Portrait of Richard Dreyfuss

Acting

Richard Dreyfuss

Career

Active from 1964 to 2025, busiest in 1987 and 2001 with 5 main titles each.

Leading roles
74
top three billing
Average score
GoodWatch score56/100
Highest rated
Poster for Fail Safe
Fail Safe
GoodWatch score86/100

Awards

Reported results for this person. Coverage is incomplete; these results don't establish award totals.

  • BAFTA Awards · Best Leading Actor

    1979 · Won

    The Goodbye Girl

    Source: Wikidata

  • Golden Globe Awards · Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy

    1978 · Won

    The Goodbye Girl

    Source: Wikidata

  • Academy Awards · Actor in a Leading Role

    1978 · Won · 50th Academy Awards

    The Goodbye Girl

    Source: Wikidata

  • Golden Globe Awards · Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy

    1977 · Won

    The Goodbye Girl

    Source: Wikidata

  • Academy Awards · Actor in a Leading Role

    1996 · Nominated · 68th Academy Awards

    Mr. Holland's Opus

    Source: Wikidata

Characters

8

The characters Richard Dreyfuss played, best-known titles first.

Character images: TheTVDB

What stands out

Compared with the average well-known movie, over 98 of their titles. Select a trait to filter titles.

Energy: 4.0 versus catalog average 4.5EnergyHeart: 4.5 versus catalog average 4.2HeartHumor: 2.8 versus catalog average 2.6HumorWorld: 5.7 versus catalog average 5.6WorldCraft: 5.4 versus catalog average 5.3CraftStyle: 5.7 versus catalog average 5.9Style
Richard Dreyfuss Catalog average

Rarely in their work

  • Violence
    3.3, average 4.1
  • Uncanny
    1.7, average 2.5
  • Scare
    1.8, average 2.6
  • Adrenaline
    4.1, average 4.8

Main genres

Select a genre to see those titles.

Recurring tags

  • Character-Driven 15
  • Social Commentary 7
  • Situational Humor 5
  • Character Study 5
  • Nostalgic 3
  • Feel-Good Movie 3
  • Contemporary Realism 3
  • Romantic Comedy 3
  • Showbiz Satire 3
  • Quirky Characters 3
  • Moral Ambiguity 3
  • Redemption 3

Works often with

People in at least two of their main titles.

Movies and TV shows

137
Type
Role
Score
Decade
Genre
Group by

Upcoming

3 titles
Happiness Isn't Everything
Happiness Isn't Everything
GoodWatch score 68

TV show · as Jerry Hamburger

Ocean of Fear
Ocean of Fear

TV show · as Narrator (voice)

Killing Winston Jones
Killing Winston Jones

as Winston Jones

2020s

8 titles · average score 46
Into the Deep
Into the Deep (2025)
GoodWatch score 26

as Seamus

Waltzing with Brando
Waltzing with Brando (2025)
GoodWatch score 56

as Seymour Kraft

Sweetwater
Sweetwater (2023)
GoodWatch score 39

as Maurice Podoloff

Nazis at Nuremberg: The Lost Testimony
Nazis at Nuremberg: The Lost Testimony (2022)
GoodWatch score 69

as Narrator (voice)

Murder at Yellowstone City
Murder at Yellowstone City (2022)
GoodWatch score 42

as Edgar

Save Christmas
Save Christmas (2022)
GoodWatch score 82

as Santa

Every Last One of Them
Every Last One of Them (2021)
GoodWatch score 30

as Murphy

Crime Story
Crime Story (2021)
GoodWatch score 22

as Ben Myers

2010s

23 titles · average score 53
The Last Laugh
The Last Laugh (2019)
GoodWatch score 44

as Buddy Green

Daughter of the Wolf
Daughter of the Wolf (2019)
GoodWatch score 36

as Father

Astronaut
Astronaut (2019)
GoodWatch score 52

as Angus

Asher
Asher (2018)
GoodWatch score 53

as Avi

Bayou Caviar
Bayou Caviar (2018)
GoodWatch score 37

as Yuri

Madoff
Madoff (2016)
GoodWatch score 64

TV show · as Bernie Madoff

Your Family or Mine
Your Family or Mine (2015)
GoodWatch score 56

TV show · as Louis

Zipper
Zipper (2015)
GoodWatch score 39

as George Hiller

Squatters
Squatters (2014)
GoodWatch score 57

as David Silverman

Paranoia
Paranoia (2013)
GoodWatch score 33

as Frank Cassidy

Cas & Dylan
Cas & Dylan (2013)
GoodWatch score 44

as Dr. Cas Pepper

RED
RED (2010)
GoodWatch score 67

as Alexander Dunning

2000s

25 titles · average score 56
My Life in Ruins
My Life in Ruins (2009)
GoodWatch score 41

as Irv Gideon

Leaves of Grass
Leaves of Grass (2009)
GoodWatch score 60

as Pug Rothbaum

The Lightkeepers
The Lightkeepers (2009)
GoodWatch score 35

as Seth

Tin Man
Tin Man (2007)
GoodWatch score 61

TV show · as Mystic Man

Poseidon
Poseidon (2006)
GoodWatch score 47

as Richard Nelson

A Legacy of Filmmakers: The Early Years of American Zoetrope
A Legacy of Filmmakers: The Early Years of American Zoetrope (2004)
GoodWatch score 76

as Narrator

Coast to Coast
Coast to Coast (2004)
GoodWatch score 51

as Barnaby Pierce

The Education of Max Bickford
The Education of Max Bickford (2001)
GoodWatch score 67

TV show · as Max Bickford

The Old Man Who Read Love Stories
The Old Man Who Read Love Stories (2001)
GoodWatch score 64

as Antonio Bolivar

The Day Reagan Was Shot
The Day Reagan Was Shot (2001)
GoodWatch score 62

as Alexander Haig

The Crew
The Crew (2000)
GoodWatch score 34

as Bobby Bartellemeo / Narrator

Fail Safe
Fail Safe (2000)
GoodWatch score 86

as President

1990s

29 titles · average score 61
Lansky
Lansky (1999)
GoodWatch score 44

as Meyer Lansky

Krippendorf's Tribe
Krippendorf's Tribe (1998)
GoodWatch score 29

as Prof. Krippendorf

The Call of the Wild: Dog of the Yukon
The Call of the Wild: Dog of the Yukon (1997)
GoodWatch score 66

as Narrator (voice)

James and the Giant Peach
James and the Giant Peach (1996)
GoodWatch score 75

as Centipede (voice)

Mad Dog Time
Mad Dog Time (1996)
GoodWatch score 36

as Vic

Mr. Holland's Opus
Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
GoodWatch score 69

as Glenn Holland

Silent Fall
Silent Fall (1994)
GoodWatch score 40

as Dr. Jake Rainer

Another Stakeout
Another Stakeout (1993)
GoodWatch score 36

as Det. Chris Lecce

Lost in Yonkers
Lost in Yonkers (1993)
GoodWatch score 69

as Louie Kurnitz

What About Bob?
What About Bob? (1991)
GoodWatch score 68

as Dr. Leo Marvin

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1991)
GoodWatch score 68

as The Player

Once Around
Once Around (1991)
GoodWatch score 68

as Sam Sharpe

1980s

13 titles · average score 63
Always
Always (1989)
GoodWatch score 61

as Pete Sandich

Let It Ride
Let It Ride (1989)
GoodWatch score 49

as Jay Trotter

Moon Over Parador
Moon Over Parador (1988)
GoodWatch score 48

as Jack Noah

Stakeout
Stakeout (1987)
GoodWatch score 71

as Det. Chris Lecce

Tin Men
Tin Men (1987)
GoodWatch score 72

as Bill 'BB' Babowsky

Nuts
Nuts (1987)
GoodWatch score 54

as Aaron Levinsky

Citizen Steve
Citizen Steve (1987)

as Jedediah

Funny, You Don't Look 200: A Constitutional Vaudeville
Funny, You Don't Look 200: A Constitutional Vaudeville (1987)

Producer, Writer

Down and Out in Beverly Hills
Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986)
GoodWatch score 68

as Dave Whiteman

The Buddy System
The Buddy System (1984)
GoodWatch score 53

as Joe

Whose Life Is It Anyway?
Whose Life Is It Anyway? (1981)
GoodWatch score 71

as Ken Harrison

The Competition
The Competition (1980)
GoodWatch score 65

as Paul Dietrich

1970s

17 titles · average score 66
The Big Fix
The Big Fix (1978)
GoodWatch score 74

as Moses Wine

Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
GoodWatch score 83

as Roy Neary

The Goodbye Girl
The Goodbye Girl (1977)
GoodWatch score 72

as Elliot Garfield

Victory at Entebbe
Victory at Entebbe (1976)
GoodWatch score 57

as Colonel Yonatan 'Yonni' Netanyahu

Jaws
Jaws (1975)
GoodWatch score 83

as Hooper

Inserts
Inserts (1975)
GoodWatch score 64

as Boy Wonder

The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974)
GoodWatch score 80

as Duddy

The Second Coming of Suzanne
The Second Coming of Suzanne (1974)
GoodWatch score 38

as Clavius

American Graffiti
American Graffiti (1973)
GoodWatch score 85

as Curt Henderson

Catch-22
Catch-22 (1973)

as Yossarian

Me
Me (1973)

as Greg

The Shadow of a Gunman
The Shadow of a Gunman (1972)

as Tommy Owen

1960s

18 titles · average score 63
Hello Down There
Hello Down There (1969)
GoodWatch score 59

as Harold Webster

Room 222
Room 222 (1969)
GoodWatch score 69

TV show

The Mod Squad
The Mod Squad (1968)
GoodWatch score 43

TV show

The Graduate
The Graduate (1967)
GoodWatch score 81

as Boarding House Resident (uncredited)

Judd, for the Defense
Judd, for the Defense (1967)
GoodWatch score 76

TV show

That Girl
That Girl (1966)
GoodWatch score 45

TV show

Felony Squad
Felony Squad (1966)
GoodWatch score 69

TV show

The Big Valley
The Big Valley (1965)
GoodWatch score 69

TV show · as Lud

Gidget
Gidget (1965)
GoodWatch score 45

TV show

Bewitched
Bewitched (1964)
GoodWatch score 75

TV show

Karen
Karen (1964)

TV show · as David Rowe III

Ben Casey
Ben Casey (1961)
GoodWatch score 65

TV show

1950s

1 title · average score 76
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke (1955)
GoodWatch score 76

TV show · as Gearshon Gorofsky