NetflixMovies
Richard Dreyfuss

Richard Dreyfuss

75 movies on Netflix

Biography

Richard Dreyfuss is an American actor whose career took off during the New Hollywood period, when he became one of the era's leading men. Born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens and Los Angeles, he started acting as a teenager and appeared in small television parts before making an uncredited film debut in The Graduate (1967). His breakthrough came with American Graffiti (1973) and Jaws (1975), and he starred in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for The Goodbye Girl (1977) and earned another nomination for Mr. Holland's Opus (1995). Among his other films are Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986), Stand by Me (1986), The American President (1995) and What About Bob? (1991), plus W. (2008). On television, he starred as the title character in The Education of Max Bickford from 2001 to 2002, played Fagin in a 1997 Oliver Twist adaptation, and portrayed Bernie Madoff in Madoff.

78years old

Turns 79 on October 29in 15 days

  • Born Brooklyn
  • Star sign: ScorpioThe sign runs October 23 to November 21

Movie Career

Films
75
Career span
58 years1967 to 2025

Genres

First and latest

Photos

  • Richard Dreyfuss, photo 1 of 3
  • Richard Dreyfuss, photo 2 of 3
  • Richard Dreyfuss, photo 3 of 3

Share

Did you know?!

  1. Behind the award

    Dreyfuss won the 1978 Academy Award for Best Actor for playing a struggling actor in The Goodbye Girl, and at 30 years, 125 days old he became the youngest actor to do so, besting Marlon Brando.

  2. First role

    Dreyfuss made his film debut in The Graduate (1967), an uncredited bit part. He approached the landlord from behind and asked, "Shall I get the cops? I'll get the cops," after Elaine's screams in Ben's room disturbed the boarding house.

  3. Behind the camera

    Richard Dreyfuss took on producing for the first time with The Big Fix, a 1978 film in which he also appeared as an actor.

  4. Beyond film

    In 1999, Dreyfuss starred with Marsha Mason in Neil Simon's play The Prisoner of Second Avenue at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, which was his London West End debut.

Richard Dreyfuss movies on Netflix

Best known for

The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.

Top of the page, the section list
  1. Jaws1975 Adventure, Thrilleras Hooper

    IMDb rating 8.1750K votes

  2. Close Encounters of the Third Kind1977 Drama, Sci-Fias Roy Neary

    IMDb rating 7.6239K votes

  3. American Graffiti1973as Curt

    IMDb rating 7.4107K votes

  4. RED2010as Alexander Dunning

    IMDb rating 7.0341K votes

  5. What About Bob?1991as Dr. Leo Marvin

    IMDb rating 7.080K votes

  6. Mr. Holland's Opus1995as Glenn Holland

    IMDb rating 7.445K votes

  7. Poseidon2006as Richard Nelson

    IMDb rating 5.7118K votes

  8. Always1989as Pete Sandich

    IMDb rating 6.436K votes

Most often with

Steven Spielberg directed three of these films, John Badham three and Rob Reiner two. Two actors appear in four of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.

Top of the page, the section list
Steven Spielberg, 4 films togetherSee the 4 films with Steven SpielbergCarl Gottlieb, 4 films togetherSee the 4 films with Carl GottliebHarrison Ford, 3 films togetherSee the 3 films with Harrison FordJames Cromwell, 3 films togetherSee the 3 films with James CromwellColm Feore, 3 films togetherSee the 3 films with Colm FeoreMartin Scorsese, 3 films togetherSee the 3 films with Martin ScorseseSteven SpielbergDirector, 3 filmsSee the 3 films by Steven SpielbergJohn BadhamDirector, 3 filmsSee the 3 films by John BadhamRob ReinerDirector, 2 filmsSee the 2 films by Rob Reiner

Films together

Box office

What Richard Dreyfuss's films earned in cinemas worldwide.

Top of the page, the section list

Combined worldwide box office

$2.4 billion

35 of the 75 films have a worldwide figure.

Of the 75 films: 35 worldwide figure; 8 us gross only; 15 never in cinemas; 17 figure not found.

  • 35Worldwide figure
  • 8US gross only
  • 15Never in cinemas
  • 17Figure not found

Top grosser

Jaws1975as Hooper$471 million

Highest grossing

The eight biggest films earned 66% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.

  1. 1
    Jaws1975as Hooper
    $471M19.2% of the total
  2. 2
    Close Encounters of the Third Kind1977as Roy Neary
    $307M12.5% of the total
  3. 3
    RED2010as Alexander Dunning
    $199M8.1% of the total
  4. 4
    Poseidon2006as Richard Nelson
    $182M7.4% of the total
  5. 5
    American Graffiti1973as Curt
    $140M5.7% of the total
  6. 6
    The American President1995as Senator Bob Rumson
    $108M4.4% of the total
  7. 7
    Mr. Holland's Opus1995as Glenn Holland
    $106M4.3% of the total
  8. 8
    The Graduate1967as Boarding House Resident
    $105M4.3% of the total
Book Club (2018), $104 millionThe Goodbye Girl (1977), $102 millionPiranha 3D (2010), $83.2 millionAlways (1989), $74.1 millionStakeout (1987), $65.7 millionWhat About Bob? (1991), $63.7 millionDown and Out in Beverly Hills (1986), $62.1 millionStand by Me (1986), $52.3 millionPostcards from the Edge (1990), $39.1 millionAnother Stakeout (1993), $30.0 millionW. (2008), $29.5 millionJames and the Giant Peach (1996), $28.9 millionMy Life in Ruins (2009), $20.5 millionParanoia (2013), $17.1 millionThe Big Fix (1978), $13.0 millionMoon Over Parador (1988), $11.4 million

$828 millionfrom the other 27 films with a worldwide figure, 34% of the total

Awards

Five awards and honors from 1978 to 1979, three of them major.

Top of the page, the section list
Richard Dreyfuss's awards and nominations, grouped by award
YearAwardFilmResult
Academy Awards
1978Best ActorThe Goodbye GirlWon
Golden Globes
1978Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyThe Goodbye GirlWon
BAFTA
1979Best Actor in a Leading RoleThe Goodbye GirlWon
Other honors
David di Donatello for Best Foreign ActorWon
Star on Hollywood Walk of FameHonored

Online

Official profiles and reference pages.

Top of the page, the section list