Richard Dreyfuss JAWS 50th anniversary interview co-star surprise

An exclusive Richard Dreyfuss interview about JAWS (1975) was interrupted by one of his co-stars, leading to heartfelt reminiscences on filming the Steven Spielberg shark film classic and lifelong friendship.

When legendary Academy Award-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss sat down for an intimate look back at his iconic role as marine biologist Matt Hooper in JAWS, with the world’s number one Jaws fan site The Daily Jaws, fans were delighted to see it gate-crashed by another beloved face from Amity Island: Jeffrey Kramer, who played Deputy Hendricks in the original film and its follow-up JAWS 2 (1978).

Kramer, ever the mischievous spirit who has worked alongside John Lithgow and Chuck Norris and, wandered into the conversation mid-stream, jokingly toasting Dreyfuss.

“I knew you when we both had hair”, says Kramer whipping off his Amity PD cap. Richard goes on to explain how the two had already previously been friends, but this was the first time they had worked together and that Kramer was more of a native to the island than anyone else.

Although – depending on who you listen to and read – Dreyfuss and Shaw may not always have seen eye to eye, both attested there had never been an argument or disagreement between Dreyfuss and Kramer. At one point Kramer even says to Dreyfuss: “You are important in my life.”

It's also during this moment between two JAWS legends that Dreyfuss reveals that after Robert Shaw’s death from a fatal heart attack in 1978, just three years after the release of the film, that he has never felt such loss, ever.

At that point, Ross Williams from The Daily Jaws, who is on interviews duties, said: “This is why these conversations are so important, because there aren’t that many people from the JAWS cast and crew who are around who can talk about it at any great length.

Outside of their on-set tales, the actors’ friendship has played out in genuine life moments off screen. Kramer - who appears to have remained close to Dreyfuss since their Jaws days - revealed that the two performers and their families actually grew intertwined during the period around the film. Kramer recalled how both his and Dreyfuss’s children were born within just a day of each other, and that Dreyfuss even served as godfather to one of Kramer’s children.

Dreyfuss, who has returned to speaking about the film more in recent years, seemed genuinely delighted by the interruption and welcomed Kramer’s presence with open arms.

Their easy chemistry in the interview highlights how something as pivotal as JAWS can do more than define careers, it can also create lifelong friendships, neatly echoing the mantra of Mayor Vaughn, played by Murray Hamilton, who said: “Amity, as you know, means friendship.”

For these two, the filming location of Martha’s Vineyard and the extended filming time of JAWS, ballooning from 55 days to 159 days, certainly cemented that.

The full interview with Richard Dreyfuss, including Kramer’s unexpected cameo, has been released in two