Roy Scheider is a highly versatile actor whose film career stretches from the landmark era of 1970s Hollywood to contemporary independent and studio films. He has received two Academy Award® nominations: for Best Actor in Bob Fosse's All That Jazz and for Best Supporting Actor in William Friedkin's The French Connection. Scheider is probably best known for his role as the police chief in Steven Spielberg's blockbuster Jaws.

Scheider's recent films include the HBO telefilm RKO 281, Francis Ford Coppola's The Rainmaker, and Bart Freundlich's The Myth of Fingerprints, which garnered him an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Other notable films include Alan Pakula's Klute; Philip D'Antoni's The Seven-Ups; John Schlesinger's Marathon Man; Robert Benton's Still of the Night; John Badham's Blue Thunder; John Frankenheimer's 52 Pick-Up; David Cronenberg's Naked Lunch; and Peter Medak's Romeo is Bleeding. Scheider also starred in the television series "SeaQuest DSV," executive produced by Steven Spielberg.

Scheider began acting as college student, and his performances in student productions led to his being cast by Joseph Papp in the New York Shakespeare Festival's 1961 production of "Romeo and Juliet." Scheider went on to became a member of the Lincoln Center Repertory Company and appeared in productions for the American Shakespeare Festival and the American Repertory Company, among others. Shifting to Off-Broadway productions, he earned an Obie Award in 1968 for his performance in "Stephen D." In 1980, he starred on Broadway in Harold Pinter's "Betrayal," winning the prestigious Drama League of New York Award for Most Distinguished Performance.