RIP Roy Scheider

ROY SCHEIDER, 1932-2008

In a sad case of irony, the day after I started Gonna Need a Bigger Boat, the man who uttered its namesake on the big screen passed away. With all due respect to the recently deceased Heath Ledger and Brad Renfro, I think that Roy Scheider’s legacy may shine brighter in the long run. As I stated in my introductory post (below) for this blog, “Jaws” has always been my favorite film. As a child, I watched that damn thing countless times. I still fear the ocean (maybe I would have been afraid of the ocean anyway, who knows). “Jaws” works as a great movie for many reasons, but Roy Scheider’s everyman Chief Brody was one of the key ingredients to the mix. Brody was us. In that unbeatable second hour of the film where the three men fight their epic battle against the shark, each character symbolizes different ways to face the odds. You have grizzled experience and killer instinct, the modernday Ahab, in Quint (Robert Shaw). Then you have science, technology and the power of intellect with Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss). Both were great and memorable characters, but not too relatable for most of us. But Scheider’s Brody was the Everyman, he was us out there aboard The Orca battling with the ultimate killing machine on its turf. “We’re gonna need a bigger boat, right?” Hell yeah. Quint’s expertise failed, Hooper’s science failed. It is Brody’s triumph at the end, the Everyman's ability to adapt and emerge victorious through force of will, which represents triumph for us all.

Scheider often played the Everyman. In some of his most memorable roles, we could see ourselves in that situation and reacting in the same way. Brody was his signature role, but check out his great performance in “The French Connection” as Gene Hackman’s more grounded partner (Scheider earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination for the role). Or even in the pedestrian “2010” (a sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece “2001”), where Scheider takes average material and makes it intriguing through his investment in the role. Unfortunately, he worked with subpar material for many of his roles (especially later in life, you can probably skip “Dracula III: Legacy”). I was pleased to read in his New York Times obituary that he had a parallel career acting on the stage, and even when he was appearing in B-movies in the 90’s and 00’s, he was winning awards for his stage work. I do not mean to characterize his film career as a failure. “Jaws”, “The French Connection”, “All That Jazz” (for which he was nominated for Best Actor); even genial 80’s action flicks like “Blue Thunder”…Scheider had an enviable career by most standards. But I have always felt there could have been more. He had the talent for it. What would have happened had he been able to accept the leading role that he was offered in “The Deer Hunter”? (Robert De Niro’s role was first offered to Scheider, who had to turn it down due to his contractual obligation to film “Jaws 2”).

Roy Scheider has always been a favorite of mine. An actor with great range and devotion to the craft, and by all accounts a good guy. He’s one of those actors I thought could have used a Quentin Tarantino make-over (a la Travolta and Willis in “Pulp Fiction”). I’d like to say “thank you” to Roy for giving me so much joy over the years through his performances. RIP Chief Brody.

Check out these Roy Scheider flicks…

“Jaws”
“Jaws 2” (serviceable sequel, but Scheider was great in it)
“The French Connection”
“All That Jazz”
“Sorcerer” (an interesting, if inferior, American remake of the French classic “Wages of Fear”)
“Blue Thunder” (cheesy 80’s action flick, but fun nostalgia)
“Marathon Man”