Richard Dreyfuss, the Oscar winning American actor, has revealed the moment that he realised Steven Spielberg was a genius while on the set of Jaws. The veteran actor has worked with the legendary director three times, but their first collaboration together was on the classic thriller movie Jaws.
Now, almost half a century after his time on Jaws, Dreyfuss has explained his thoughts on the movie, and its director Spielberg. The actor shared that he was initially reluctant to take on the role of Matt Hooper, but that once he was on set with Spielberg he realised that he had made the right decision.
In a post to social media, the actor shared his experience with the director, saying “When they asked me to do Jaws I said no. I said I wanted to watch it but not have to shoot it. Eventually I came to my senses. It only took a few weeks into production to realize that Steven was a genius and he was going to change the world.”
Dreyfuss’s opinion that Spielberg is a filmmaking genius is one that many share. Indeed, it’s a testament to Spielberg’s talent and determination that the moment when Dreyfuss was prepared to call him a genius came within just a few weeks of working together.
In fact, Jaws is the perfect movie to choose as an example of Spielberg’s genius because of all the challenges that came during its production. The mechanical shark constantly malfunctioned, boats unexpectedly sank, and the actors were regularly seasick. These problems were compounded by the fact that Spielberg was actually hesitant about taking on the movie at all.
Despite those challenges, the classic Spielberg movie is regarded as not just one of his best movies, but one of the best movies of all time. The shark in Jaws is still one of the most terrifying sights in cinema, and since its release debate has even touched on whether or not the film can be categorised as a horror movie.
If the idea of the open ocean terrifies you as much as it does us, why not check out our guide to the best Netflix horror movies for more spine-tingling chills.