Trivia

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.

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? (1981).

His Oscar-winning performance in The Goodbye Girl (1977) was based on his good friend, Harlan Ellison.

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. (2017)

In Stakeout (1987), his and Emilio Estevez's characters were quoting famous movie lines. Estevez said "This was no boating accident!" referring to Dreyfuss's character in Jaws (1975).

Got his role as Roy Neary in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) which was turned down by Al Pacino and Gene Hackman.

Formerly, at age 30, the youngest man to win Oscar for Best Actor (The Goodbye Girl (1977)). He was beaten by Adrien Brody (29) at the 2003 ceremony.

Claims to be a descendant of Alfred Dreyfus, who was wrongfully imprisoned at the notorious Devil's Island penal colony in French Guiana. Eventually he starred the TV movie Prisoner of Honor (1991) about it.

He discussed his diagnosis of bipolar disorder in the documentary Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive (2006), in which Stephen Fry (who also has the disorder) interviewed Dreyfuss about his experience with the disorder.

Passed on two sequels from films he made in the early/mid-1970s: American Graffiti (1973) and Jaws (1975)... the sequels being More American Graffiti (1979) and Jaws 2 (1978), 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, respectively George Lucas and Steven Spielberg (both making their mark in the industry); and both sequels were directed by another director (albeit, Lucas was involved with the sequel, while Spielberg wasn't at all).

Is a Civil War re-enactor.

Auditioned for the role as one of the Von Trapp children in The Sound of Music (1965), but cannot dance.

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.

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.

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.

He co-wrote a 1995 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.

Was originally cast in the role of Joe Gideon in All That Jazz (1979), but left the production during the rehearsal stage.

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.

Best friends with Carrie Fisher.

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 Mail's theatre reviewer quipped, "We're going to need a bigger earpiece.".

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

Was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War.

Two of his biggest films, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and The Goodbye Girl (1977), premiered within weeks of each other in November 1977.

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

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

In The Buddy System (1984), he played a truant officer who was a mentor to Wil Wheaton's character, in Wheaton's first film. Two years later, he played an adult version of Wheaton's character in Stand by Me (1986).

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.

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

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.

Around 1978, he began using cocaine frequently; his addiction came to a head four years later in 1982, when he was arrested for possession of the drug after he blacked out while driving, and his Mercedes-Benz 450 SL struck a tree. He entered rehabilitation and eventually made a Hollywood comeback with the films Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986) and Stakeout (1987) the following year.

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

Jane Fonda's role in The China Syndrome (1979) 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 an advisor to The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation.

In early 2009, he appeared in the play Complicit by Joe Sutton at London's Old Vic theatre. The production was directed by the theatre's artistic director, Kevin Spacey. Dreyfuss's performance was subject to some controversy, owing to his use of an earpiece onstage, reportedly because of his inability to learn his lines in time.

Attended California State University, Northridge along with Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) co-star, Teri Garr.

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.

Originally was mooted to appear in John Carpenter's version of Firestarter (1984) as the role of Andy McGee (Charlie's father), but both Carpenter and Dreyfuss were later replaced with Mark L. Lester and David Keith in the final version of the film.

As of 2019, he has appeared in four films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: The Graduate (1967), American Graffiti (1973), Jaws (1975) and The Goodbye Girl (1977).

In November 2004, he was scheduled to appear in The Producers in London, but withdrew from the production a week before opening night. The media noted that Dreyfuss was still suffering from problems relating to an operation for a herniated disc in January, and that the part of Max Bialystock in the play is a physically demanding one. Both he and his assistant for the production stated that Dreyfuss was accumulating injuries that required him to wear physical therapy supports during rehearsals. Dreyfuss was eventually fired from the production. He made his West End debut at The Old Vic in 2009.

Has a great dislike for rock music.

He was originally cast as Joe Gideon in All That Jazz (1979), but left the production during the rehearsal stage, citing a lack of confidence in the production. He later admitted that he made a mistake in passing up the chance to work with Bob Fosse. He was replaced by his Jaws (1975) costar Roy Scheider .

He has appeared in four films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: The Graduate (1967), American Graffiti (1973), Jaws (1975) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).

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.

Was once played by Darrell Hammond in a skit on Saturday Night Live (1975). Hammond played Dreyfuss auditioning to play C-3PO in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977).

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

On June 10, 2011, he was made a Master Mason "at sight" by the Grand Master of Masons of the District of Columbia at the Washington DC Scottish Rite building, as well as a 32nd Degree Scottish Rite Mason. That evening he spoke at a banquet celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, about the Dreyfuss Initiative, a Research Society promoting civics and enlightenment values to be headquartered in Charleston, West Virginia.

He was considered for the role of Louis Strack Jr. in Darkman (1990).

He was offered the role of Dreighton, the American Vice-Consul in The Wind and the Lion (1975).

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.