An American actor best known for starring in a number of film, television, and theater roles since the late 1960s, including the films American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, Stakeout, Always, What About Bob? and Mr. Holland's Opus. Dreyfuss won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1977 for The Goodbye Girl, and was nominated in 1995 for Mr. Holland's Opus. He has also won a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, and was nominated in 2002 for Screen Actors Guild Awards in the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series and Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries categories.
Academy Awards
Best Actor
Golden Globe Awards
Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
British Academy Film Awards
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Known For
Jaws
(1975)
Matt Hooper
Stand by Me
(1986)
The Writer
Piranha 3D
(2010)
Matthew Boyd
American Graffiti
(1973)
Curt Henderson
The Graduate
(1967)
Boarding House Resident (uncredited)
RED
(2010)
Alexander Dunning
Polar
(2019)
Porter
Poseidon
(2006)
Richard Nelson
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
(1977)
Roy Neary
James and the Giant Peach
(1996)
Centipede (voice)
Murder at Yellowstone City
(2022)
Edgar
Paranoia
(2013)
Frank Cassidy
Zipper
(2015)
George Hiller
My Life in Ruins
(2009)
Irv Gideon
The American President
(1995)
Senator Rumson
Another Stakeout
(1993)
Det. Chris Lecce
Full Filmography
Acting
Valley of the Dolls
(1967)
Assistant Stage Manager (uncredited)
The Graduate
(1967)
Boarding House Resident (uncredited)
The Young Runaways
(1968)
Terry
Hello Down There
(1969)
Harold Webster
The Shadow of a Gunman
(1972)
Tommy Owen
Two for the Money
(1972)
Morris Gap
Me
(1973)
Greg
Catch-22
(1973)
Yossarian
American Graffiti
(1973)
Curt Henderson
Dillinger
(1973)
Baby Face Nelson
The Second Coming of Suzanne
(1974)
Clavius
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
(1974)
Duddy
New England Our Way
(1974)
Himself
Inserts
(1975)
Boy Wonder
Jaws
(1975)
Matt Hooper
Victory at Entebbe
(1976)
Colonel Yonatan 'Yonni' Netanyahu
The Sentinel
(1977)
Man on sidewalk talking to girl in red sweater (uncredited)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
(1977)
Roy Neary
The Making of 'The Goodbye Girl'
(1977)
Self
The Goodbye Girl
(1977)
Elliot Garfield
The Amazing Miss Cummings: An Actress at Work and Play
(1977)
The Big Fix
(1978)
Moses Wine
The Competition
(1980)
Paul Dietrich
Whose Life Is It Anyway?
(1981)
Ken Harrison
The Buddy System
(1984)
Joe
Night of 100 Stars II
(1985)
Self
Down and Out in Beverly Hills
(1986)
Dave Whiteman
Stand by Me
(1986)
The Writer
Citizen Steve
(1987)
Jedediah
Stakeout
(1987)
Det. Chris Lecce
Tin Men
(1987)
Bill 'BB' Babowsky
Nuts
(1987)
Aaron Levinsky
Moon Over Parador
(1988)
Jack Noah
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
(1988)
Self
Always
(1989)
Pete Sandich
Let It Ride
(1989)
Jay Trotter
Postcards from the Edge
(1990)
Doctor Frankenthal
What About Bob?
(1991)
Dr. Leo Marvin
Prisoner of Honor
(1991)
Col. Picquart
Once Around
(1991)
Sam Sharpe
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead
(1991)
The Player
Lincoln
(1992)
William Tecumsah Sherman (voice)
Lost in Yonkers
(1993)
Louie Kurnitz
Another Stakeout
(1993)
Det. Chris Lecce
Silent Fall
(1994)
Dr. Jake Rainer
It's Alive: The True Story of Frankenstein
(1994)
Self
The Making of 'Jaws'
(1995)
Self
The American President
(1995)
Senator Rumson
Mr. Holland's Opus
(1995)
Glenn Holland
The Last Word
(1995)
Larry
Mad Dog Time
(1996)
Vic
James and the Giant Peach
(1996)
Centipede (voice)
The Universal Story
(1996)
Himself
Night Falls on Manhattan
(1997)
Sam Vigoda
Henry Fonda: Hollywood's Quiet Hero
(1997)
Self
In the Teeth of Jaws
(1997)
Self
Frank Capra's American Dream
(1997)
Self
The Call of the Wild: Dog of the Yukon
(1997)
Narrator (voice)
Audrey Hepburn: The Fairest Lady
(1997)
Self
Oliver Twist
(1997)
Fagin
Krippendorf's Tribe
(1998)
Prof. Krippendorf
Lost at Sea: The Search for Longitude
(1998)
Narrator
The Making of 'American Graffiti'
(1998)
Self
Lansky
(1999)
Meyer Lansky
Walking the Tracks: The Summer of Stand by Me
(2000)
Self
The Crew
(2000)
Bobby Bartellemeo / Narrator
Fail Safe
(2000)
President
R2-D2: Beneath the Dome
(2001)
Self
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer & the Island of Misfit Toys
(2001)
Scoop the Snowman (voice)
The Day Reagan Was Shot
(2001)
Alexander Haig
The Old Man Who Read Love Stories
(2001)
The Making of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'
(2001)
Self
Who Is Cletis Tout?
(2001)
Micah Donnelly
In Search of Peace
(2001)
Yitzhak Rabin (voice)
Manassas: End of Innocence
(2002)
Narrator
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood
(2003)
Self
Teddy Roosevelt: An American Lion
(2003)
Theodore Roosevelt
The John Garfield Story
(2003)
Self
The Johnstown Flood
(2003)
narrator
A Legacy of Filmmakers: The Early Years of American Zoetrope
(2004)
Narrator
Coast to Coast
(2004)
Barnaby Pierce
Silver City
(2004)
Chuck Raven
The Adventures of Errol Flynn
(2005)
Self - Actor
Boffo! Tinseltown's Bombs and Blockbusters
(2006)
Self
Poseidon
(2006)
Richard Nelson
AFI: 100 Years... 100 Movies... 10th Anniversary Edition
(2007)
Self
Ocean of Fear
(2007)
Narrator
The Man Who Shot Chinatown: The Life and Work of John A. Alonzo
(2007)
Self
W.
(2008)
Dick Cheney
America Betrayed
(2008)
Narrator
The Shark Is Still Working: The Impact & Legacy of 'Jaws'
(2009)
Self
The Lightkeepers
(2009)
Seth
Leaves of Grass
(2009)
Pug Rothbaum
Waking Sleeping Beauty
(2009)
David 'Dave' Whiteman (archive footage)
I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale
(2009)
Self
My Life in Ruins
(2009)
Irv Gideon
RED
(2010)
Alexander Dunning
Piranha 3D
(2010)
Matthew Boyd
Jaws: The Inside Story
(2010)
Self
Casting By
(2012)
Self
The Two Million Year Old Boy
(2012)
Narrator
Paranoia
(2013)
Frank Cassidy
Cas & Dylan
(2013)
Dr. Cas Pepper
Very Good Girls
(2013)
Danny
Milius
(2013)
Self
Squatters
(2014)
David Silverman
And the Oscar Goes To...
(2014)
Self (archive footage)
Caserta Palace Dream
(2014)
Luigi Vanvitelli
Zipper
(2015)
George Hiller
Third Party President: Citizen Rocky
(2016)
himself
Spielberg
(2017)
Self
Asher
(2018)
Avi
Book Club
(2018)
George
Bayou Caviar
(2018)
Yuri
Astronaut
(2019)
Angus
Daughter of the Wolf
(2019)
Father
The Last Laugh
(2019)
Buddy Green
Polar
(2019)
Porter
Audrey
(2020)
Self - Actor
Crime Story
(2021)
Ben Myers
Every Last One of Them
(2021)
Murphy
Murder at Yellowstone City
(2022)
Edgar
Nazis at Nuremberg: The Lost Testimony
(2022)
Narrator (voice)
Save Christmas
(2022)
Santa
Sweetwater
(2023)
Maurice Podoloff
Elizabeth Montgomery: A Bewitched Life
(2023)
Self
Production
The Big Fix
(1978)
Producer
Once Around
(1991)
Co-Producer
Quiz Show
(1994)
Executive Producer
Oliver Twist
(1997)
Co-Producer
Astronaut
(2019)
Executive Producer
Every Last One of Them
(2021)
Executive Producer
Crime Story
(2021)
Executive Producer
Murder at Yellowstone City
(2022)
Executive Producer
Directing