Roy Scheider: The most underrated movie star of the '70s

Roy Scheider

As I've said over and over again, my all-time favorite era of movies is the 1970s.

It's the decade that some of my biggest cinematic heroes did some of their most daring work and it was a period where artistic and commercial film-making really did coincide, with studio approval to boot.

This second golden age Hollywood, albeit a more cynical and darker one, produced some legendary movie stars: Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman, Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman are just a few of the illustrious names who did some of their best work in the so-called "Me decade".

However, Roy Scheider's name is often totally overlooked when film geeks recall their favorite stars of that time. Unlike actors such as Elliot Gould, who have been rediscovered and newly appreciated by hipsters, Scheider's still not given the credit he deserves.

He gave stellar performances in five of the best films of the decade and this two-time Academy Award nominated leading man was responsible for one of the greatest lines in movie history from 1975's blockbuster Jaws (which I've at least heard was ad-libbed): "You're gonna need a bigger boat."

Why has Scheider always been so underrated? He was such a relaxed and subtle performer, that he doesn't have the showy tics of some of his method actor colleagues. His roles were weaker after the '70s, with his most memorable late career part being the lead in the short-lived sci-fi TV series SeaQuest. Like most '70s leading men, he didn't fit conventional standards of male beauty -- although I've always thought his busted nose (a result of an amateur boxing career) gave his face incredible character and charm.

Understandably, for most audiences, he is and will always be Sheriff Martin Brody from Jaws. It was his biggest and most enduring hit movie, and make no mistake about it, he's terrific in it. But he was solid in a number of great films.

The French Connection (1971): Scheider was nominated for a best supporting actor Oscar for his breakout role opposite Gene Hackman as New York City detectives obsessed with bringing down a French-U.S. drug trade operation. As the more humane member of the duo, Scheider is a useful counterpoint to Hackman's borderline deranged lead character. Their chemistry is what makes the movie work as more than just a typical police melodrama.

Jaws (1975): This was the movie that made Scheider a star and an icon. He had the least showy of the three lead roles. Robert Shaw's Quint got to chew the scenery and Richard Dreyfuss' Hooper gets all the wisecracks, but Scheider has to function as the audience surrogate for much of the film. As the nervous and water-wary Sheriff Brody, Scheider has the real arc on screen. When he summons the courage to take on the killer shark it's a moment of triumph for him as an actor and for audiences.

Roy Scheider in All That Jazz

Marathon Man (1976):  This is Dustin Hoffman's movie but Roy Scheider dominates the first third as his cool and charismatic brother, who is really a secret agent going after a neo-Nazi (played by an unforgettable Laurence Olivier). Scheider was a strikingly fit and masculine actor who could really sell an action scene as the work of the actor and not a stunt man. One of the great thrillers of the decade.

Sorcerer (1977): William Friedkin's big budget remake of the French thriller Wages of Fear flopped when it first came out (it opened opposite Star Wars) but has since grown in esteem and remains the director's personal favorite. Scheider is the lone American star of an international cast playing shady characters who are in an unnamed Latin country signing up for a likely suicide mission -- delivering explosive nitroglycerin through treacherous terrain. Visually incredible movie-making, with Scheider's tense presence holding it together.

All That Jazz (1979): Scheider scored another Oscar nomination, this time for a leading role, as the surrogate for Bob Fosse in this elaborate musical/biopic. It's excessive, sexy, self-indulgent and magnificent, with many filmmakers calling it the last truly great musical Hollywood ever made. Scheider plays the boozing, womanizing choreographer/director Joe Gideon to the hilt, showing unexpected range and grace in this endlessly creative film.