Biography: Richard Dreyfuss is among the leading actors of the American cinema. His role as the teacher in "Mr. Holland's Opus" earned him Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor. He still holds the distinction of being the youngest actor to win an Academy Award in the category of Best Actor, for "The Goodbye Girl" (1977) at age 29. Three of his movies rank in the American Film Institute's list of the 100 Greatest Films.

Dreyfuss made his motion picture debut in 1967 with a bit part in "Valley of the Dolls," followed by one line in "The Graduate." Then, several films later, in 1973, he starred in "American Graffiti," which earned him both praise and attention. This was followed by performances in "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz," "Jaws," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "The Goodbye Girl."

He appeared in a string of acclaimed movies during the 1980s, including "Down and Out in Beverly Hills," "Tin Men" and "Stakeout." In addition to "Mr. Holland's Opus," his films in the 1990s range from Sidney Lumet's "Night Falls on Manhattan" to the comedy "What About Bob?" He also had a cameo role in "The American President," for his childhood friend Rob Reiner.

Dreyfuss has performed on stage in the Broadway production of "Death and the Maiden," with Glenn Close and Gene Hackman, and in "Three Hotels" at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. He also directed "Hamlet" for the Birmingham Theatre Company at the Old Rep in England, marking his debut as a director. He is a charter member of the Los Angeles Theatre Works, a radio ensemble company. He recently starred as Mark Anthony in the BBC Radio/KCRW production of "Julius Caesar" and as Benedict Arnold in "An American General," as well as in George Bernard Shaw's "The Devil's Disciple" in Washington, D.C. He received a Grammy Award nomination for a recording of "The Prisoner of Second Avenue," made with Marsha Mason in London's Haymarket Theatre.

Dreyfuss will soon be seen in the Showtime film "The Day Reagan Was Shot." He recently appeared in the live CBS production of "Fail Safe," the HBO film "Lansky" and the feature film "The Crew." He has just completed shooting the film "The Old Man Who Read Love Stories," directed by Rolf de Heer, in French Guyana. Dreyfuss received the 2000 Lifetime Achievement Award at the Hollywood Film Festival.

Dreyfuss was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and moved to Los Angeles with his parents when he was 8. He has three children, Emily, Benjamin and Harry, and lives in Los Angeles and New York with his wife, Janelle. His birth date is Oct. 29.

Television Credits:
The Education Of Max Bickford as Max Bickford
The New Dick Van Dyke Show as Tony Injijikian in episode "(Name Unknown)" (original airdate: 12/17/1973)
A Touch of Grace as Donald in episode: "The Accident" (original airdate: 04/14/1973)
Gunsmoke as Gearshon Gorofsky in episode: "This Golden Land" (original airdate: 03/05/1973)
The Mod Squad as Caleb Dunne in episode: "Night Holds Terror, The" 2/15/1973
The Young Lawyers as Mike Chester in episode: "Down at the House of Truth, Visiting" (episode # 1.21) 3/3/1971
Room 222" (1969) playing "Stan Siebert" in episode: "Valedictorian, The" 12/2/1970
Bold Ones: The New Doctors, The" (1969) playing "Dr. Tolliver" in episode: "No Harm to the Patient" 11/15/1970
Mod Squad, The" (1968) playing "Curtis Bell" in episode: "Mother of Sorrow" 2/17/1970
New People, The" (1969) playing "Owen Rudd" in episode: "Panic in the Sand" (episode # 1.1) 9/29/1969
Ghost & Mrs. Muir, The" (1968) playing "Mark Finlay-editor of the Schooner Bay Beacon" in episode: "Buried on Page One" 2/15/1969
Felony Squad" (1966) playing "Herbie Aroon" in episode: "Last Man in the World, The" 1/3/1969
"Judd, for the Defense" (1967) playing "Larry Corning" in episode: "Weep The Hunther Home" 11/8/1968
The Second Hundred Years as Ben, Jr. (original airdate: 11/22/1967)
Please Don't Eat the Daisies" (1965) in episode: "My Son, the Actor" (episode # 2.10) 11/19/1967
Hey, Landlord" (1966) playing "Harold" in episode: "Testing, One Two" (episode # 1.27) 3/26/1967
Hey, Landlord" (1966) playing "Warren" in episode: "Big Brother is Watching You" (episode # 1.24) 3/5/1967
Big Valley, The" (1965) playing "Lud Akley" in episode: "Boy Into Man" (episode # 2.18) 1/16/1967
"Bewitched" (1964) playing "Rodney" in episode: "Man's Best Friend" (episode # 2.34) 5/12/1966
"Gidget" (1965) playing "'Durf The Drag'" in episode: "Ego-a-Go-Go" (episode # 1.20) 1/27/1966
"Occasional Wife" (1966) in episode: "Fair Play For Gypsies" 1/17/1966
Ben Casey" (1961) in episode: "Francini? Who Is Francini?" (episode # 5.7) 10/25/1965
Karen as David Rowe III (1964)