A biography for Richard Dreyfusshasn’t been written yet.
“I'm nothing if not honest.”
“Power never turns power down, ever, unless institutionally demanded.”
“Happiness has a bad rap. People say it shouldn't be your goal in life. Oh, yes it should.”
“I think I'm turning into a libertarian. I'm not part of the gaggle of Hollywood liberals. I gaggle for no one, and I'm not a liberal. I'm libo-conservo-rado-middle-of-the-roado.”
“The rules are all wrong today. The mandate of the media really does pre-date the founding of the United States.”
“I have more fun and more grand and glorious moments of my life than anyone I've never known. I know that some people call that manic-depress, and that other people call that being touched by God. I just call myself lucky.”
“'Jaws' has turned into one of those films that when you see it on TV, you turn it on, and you can't turn it off. So, in that regard, I've seen it a million times. It's the only film I'm aware of that could be released now for the first time and have the same impact that it did then. You can't say that about a lot of movies.”
“I took the part in 'Mr. Holland's Opus' because no one had ever asked me to play 'a life' before. I get to age through 30 years. The idea really challenged me.”
“In my experience, it's usually up to the actor how a character is portrayed.”
“I didn't understand 3-D in the fifties and I can't say I get it now either. I just don't see what the big deal is.”
“Civics is not only how to run the country before it's your turn to run the country; it is, in fact, the study of power, practical political power. And you must start that process at an age level when kids' brains are still open and malleable.”
“It is an obvious and blatant stupidity beyond my ability to articulate how dumb it is for us not to teach our children how to run the government.”
“We need to get back to reasoning and thinking things through. The future generation is being brought up in greed and without a true understanding of civics. There is no more emphasis on knowledge and time. As a society we need to process ideas and understand what certain principles are based upon.”
“Let's give some substance to patriotism. It may take a generation.”
“We, all of us, are awakening to the reality that how men have behaved toward women for eons is not OK. The rules are changing invisibly underneath our feet. I am playing catch up. Maybe we all are.”
“When you Google me, you'll find a lot of people don't like Richard Dreyfuss. Because I'm cocky and I present a cocky attitude. But no one has ever disagreed with the notion I represent, that we need more civic education. So far there's 100 percent support for that.”
“I spoke so much about being a manic-depressive. I want to bring everyone back to my earliest memories of this companion of mine. Some people call this companion I have an ailment, or worse a terrible nightmare from which some people cannot awaken. I know that I have nothing to be ashamed of. I have nothing that should garner a stigma.”
“I lived by the motto, 'If you don't flirt, you die.' And flirt I did. I flirted with all women, be they actresses, producers, or 80-year-old grandmothers. I even flirted with those who were out of bounds, like the wives of some of my best friends, which especially revolts me.”
“Trump is an intemperate, mean-spirited, lying bully. If a man like that asked you for permission to marry your daughter, what would your answer be? If it's no, I think it's obvious we shouldn't give him the most powerful office on the face of the Earth.”
“'Jaws,' first time I saw it, I forgot I was in it. True. Totally forgot, and got as scared as everybody else, and it's a great movie.”