Robert Shaw brings weight and relish to men who expect to be obeyed. We value the humour as much as the threat, especially in Jaws, where his theatricality is both a pleasure and an occasional problem.
Fi1m perspective
Quint in Jaws (1975) looks as though he will be hard work for anyone obliged to spend time with him. Robert Shaw gives him a heavy presence, but also a relish that makes the prospect entertaining. We laughed at his friction with Brody and Hooper, because Shaw makes their differences funny without making the danger seem less serious. He lets us enjoy a difficult man without asking us to find him agreeable. This is where we like Shaw most: among actors who give him something to push against.
The threatening parts can make his film career look narrower than it was. His breakthrough was Red Grant in From Russia with Love (1963), but Henry VIII in A Man for All Seasons (1966) belongs in the picture too. Historical and literary roles sat alongside the tough men, even if the latter became his familiar employment. The early 1970s brought Doyle Lonnegan in The Sting (1973) and Mr. Blue in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974). These were substantial character parts, with menace central to their appeal.
Shaw also helped rewrite Quint's dialogue, though the performance is most persuasive when the exchanges stay simple. Steven Spielberg gives him a useful setting in Jaws: an ensemble in which the other actors offer something plainly different. Roy Scheider's Brody is determined to remain useful while frightened, and Richard Dreyfuss allows Hooper's competence to become slightly irritating. Shaw need not supply every joke or every reason for unease himself. The acting makes these people worth worrying about, which is a considerable part of why the thriller works.
There are moments when Shaw pushes too hard, particularly alongside Scheider, whose quieter work needs less emphasis. In Jaws, we find the simpler character moments more convincing than the stretches in which Quint becomes theatrical. The pleasure of watching Shaw does not make that excess disappear, though it does little damage to the suspense. Start here for the humour and the friction with his fellow actors, rather than expecting a shark hunter who knows when to stop performing.
Biography
Robert Archibald Shaw (9 August 1927 – 28 August 1978) was an English actor, novelist and playwright. Born in Westhoughton, Lancashire, he began his career on the stage after the Second World War, appearing with the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon and later with the Old Vic company in productions of Shakespeare plays.
Shaw achieved prominence in film with roles including Donald 'Red' Grant in From Russia with Love (1963), King Henry VIII in A Man for All Seasons (1966), Doyle Lonnegan in The Sting (1973) and Mr Blue in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974). He is best remembered for his performance as the shark hunter Quint in Jaws (1975). He was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for A Man for All Seasons. Shaw also wrote novels and plays, including The Hiding Place and The Man in the Glass Booth.
