Roy Scheider lets capable men look worried, and makes them more engaging for it. We rate the quiet determination of Jaws especially highly; All That Jazz is the reason not to stop at his policemen.
Fi1m perspective
In Jaws (1975), Roy Scheider's Brody looks frightened and carries on trying to be useful. Scheider gives us enough worry to take the danger seriously, without making every exchange a demonstration of it. We were frightened with him because his efforts to remain practical never suggest that he feels safe. Steven Spielberg gets a performance that allows humour without relaxing the threat. Scheider's attention stays on getting through the immediate problem, which is enough to hold ours.
The breakthrough came in supporting parts in Klute (1971) and The French Connection (1971), the latter opposite Gene Hackman. Scheider's lean, angular presence suited crime films, but the toughness came with visible vulnerability. Jaws made him a star; leading roles in Sorcerer (1977) and Blue Thunder (1983) followed. There was an obvious use for an actor who could make authority convincing while leaving room for doubt.
That doubt matters in Jaws, where Richard Dreyfuss's Hooper has confidence to spare and Robert Shaw's Quint enjoys being the larger personality. Scheider's quieter playing gives both men something to work against. We find Shaw occasionally too theatrical beside him, just as the writing sometimes makes its points about authority and greed too plainly. Brody does not need that emphasis. Watching Scheider try to stay useful is more persuasive than being told who is behaving foolishly.
Sorcerer reunited him with William Friedkin, but All That Jazz (1979) made a different demand. As Joe Gideon, a fictionalised version of Bob Fosse, Scheider took on a leading role requiring musical performance as well as dramatic introspection. It is an important correction to any account that stops at cops and investigators. The familiar casting made sense, but it could also become a restriction.
His later work included supporting film parts and a television lead in seaQuest DSV (1993–1996). The risk with an actor this plausible in a job is that we stop noticing the acting. Begin with Jaws, then try All That Jazz before deciding that the worried professional was all he had to offer.
Biography
Roy Scheider was an American actor. He was born on 10 November 1932 in Orange, New Jersey, and died on 10 February 2008 in Little Rock, Arkansas.
He studied at Rutgers University and Franklin and Marshall College, and began his career in theatre, including work with the New York Shakespeare Festival. Scheider gained prominence in the 1970s with roles in The French Connection (1971) and Klute (1971). He is best known for playing Police Chief Martin Brody in Jaws (1975) and its 1978 sequel, as well as Joe Gideon in All That Jazz (1979). He received Academy Award nominations for his performances in The French Connection and All That Jazz. Later credits include Marathon Man (1976), 2010 (1984) and the television series seaQuest DSV (1993–1996), in which he played Captain Nathan Bridger.
