend, Harlan Ellison.

Co-wrote a 1997 novel, "The Two Georges", with Hugo Award-winning science fiction writer, Harry Turtledove. The novel is an alternate history, based on the premise that the American Revolution was not successful, and America is still part of the British Empire.

Got his role as Roy Neary in Close Encounters of the Third Kind which was turned down by Al Pacino and Gene Hackman.

Became a father for the first time at age 36 when his now first ex-wife Jeramie Rain gave birth to their daughter Emily Dreyfuss in November 1983.

Became a father for the second time at age 38 when his now first ex-wife Jeramie Rain gave birth to their son Ben Dreyfuss in June 1986.

Became a father for the third time at age 42 when his now first ex-wife Jeramie Rain gave birth to their son Harry Dreyfuss in August 1990.

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on October 10, 1996.

Keynote speaker at the Dedication Day ceremonies at the Gettysburg National Cemetery on November 20, 2009.

His paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Poland and Austria-Hungary, while his maternal grandparents were born in New York, both of them to Russian Jewish families.

As of 2014, has appeared in three films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: American Graffiti , Jaws and The Goodbye Girl .

He was awarded the 1996 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Distinguished Lead Performance for "Three Hotels" at the Mark Taper Forum Theatre in Los Angeles, California.

Jane Fonda s role in The China Syndrome was originally written with Dreyfuss in mind. After he backed out of the project, due to salary concerns, the role was rewritten as female and was eventually played by Jane Fonda.

He was awarded the 1996 Drama Logue for Outstanding Performance for "Three Hotels" at the Mark Taper Forum Theatre in Los Angeles, California.

He was awarded the 1984 Drama Logue Award for Outstanding Performance for the play, "The Hands of Its Enemy", at the Mark Taper Forum Theatre in Los Angeles, California.

Got his role in Close Encounters of the Third Kind after it was turned down by Al Pacino and Gene Hackman.

His novel The Two Georges , a steampunk detective thriller co written with Harry Turtledove , was allegedly optioned for a mini series by the UKs Granada Television in the late 1990s, but nothing ever came of this.

Best friends with Carrie Fisher.

Just recently formed a.org, called the Dreyfuss civics initiative. The organizations goal is to put civics classes back in the classroom, which is been absent from the curriculum of almost all schools in the United States since 1970.

[In 1976] People who commit adultery must die. Everyone knows that. Any,movie tells you that!,I really think that living is the process of going from complete,certainty to complete ignorance.

Oh, yes it should.

The motion picture business is run by corporate thieves.

I enjoyed the journey to the top but then found myself disappointed.

Behind all art is ego and I am an artist and I am unique.

You symbolize an America that is gentle, ironic, self-deprecating,tough, and emotional.

[2009] Jaws (1975) , first time I saw it, I forgot I was in it.

I always knew I was going to be an actor and that was that - no doubts,no uncertainties, no changing my mind. And that was when I was like,nine, ten. And it never changed.

I much prefer the stage. Much. But I also prefer being paid. I like,being paid as a screen actor but working on the stage.

When I saw Jaws (1975) for the first time, I forgot I was in it.

Film acting is about the hollowest experience you can have as an actor.