‘Jaws’: Tension With Robert Shaw Made Richard Dreyfuss Doubt Himself: ‘You’re Fat and You’re Sloppy’
As the blueprint for a summer blockbuster success, Jaws remains one of the most beloved films in history. The shark horror flick spawned sequels, copycats, and a fandom that stretches across generations. Behind the scenes of Steven Spielberg’s famous creation, there was some awkward friction between cast members Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw, and there were moments when Dreyfuss felt doubtful about his talents.
‘Jaws’ starred Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider, and Robert Shaw
Richard Dreyfuss played Matt Hooper in Jaws, the marine scientist who specialized in fish studies. When Steven Spielberg chose to adapt the Jaws novel, he altered several characters including Hooper. Dreyfuss was the director’s first choice, and he allowed Dreyfuss to develop Hooper on his own to make him fit into the movie’s storyline. It’s something Spielberg discussed during a panel at the American Film Institute.
Roy Scheider’s casting as Sheriff Brody was a happenstance, as the director ran into him at a party and was complaining about his unsuccessful search for a lead actor. He casually pitched the part to Scheider, and he accepted.
Spielberg told Entertainment Weekly he spent six months trying to cast Quint before someone recommended Robert Shaw, an esteemed actor from the U.K. He finally had his trio, but things didn’t go smoothly on set.
Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss had a little rivalry on ‘Jaws’ set
A Jaws documentary titled The Shark is Still Working was included in the film’s DVD package, and Dreyfuss and Scheider discussed what it was like working with the late Shaw. Dreyfuss described him as a man who both intimidated and exhilarated him. “I liked him, and I hated him, and he had my number.” He added that Shaw “made me doubt that I could do things I knew I could do.”
Scheider chimed in and said Shaw would sometimes mock Dreyfuss. “He really thought Dreyfuss needed a slapping down. Young punk with no stage experience,” recalled Scheider. “Shaw would say, ‘Look at you, Dreyfuss. You eat and you drink, and you’re fat and you’re sloppy. At your age, it’s criminal.’”
That exchange resulted in Shaw challenging Dreyfuss to do 20 push-ups with Scheider as the referee. Dreyfuss couldn’t do it. Funny enough, their backstage tension translated to the big screen in the scenes between Quint and Hooper.
Dreyfuss and Shaw wound up on decent terms
It may seem like a friendship between the two was off the table, but Shaw and Dreyfuss bonded. During a chat with Bio.com about the film, Spielberg and Dreyfuss spoke about Jaws and the on-set feud with Shaw. Spielberg described several incidents and said it got ugly. Somehow, the pair ended up respecting one another.
“In private, he was the kindest, gentlest, funniest guy you ever met. Then we’d walk to the set, and on the way to the set, he was possessed by some evil troll who would then make me his victim,” said Dreyfuss.
When he visited Ireland’s Late Late Show on RTE in 2014, he couldn’t stop gushing about Shaw. And then Shaw’s granddaughter met Dreyfuss backstage, and it made him tear up.
He said meeting her felt like closure for him, and he spoke glowingly of Shaw. Dreyfuss remarked that Jaws was one of his early films and explained how swapping stories with the granddaughter was like circling back. Robert Shaw died in 1978, three years after Jaws was released.
