We know the collaboration between Richard Dreyfuss and Steven Spielberg, two Academy Award winners. But do we know to what extent did Dreyfuss go to lend one particular role? Or do you even think an actor like Dreyfuss needs such unique technique to grab a role? Actually, yes. He did some tricks playfully to get the job done. We’re talking about him playing the role of Neary in Close Encounters of the Third Kind which won an Oscar for best cinematography.
Steven Spielberg Was in Search for Neary Where Richard Dreyfuss Was Not His Favorite
Richard Dreyfuss in The Big Fix (1978)
Richard Dreyfuss and Steven Spielberg did American thriller Jaws together and it won three Academy Awards. This movie is still considered as a must watch. Based on the 1974 novel of the same name by author Peter Benchley, it tells the story of a great white shark that terrorizes a beach resort town. And Dreyfuss played the role of Matt Hooper brilliantly. The movie was the highest grossing film of its time grossing $483 million globally, per The Numbers.
Despite the movie involving Dreyfuss being a success, director Spielberg was not keen initially to keep him for his next movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Steve McQueen was his first choice followed by other nig stars of that time like Al Pacino, Gene Hackman, and Jack Nicholson.
Spielberg was in awe of Nicholson and wanted to bring him on board after seeing his performance in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, but Nicholson turned down the offer, probably thinking that he will be overshadowed by the use of special effects in the movie.
How Richard Dreyfuss Persuaded Steven Spielberg?
Richard Dreyfuss and Shawn Bishop in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Dreyfuss knew that Spielberg was not counting on him this time, but he was also adamant to get the role. For that, he started a campaign by himself.
While roaming around Spielberg’s office, he started to roast the other actors whose names were in discussion for the role.
He told The Guardian in 2020: “I swore an oath to myself that I would badmouth every actor in Hollywood. I would walk by his office and say: ‘Pacino’s crazy. De Niro has no sense of humor’.”
“I launched myself into a campaign to get the part…I eventually convinced him to cast me.” (via, Far Out Magazine)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind revolves around Roy Neary, an everyday blue-collar worker in Indiana, whose life changes after an encounter with a UFO.
The movie later became one of the best in Spielberg’s career with a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.6 score on IMDb.
You can watch Close Encounters of the Third Kind on Apple TV+.
