Steven Spielberg Had Trouble Casting One Jaws Actor & It Almost Led to a Fistfight
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The iconic thriller Jaws did for the ocean what Psycho (1960) did for showers: No one wanted to go in them after seeing these films! In 1975, director Steven Spielberg’s terrifying blockbuster descended onto an unsuspecting moviegoing public, and it became one of the most memorable horror films of all time. Going up against the great white shark are a trio of unlikely heroes: Brody (Roy Scheider), Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and Quint (Robert Shaw). However, casting Quint wasn’t a slam dunk. And that choice had repercussions which almost led to fisticuffs on the set.
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According to an interview with Vanity Fair, Spielberg wanted Hollywood veteran Lee Marvin (The Dirty Dozen, Cat Ballou, Donovan’s Reef) to play the team’s shark hunter. But, in the end, Spielberg hired Robert Shaw to tackle the eccentric personality. Spielberg told Vanity Fair:
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“There were other actors who wanted to play Quint, and then Dick Zanuck and David Brown suggested Robert Shaw — they had just worked with him in The Sting [1973], which they produced, and loved him. I’d just screened two films with Shaw to refresh my memory, including A Man for All Seasons [1966], in which he was spectacular. Based on that, and of course on From Russia with Love [1963] — with that great fight on a train where he played the nemesis to 007 — I said, ‘Wow . . . I wish I had thought of him! It’s a great idea!’ He fortunately said yes.”
Spielberg’s film adaptation of author Peter Benchley’s 1974 novel became the first of many summer blockbusters to grace the Silver Screen over the following decades. Jaws made $260 million domestically during its original theatrical release. And adjusted for inflation, that figure balloons to a whopping $1.5 billion in 2023.
Casting Robert Shaw in Jaws Almost Led to a Fist Fight
Jaws continues to resonate with fans and critics nearly 50 years after it debuted in cinemas. Steven Spielberg hired James Bond alumnus Robert Shaw to portray Quint in the film, but the actor almost traded blows with one of the men who recommended him for the part, producer Richard D. Zanuck (The Verdict, Driving Miss Daisy, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). And the altercation almost happened after Shaw lost a game of table tennis. Spielberg said in the same interview with Vanity Fair:
“Dick Zanuck and Robert Shaw would play ping-pong together, and one day, when Dick won, Shaw challenged him to a fistfight which was quickly defused by others. If Shaw had gotten a black eye, that would definitely have put us further behind schedule!”
In addition to originating and popularizing summer blockbusters, and making a killing in the United States, Jaws became a worldwide phenomenon when it hit theaters in June of 1975. The film took home a total of $476.5 million globally. And adjusted for inflation, that would be $2.7 billion today. Jaws remains one of the many classics on Spielberg’s hugely impressive back catlog.
