Steven Spielberg shares ‘interesting story’ of how Roy Scheider was cast in JAWS

When it comes to his classic 1975 summer blockbuster Jaws, Steven Spielberg shared stories about how his cast came together Roy Scheider, Richard DreyfussAND Robert Shaw. We’ve shared the stories of Dreyfuss and Shaw before, but now let’s talk about how Scheider landed the role of Chief Brody. During an interview with Vanity Fair, Spielberg said:

“How I cast Roy Scheider is an interesting story. I was going to a whole series of actors, most of them unknown. There was an actor I liked from Serpico [1973]- it wasn’t Al Pacino – as well as another one I had seen in an off-Broadway play. But the studio, Zanuck and Brown were lobbying me to get a name for this part. I was having trouble finding someone I liked.

Then Spielberg met Schieder at a party and Schieder practically offered himself for the role, which was perfectly fine with Spielberg! As Spielberg says:

“Then, I remember going to a party one night, and Roy Scheider, who I loved for The French Connection, came and sat next to me and said, ‘You look awfully depressed.’ I told him, ‘Oh no, I’m not depressed. I’m just having trouble casting my film.’ He asked me what the film was: I explained that it was based on a novel called Jaws and I told him the whole plot. Finally, Roy said, ‘Wow, that’s a great story! What about me?’ I looked at him and said, ‘Yeah, what about you? You’d make a great Chief Brody!’”

Spielberg’s problems choosing the character were then resolved and Schieder jumped on board the film and gave a fantastic performance. He was really perfect in that role. With the cast ready to go, Spielberg could go ahead with producing him, and what awaited him were many crazy obstacles that he would have to face.

But hey! The casting was perfect!