The Downfall of Richard Dreyfuss, Explained (2024)

Oscar-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss has experienced a major fall from grace over the past seven years. The once-beloved actor who came to prominence in the 1970s with such classic George Lucas and Steven Spielberg movies as American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and others has recently made headlines by lashing out and insulting several marginalized groups at a public Jaws retrospective screening in Beverly, Massachusetts. The latest controversy comes seven years after Dreyfuss was accused of sexual harassment by a female TV writer.

In the past year, Dreyfuss has also spoken out against the Academy Awards' new diversity rules that promote inclusion, showing how far the world has left him behind and how out of touch with reality he seems to be. Unfortunately, the once-venerated Hollywood actor has doubled down on his seething outrage, with the latest outburst in Beverly as the latest example of how far Dreyfuss has fallen in the public eye. The sad development bears more scrutiny as fans wonder what happened to Richard Dreyfuss and his recent bizarre behavior.

Who Is Richard Dreyfuss?

Richard Dreyfuss is an American actor who began his career in television in 1964. After briefly appearing in several TV shows, Dreyfuss made uncredited cameos in The Graduate and Valley of the Dolls in 1967 to begin his movie career. In 1973, Dreyfuss starred in George Lucas' ensemble teen coming-of-age movie American Graffiti, launching the most successful decade of Dreyfuss' movie career.

Dreyfuss' popularity skyrocketed after starring in Steven Spielberg's Jaws, the first Hollywood blockbuster on record. Two years later, Dreyfuss and Spielberg reunited for the classic alien invasion movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. That same year (1977), Dreyfuss won an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in The Goodbye Girl. Dreyfuss' only other Oscar nomination came in 1996 following his role in Mr. Holland's Opus.

Other notable post-'70s movie credits for Dreyfuss include Stand By Me, Stakeout, Another Stakeout, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, What About Bob?, The American President, and more. Unfortunately, the massive success that Dreyfuss experienced in the '70s quickly affected the actor negatively. As The Telegraph writes:

"With the world at his feet, Dreyfuss enthusiastically plunged headlong into the gutter. As he later said, “[I was] more than a bit silly. I became the worst kind of person… I was doing a play in LA and I had a revelation: if I had no secrets, no one could hurt me. I became a lying, low-down, dirty dog.” Perhaps inspired by the scene in Close Encounters in which his character Roy Neary makes a tower out of mashed potato, Dreyfuss eschewed the opportunity to take the excellent roles that he could have been offered, and instead coasted by on the kudos that his Oscar had given him for a couple of years, while burying himself in mountains of cocaine."

Even outside his cocaine days, Dreyfuss famously feuded with several of his collaborators in the past, according to Yahoo! This includes but is not limited to Bill Murray, (What About Bob?), Robert Shaw (Jaws), and director Oliver Stone (W.). The article paints a picture of a prickly, combative personality who often does not work well with others; a description amplified in the past few years.

2017 Sexual Harassment Allegations

The public decline of Dreyfuss can be traced to sexual harassment allegations by a TV writer in 2017. When filming a TV special for ABC in the 1980s, Dreyfuss was accused of sexually harassing writer Jessica Teich. The allegations claimed Dreyfuss used his vast position of power to humiliate and subjugate Teich by inviting her to his trailer and sexually exposing himself to her in private (as reported by Vulture). Although the alleged event occurred in 1984, Dreyfuss' public image took a serious hit when the report was released in 2017 and has only worsened.

Dreyfuss denied Teich's accusations (though, as he's previously said, he was so zonked out on drugs during the '80s that he completely forgot filming certain movies and scenes). Dreyfuss stated that he "values and respects women" and that, despite being openly flirtatious in the past, he is "not an assaulter" (via CBS News). However, his public persona has declined dramatically since the accusations were made public. In the next seven years, Dreyfuss would continue to espouse prejudicial views, railing against diversity and inclusion in Hollywood, insulting women, transgender culture and representation, LGBTQ+ communities, and other marginalized groups advocating for equal rights.

May 2023 Academy Award Controversy

In April 2023, Dreyfuss appeared on Bill Maher's Podcast, Club Random. During the interview, viewers ridiculed and expressed concern about Dreyfuss' physical and mental fitness when the actor continuously slid off the reclining chair he was assigned to. Clips of Dreyfuss constantly melting out of the seat went viral, leaving many to wonder about his health. One month later, in May 2023, Dreyfuss made controversial headlines by roundly criticizing the Academy Awards' new diversity inclusion efforts.

The new Academy diversity guidelines stipulate that at least two of four initiatives must be met for each movie production registered with the MPAA. The initiatives include that the lead performers must come from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups, or that no less than 30% of the cast and crew comprises such groups. Despite the effort to promote representational parity and equal rights for all creative types, Dreyfuss told PBS' Firing Line that the new rules "Make me vomit."

Further discussing his problems with the new diversity guidelines, Dreyfuss added:

"[Movies are] an art form ... and no one should be telling me as an artist that I have to give into the latest, most current idea of what morality is. And what are we risking? Are we really risking hurting people's feelings? You can't legislate that."

Although Dreyfuss discussed his bipolar disorder with Stephen Fry in 2006, not much can justify his erratic behavior and the archaic views he's expressed in the past decade or so. In May 2024, Dreyfuss may have hit rock bottom relative to his public downfall. Of course, The First Amendment of the American Constitution grants free speech. Dreyfuss has the right to say what he believes. It's just that the beliefs he espouses sound antiquated, out of touch, hateful, exclusionary, and against the values Hollywood has advocated for throughout history.

May 2024 Cabot Theater Controversy

The most recent outburst by Dreyfuss occurred at the Cabot Theater in Beverly, Massachusetts on May 27, 2024. As fans gathered in the Boston suburbs to celebrate An Evening with Richard Dreyfuss + Jaws, Dreyfuss appeared interested in anything but discussing the classic horror/thriller and his iconic role as oceanographer Matt Hooper. Instead, fans were greeted by the 76-year-old Dreyfuss entering the Q&A portion of the event in a blue floral dress, trucker hat, walking cane, and medical patches on both hands. Stranger yet, Dreyfuss stumbled onto the stage as Taylor Swift's "Love Story" played in the background.

Hamming it up to a rabid crowd of fans there to see him and hear about his experience on Jaws, Dreyfuss finally stopped his strange dance routine and launched a full-fledged attack on several groups. As two stagehands raced to remove his dress and fit him in a pre-selected white blazer for the event, Dreyfuss used the platform to air several ugly cultural identity grievances. Dreyfuss insulted his Nuts co-star and producer Barbra Streisand, first calling her a "Genius" before stating that "Women are so passive, that's why the movie sucked" (via an attendee's X).

Later in the uncouth rant, Dreyfuss allegedly took on the #MeToo Movement before berating the audience, "How you shouldn’t be listening to some 10-year-old who says they want to be a boy instead of a girl" (per the X user above). The vocal attack on women, LGBTQ+ rights, and the trans community led to the Cabot Theater issuing a public apology, lamenting the lack of oversight in failing to anticipate such a bizarre outburst.

While it's unclear what has caused Dreyfuss' bizarre behavior in recent years (if anything), it will be difficult for the once-venerated actor to rebound from such an unfortunate public downfall. The reality is that the recent Cabot event was not an isolated incident. It's the latest in a pattern of unhealthy and prejudicial behavior from a once-prominent Hollywood luminary.