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Oscar-nominated actor Roy Scheider, 68, will visit St. Mary's College, Notre Dame, this month for a special screening of "All That Jazz."
20th Century Fox plans to release a newly restored version of the 1979 film later this year. The studio will send a film crew to St. Mary's to record a question-and-answer session Scheider will hold with the audience after the screening.
In a phone interview Thursday from his New York residence, Scheider, originally from Maplewood, N.J., said his interest in acting started "very, very late," when he was in college in Pennsylvania. Once he discovered the theater, Scheider "lived" for the next 3-1/2 years in the college theater and then spent the next 10 to 15 years acting in plays off and on Broadway.
His first movie role was in 1971 in "The French Connection," in which he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar.
Scheider earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his portrayal of a character based on legendary choreographer and director Bob Fosse in "All That Jazz." He said he wanted the role "because it's a great part. I read the script and asked my agent to get me an interview" with Bob Fosse.
Recently, Scheider just finished "The Good War," which will be shown at the Cannes Film Festival in May. In the spring, the mini-series "The Diamond Hunters" will be shown on network television, in which he has a role.
Scheider is perhaps best known as the star of "Jaws" and was also in Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey."
Scheider and "All That Jazz" are coming to St. Mary's thanks to the efforts of renowned New York City playwright Joe Pintauro, the first recipient of the Margaret M. Hill Endowed Chair in Theater, a $1 million endowment intended to bring in artists of national stature.
The screening of "All That Jazz" is Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. in O'Laughlin Auditorium. Scheider's discussion with the audience immediately follows the film. The event is free and open to the public.
