Podtalk: Richard Dreyfuss of ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’

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CHICAGO – The 40th anniversary edition of ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind,’ directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Richard Dreyfuss, is in a limited run in theaters now. What better time to resurrect a 2009 HollywoodChicago.com interview with Dreyfuss, and publish it as a podcast talk.

Richard Dreyfuss, Chicago, 2009
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

At the time Dreyfuss did “Close Encounters” he was on an hot streak, preceded by “Jaws” (1974) and culminating in “The Goodbye Girl” (1977), and became the youngest Best Actor Oscar winner for “Goodbye” (at age 30). With a career that began in 1964, he also had prominent roles in “American Graffiti” (1973), “Stand by Me” (1986), “What About Bob” (1991) and “Mr. Holland’s Opus” (1995). More recently, he portrayed Bernie Madoff in the TV mini-series “Madoff” (2016) and has four films in production or currently unreleased. The 2009 interview took place at the Hollywood Palms Cinema in Naperville, Ill.

In the following podcast interview, Richard Dreyfuss talks about his activism, portraying “villains” like Dick Cheney in “W.,” and a surprising story (even though “I really don’t catalog my mind like that.”) about the film “Always” (1989).

By PATRICK McDONALD Writer, Editorial Coordinator HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com