ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 26, 1996 TAG: 9601260023
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JAMES RYAN N.Y. TIMES NEWS SERVICE
The last time Richard Dreyfuss was anybody's choice for best actor, Jimmy Carter was wearing sweaters in the White House and John Travolta, a rising newcomer, was wearing tight pants in the movie ``Grease.''
The acclaim for Dreyfuss was over his portrayal of a struggling actor in ``The Goodbye Girl,'' a performance that won him the Oscar in 1978. In those years he was at the top of everyone's A-list, winning raves for his work in such 70s hits as ``American Graffiti,'' ``Jaws'' and ``Close Encounters of the Third Kind.''
But that was then. That was before his profile practically slipped under the horizon and, except for a brief comeback 10 years ago in ``Down and Out in Beverly Hills,'' pretty much remained there.
So last month more than a few eyebrows in Los Angeles arched toward the ceiling at the news that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association had nominated Richard Dreyfuss for the Golden Globe for best dramatic actor of 1995 (he didn't win).
What got the press group's attention was Dreyfuss's role as a music teacher in ``Mr. Holland's Opus,'' now playing at Salem Valley 8. In addition, he has crept back into public consciousness with a small, showy part in ``The American President'' (playing at the Grandin Theatre).
``Mr. Holland's Opus'' marks the first time Dreyfuss has been given a chance to carry a movie since ``Moon Over Parador.''
Dreyfuss's stock in trade had been making vain, pompous, overbearing, whiny or supercilious characters (think ``The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz,'' ``Tin Men,'' ``Close Encounters'') seem not only heroic but likable.
An increasing segment of the moviegoing audience, however, found Dreyfuss's characterizations less and less enchanting.
He also developed a reputation as a difficult interview subject, and began crashing his car under the influence of drugs and alcohol. A 1981 profile of the actor observed that ``as the accolades piled up, so did the unfavorable stories about his brash personality and frequently manic behavior.''
Though he admits to a healthy quotient of ``intellectual arrogance'' in his youth, Dreyfuss these days - at least in an interview - comes off as self-deprecating, curious and keenly interested in talking about any subject other than himself.
His interest in national affairs and Middle Eastern politics dovetails with another facet of his life, his producing partnership with Judith Rutherford James. Dreyfuss/James Productions was the executive producer of the movies ``Quiz Show'' and ``Once Around'' and the recent TNT movie ``Kissinger and Nixon.''
``His personality is imprinted on everything he does,'' says actor James Woods, who has been his friend for 20 years. ``He's very vocal, very opinionated, very intellectual and very committed. That can rub some people the wrong way.''
Dreyfuss is the first to acknowledge that many people think he is annoying as an actor. But he blames that on the sort of roles he has played.
As Dreyfuss's popularity sagged, so did his self-esteem. The 48-year-old actor went through a severe personal and professional crisis three years ago, experiencing a level of self-doubt and creative frustration his characters have rarely dealt with. His marriage collapsed around the same time.
``I felt, who wants me?'' recalls Dreyfuss.
Born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens and Beverly Hills, Dreyfuss found that ambition and a passion for acting were the two pillars of his life. When they disappeared, he says, ``it was scary and lonely, as if I had lost a friend. I didn't know who to talk to about it.''
With his role in ``Mr. Holland's Opus,'' he gets the chance to play a young man much like himself in the 1960s and in the process to try to tap into a reservoir of audience good will.
``This movie will serve as a reminder of how brilliant he is,'' says Sharon Bialy, the casting director on ``Mr. Holland's Opus.'' ``It will put him back on everybody's A-list.''
While some reviewers have dismissed the film as ``schmaltz,'' most have praised Dreyfuss's performance.
The actor says it was not until last spring that he was able to pull himself out of his creative malaise by appearing in the play ``Three Hotels'' opposite Christine Lahti at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.
``That play saved my life,'' Dreyfuss says. ``I remember walking off stage after the first preview and telling Christine, that's the first time in four years I've enjoyed my work.''
Dreyfuss says he took the role in "Mr. Holland's Opus" because ``nobody had ever asked me to play an entire life before.''
The movie ranges from 1965 to the present. Over that period, Holland sacrifices career and ambition to serve his students and to devote more time and energy to his family, including a deaf son.
``I always play characters from real life,'' Dreyfuss says. ``You know your limitations. I'm not going to go running over cars, jumping onto horses, throwing myself through glass doors 26 floors up. I'm going to do what I do.''
Glenne Headly, who plays his wife, was a schoolgirl when Dreyfuss appeared in ``American Graffiti'' and ``Jaws'' and admits she was ``a little worried'' about the age difference. ``The first time I saw him with his hair dyed, I said, `Wow, brown hair really does something for you.' ''
Topics of conversation with Dreyfuss veer from the latest wireless laptop modems to the death of Yitzhak Rabin.
``It was a surprisingly deep blow,'' says the actor, who attended a vigil at the Israeli Consulate later that day.
Lately, Dreyfuss has been thinking a lot about his own mortality. He has had three near-fatal car crashes. Though not religious, he now says he has ``had too many inadvertent conversations with God in cars.''
Until his turn as the mudslinging conservative candidate in ``The American President,'' he had not portrayed anything remotely resembling a villain on screen.
He admits to being surprised at his newfound desire to play ``an out-and-out villain.''
Like his character in ``Mr. Holland's Opus,'' Dreyfuss is ready to take stock of his life. ``My opus is my body of work,'' he says. ``When I stop doing this, I want to look back and say, `I have a good body of work.' So far I have a pretty good list.''
LENGTH: Long : 120 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. Richard Dreyfuss won an Oscar for his role in theby CNB1977 movie
``The Goodbye Girl'' with Marsha Mason (above). B&W. 2. The actor
was nominated
for a Golden Globe for his work in ``Mr. Holland's Opus'' (right).
color. 3.
Dreyfuss plays a high-school teacher in ``Mr. Holland's Opus.''
B&W.