Richard Dreyfuss

Richard Dreyfuss is perhaps best known for his screen work in Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Mr. Holland’s Opus, and The Goodbye Girl, for which he won an Oscar. His new movie, Suburban Girl, opens in May. Away from the screen, Dreyfuss has long been an activist for peace, civil liberties, and the need for citizen involvement in government and politics. He has lectured widely about civics and politics and is on the Board of Directors of the ACLU’s Los Angeles branch. At the 92nd Street Y, he talks with journalist Michael Kramer about the responsibilities of citizens in a democratic society, whether civic roles need to be formally taught, and what happens when civic activism declines. Kramer is a former political correspondent for Time magazine and a former political editor of New York magazine.