An Actor FOR ALL SEASONS

A NEW BIOGRAPHY SHARES THE LIFE OF THE JAWS ACTOR

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In the summer of 1975, movie lovers became afraid of the ocean thanks to Jaws, a film about a small beach community plagued by a ravenous Great White. The adventure-thriller became one of the first summer blockbusters and the highest-grossing film of the year.

Robert Shaw, an English actor and writer, became an international star as ill-tempered shark hunter Quint in the movie. From the start, he recognized the brilliance of Jaws director Steven Spielberg, who employed the shark's point-of-view to build up suspense. "When Spielberg directed that movie, he was just 26 years old," Christopher Shaw Myers, whose biography Robert Shaw: An Actor's Life on the Set of Jaws and Beyond was released May 27, tells Closer. "He had not done anything major at that point, but Robert considered him a genius and said so even back then." The actor also had a good rapport with Richard Dreyfuss, who played brainy oceanographer Matt Hooper. Robert "was constantly needling" Richard on the set to build tension between their characters, says Myers, but he "really liked him a lot. They became very good friends that summer despite their difference in age."

LARGER THAN LIFE