Richard DreyfussActor

New York Film Academy presented acting icon Richard Dreyfuss with an honorary degree at the Los Angeles campus in November 2011, following a screening of his Academy Award-winning film, The Goodbye Girl. He discussed his early years in theatre and how it trained him for his film career. He also described how he dealt with a once-flailing career, and how he dealt with fame, saying, “Celebrity is the stupidest thing on Earth. The only good thing is that you can get a table at a restaurant.” Dreyfuss gave inspiring answers to questions from acting students, saying, “If you’re going to devote yourself to this industry that can destroy you, you have to be proud of it, and you have to know why you’re doing it…. To show mankind a true picture of himself is hard, and embarrassing, and glorious.”