Is a Civil War re-enactor.
Lives in San Diego, California.
Made his feature film debut in Valley of the Dolls (1967).
One of six actors to appear in films directed by both George Lucas and Steven Spielberg (the others are Harrison Ford, Liam Neeson, Christopher Lee, Richard Dreyfuss and Samuel L. Jackson). Richard Dreyfuss is the only one whose films weren't part of the "Star Wars" or "Indiana Jones" series.
Passed on two sequels from films he made in the early/mid seventies: "American Graffiti" and "Jaws"... the sequels being "More American Graffiti" and "Jaws 2", both which came out in the late seventies. In each sequel his character is briefly mentioned as being away in a region with a cold climate... his "American Graffiti" character "Curt" is in Canada and his "Jaws" character "Hooper" is on an expedition in Alaska. In both sequels most of the original cast has returned to reprise their roles. Also, each original film was directed by two groundbreaking filmmakers, George Lucas and Steven Speilberg (both making their mark in the industry); and both sequels were directed by another director.
Ranked #81 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]
Son of Geraldine Dreyfuss.
Suffered a well-publicized drug problem in the early 1980s.
Treated for infection in right lung in a NYC hospital, April-May 2002.
Twice in his career he has left high profile musical productions due to his inabilty to cope with the physical demands of his roles. The first was in 1978 during pre-production of All That Jazz and most recently with the West End production of The Producers.
Uncle of Justin Dreyfuss
Was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War.
Was married to Svetlana Erokhin in Harrisonburg, Virginia while in town for a speaking engagement at James Madison Univeristy.
Was once played by Darrell Hammond in a skit on "Saturday Night Live" (1975). Hammond played Dreyfuss auditioning to play C-3PO in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977).
Was originally cast in the role of Joe Gideon in All That Jazz (1979), but left the production during the rehearsal stage.
Went to the same High School as Angelina Jolie, Michael Klesic, Nicolas Cage, David Schwimmer, Lenny Kravitz, Corbin Bernsen and Gina Gershon.
While filming Moon Over Parador in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1987, he stayed at the world-famous Copacabana Palace Hotel.