Some years back I was watching the extras on the Jaws (1975) DVD, and in an overview of the franchise lead actor Roy Scheider stated that he stopped after the second one because he wanted to be known for more than just Jaws. Yet every obit about him mentions Jaws, his memorable line, “We’re gonna need a bigger boat,”and not much more, which is odd considering he had a career that spanned over forty years and was twice nominated for an Oscar, Best Supporting Actor for The French Connection (1971) and Best Actor for All That Jazz (1979).
Some of his other career highlights include playing a pimp in the thriller Klute (1971), an assassin in The Marathon Man (1976), rouge cop in the cheesey Blue Thunder (1983), scientist in 2010 (1984), and starred in the hit TV show SeaQuest DSV for two seasons. And that’s just a quick overview. He made many TV appearances and was working on film projects right up to his death. Roy Scheider was much, much more than just that guy from Jaws.
