Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Bewitched | Rodney | TV series 1 episode |
| 1967 | Valley of the Dolls | Assistant stage manager | Uncredited |
| 1967 | The Graduate | Boarding House Resident | Uncredited |
| 1967 | The Big Valley | Lud Akley | |
| 1968 | The Young Runaways | Terry | |
| 1969 | Hello Down There | Harold Webster | |
| 1973 | American Graffiti | Curt Henderson | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |
| 1973 | Dillinger | Baby Face Nelson | |
| 1974 | The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz | Duddy | |
| 1974 | The Second Coming of Suzanne | Clavius | |
| 1974 | Inserts | Boy Wonder | |
| 1975 | Jaws | Matt Hooper | Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role |
| 1976 | Victory at Entebbe | Colonel Yonatan 'Yonni' Netanyahu | |
| 1977 | Close Encounters of the Third Kind | Roy Neary | Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Actor |
| 1977 | The Goodbye Girl | Elliott Garfield | Academy Award for Best Actor BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actor Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor |
| 1978 | The Big Fix | Moses Wine | Also producer |
| 1980 | The Competition | Paul Dietrich | |
| 1981 | Whose Life Is It Anyway? | Ken Harrison | |
| 1984 | The Buddy System | Joe | |
| 1986 | Down and Out in Beverly Hills | David 'Dave' Whiteman | |
| 1986 | Stand by Me | Narrator/Gordie LaChance (adult) | |
| 1987 | Tin Men | Bill 'BB' Babowsky | |
| 1987 | Stakeout | Det. Chris Lecce | |
| 1987 | Nuts | Aaron Levinsky | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture |
| 1988 | Moon Over Parador | Jack Noah/President Alphonse Simms | |
| 1989 | Let It Ride | Jay Trotter | |
| 1989 | Always | Pete Sandich | |
| 1990 | Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead | The Player | |
| 1990 | Postcards from the Edge | Doctor Frankenthal | |
| 1991 | Once Around | Sam Sharpe | Also co-producer |
| 1991 | Prisoner of Honor | Col. Picquart | television film; also producer |
| 1991 | What About Bob? | Dr. Leo Marvin | |
| 1993 | Lost in Yonkers | Louie Kurnitz | |
| 1993 | Another Stakeout | Detective Chris Lecce | |
| 1994 | Silent Fall | Dr. Jake Rainer | |
| 1995 | The Last Word | Larry | |
| 1995 | The American President | Senator Bob Rumson | |
| 1995 | Mr. Holland's Opus | Glenn Holland | Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama |
| 1996 | James and the Giant Peach | Centipede (voice) | |
| 1996 | Mad Dog Time | Vic | |
| 1997 | Night Falls on Manhattan | Sam Vigoda | |
| 1997 | Oliver Twist | Fagin | television film; also producer |
| 1998 | Krippendorf's Tribe | Prof. James Krippendorf | |
| 1999 | Lansky | Meyer Lansky | |
| 2000 | The Crew | Bobby Bartellemeo/Narrator | |
| 2001 | The Old Man Who Read Love Stories | Antonio Bolivar | Nominated — Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Actor |
| 2001 | Who Is Cletis Tout? | Micah Donnelly | |
| 2001 | The Education of Max Bickford | Max Bickford | TV series; also producer Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series |
| 2001 | The Day Reagan Was Shot | Alexander Haig | television film Satellite Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie |
| 2003 | Coast to Coast | Barnaby Pierce | |
| 2004 | Silver City | Chuck Raven | |
| 2006 | Poseidon | Richard Nelson | |
| 2007 | Tin Man | Mystic Man | TV miniseries |
| 2007 | Ocean of Fear | Narrator | |
| 2008 | Signs of the Time | Narrator | |
| 2008 | W. | Dick Cheney | |
| 2008 | America Betrayed | Narrator | |
| 2009 | My Life in Ruins | Irv | |
| 2009 | Leaves of Grass | Pug Rothbaum | |
| 2009 | The Lightkeepers | Seth | Also executive producer |
| 2010 | Piranha 3-D | Matthew Boyd | Cameo |
| 2010 | Red | Alexander Dunning | |
| 2012 | Coma | Professor Hillside | Television miniseries |
| 2013 | Very Good Girls | Danny, Gerry's father | Post-production |
Read more about this topic: Richard Dreyfuss