“I Hold That Against…Steven”: Jaws Star Criticizes Steven Spielberg Following Feud Rumors

Jaws star Richard Dreyfuss addresses rumors about his reported feud on the Steven Spielberg classic, and the iconic director is catching some flak. Released in 1975, Jaws remains a seminal work in Spielberg’s career, following a group of three men, played by Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, and Roy Scheider, who hunt down a killer shark. Rumors have long circulated about the dynamic between Dreyfuss and the late Shaw on set, and their apparent feud would take center stage in The Shark Is Broken, a Broadway play cowritten by Ian Shaw, Robert’s son, about the making of the movie.

Now, 48 years after the release of Jaws, Dreyfuss comments on the apparent feud in a recent interview with Vanity Fair. The actor, who denies that there was any such rivalry, calls the experience of watching the play “pretty awful,” and laments that he was never consulted regarding his on-set experiences. Check out Dreyfuss’ comment below:

“Thirty years after the film is over, I start to hear this thing about a feud. I didn’t pay too much attention. I don’t think they just gave it any thought that it would hurt me, and it did. I have to say that [Jaws co-screenwriter Carl Gottlieb] and Steven knew better, knew that there was no feud.

“There was an ongoing kind of humor between us. If you only saw us on the set, then you might think that there was something—a feud that was going on—but it was never real. Never. And I hold that against Carl and Steven. I have enormous respect for Steven’s talent as a director. I guess I don’t have as much for his talent as a friend.”

What’s Been Said About Dreyfuss & Shaw’s Jaws Feud

The dynamic between Dreyfuss’ character, Hooper, and Shaw’s, Quint, is one of increasing antagonism throughout Jaws, with the opposing nature of the two characters contributing to a tense dynamic on the boat. In 2010, in the documentary Jaws: The Inside Story, Dreyfuss spoke about his time making the movie, declaring that the late Shaw, while kind in private, could be something of a menace on set.

Scheider, who passed away in 2008, would comment on the dynamic before his death, theorizing that Shaw didn’t take kindly to Dreyfuss’ relative inexperience and over-confidence as an actor. It’s also been well-documented that Shaw was a heavy drinker on the Jaws set, something that may have further contributed to a tense dynamic. One particular incident reportedly featured Dreyfuss swatting a glass of bourbon out of Shaw’s hand and into the ocean, with the latter star then soaking Dreyfuss with a hose in retaliation.

Spielberg would later comment on the supposed feud on the set of Jaws, stating that it may have ultimately helped their performances. The Shark is Broken debuted in 2019, adding further fuel to the fire, but Dreyfuss claims that it paints “as false a picture as I can possibly imagine.” Dreyfuss is currently the only one of the three stars who is still alive, and his most recent comments suggest that he is intent on setting the story straight about his time making the film.