Over his 30-plus-year acting career, Roy Scheider has redefined America’s idea of a leading man, thanks to his talent for playing an urban everyman that audiences relate to and root for, despite his flaws and failures. He rose to fame in the early 1970s in the Oscar-winning films Klute and The French Connection (his first Oscar nomination). Roy garnered more critical acclaim in Jaws and Marathon Man, as well as a second Oscar nomination for All That Jazz.
Scheider’s life and career are chronicled in this work. Beginning with his childhood in New Jersey, which included a somewhat rocky relationship with his father and three bouts of rheumatic fever, it then traces his development from a community theater actor to a world-renowned movie star. It covers his most recent activities, including work in the Golden Globe–winning RKO 281, released in 2000, and the Shakespearean drama King of Texas, released in 2002. Includes a complete filmography.
