American actor Richard Dreyfuss was born on this day in 1947. Dreyfuss began his acting career with small roles in US TV shows as well as theatre work in the mid 1960s. His first big screen appearance was an uncredited one line part in ‘The Graduate’ (1967).

In ‘American Graffiti’ (1973) he acted alongside other future stars including Harrison Ford and Ron Howard before landing his first leading role in ‘The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz’ (1974). He went on to star in the Steven Spielberg blockbusters ‘Jaws’ (1975) and ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ (1977). Dreyfuss became, at the time, the youngest actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of a struggling actor in ‘The Goodbye Girl’ (1977). Other notable film credits include ‘Down and Out in Beverly Hills’ (1986), ‘Stand by Me’ (1986), ‘Tin Men’ (1987), ‘Stakeout’ (1987), ‘Lost in Yonkers’ (1993), ‘Mr Holland’s Opus’ (1995), ‘W’ (2008), ‘Astronaut’ (2019), ‘Save Christmas’ (2022) and ‘Sweetwater’ (2023). Happy Birthday Richard.