On a movie like The Shark an infinite number of articles could be made in reference to anecdotes and curiosities; to celebrate the 45th anniversary of its release today we dedicate ourselves to Richard Dreyfuss, the actor who gave the face to matt hooper, the marine biologist who sets out on a mission with Quint and Brody to kill the fearsome shark. Think that Dreyfuss is the only actor of that trio to be still alive: Roy Scheider died in 2008, while Robert Shaw in 1978.
The role refused
For the role of Hooper, the then very young director Spielberg had initially thought of Jon Voight. However, he decided to propose the role to Dreyfuss on the advice of George Lucas, who had worked with him in American Graffiti. Dreyfuss in the beginning he turned down the part, stating that Jaws was a film he “would have loved to see, but not to do”. The actor was around 26 at the time and didn't seem at all convinced of the result: he even thought the film would be a failure.
Eventually he changed his mind for a very specific reason: after seeing the screening of a film he had just finished shooting, Money at any cost, he was very ashamed, thinking that his interpretation was really bad. For this he immediately recalled Spielberg accepting the role of Matt Hooper (fearing that no one would call him again after Money at any cost been distributed).
Be that as it may, he continued to be unconvinced of Jaws throughout the shoot. "Everyone thought they had bingo with this movie" - he told many years later in an interview,“I told them“ What are you saying? It's just a short film ". Then when the success was extraordinary, Dreyfuss admitted that he had to make up for his mistakes and went on every talk show to say “I'm the one who didn't believe it”.
Richard Dreyfuss today
Richard Dreyfuss is now 72 years old. After the success obtained with The Jaws he continued his acting career brilliantly, starring in 1977 again in a Spielberg film, Incontri ravvicinati del terzo tipo and always in the same year in Goodbye my love !. For the latter film he won the Oscar for best leading actor and the David di Donatello for best foreign actor.
Dreyfuss seemed on course for a brilliant career, when serious personal problems related to cocaine use began in 1978, up to an arrest in 1982, after an automobile accident caused by the actor who was driving ill. After a period of rehabilitation, which required him a long professional break, recovered, he returned to the limelight interpreting some spirited comedies such as Up and down Beverly Hills (1986) Tin Men - 2 cheaters with lady (1986) Surveillance… special (1987) and the films Crazy (1987) Always - Forever (1990) by Steven Spielberg, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead (1990) Postcards from hell (1991) Goodbye Mr Holland (1995) The time of mad dogs (1996) and Poseidon (2006) My big fat Greek holidays (2009) Piranha 3D (2010) Red (2010) and recently Polar (2019)
Article The Shark, Richard Dreyfuss turned down the role of Hooper, but then thought better of it: that's why From We of the 80-90s.
