Richard Stephen Dreyfuss ( DRY-fəs; né Dreyfus; born October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He emerged from the New Hollywood wave of American cinema, finding fame with a succession of leading man parts in the 1970s. He has received an Academy Award, a BAFTA, and a Golden Globe.
Dreyfuss rose to prominence with starring roles in American Graffiti (1973), The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974), Jaws (1975), and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Elliot Garfield in the 1977 romantic comedy The Goodbye Girl, and was Oscar-nominated in the same category for his title role in the 1995 drama Mr. Holland's Opus. His other film credits include The Competition (1980), Stand by Me (1986), Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986), Stakeout (1987), Nuts (1987), Always (1989), Postcards from the Edge (1990), What About Bob? (1991), The American President (1995), and W. (2008).
On television, Dreyfuss starred as the title character on the CBS drama series The Education of Max Bickford (2001–2002), for which he was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor.