EXCLUSIVE: Richard Dreyfuss on His 'Astonishing' New Show and How the Media 'Cheapened' Carrie Fisher's Legacy

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In the wake of Carrie Fisher's death last month, longtime friend Richard Dreyfuss paid tribute to the icon on Twitter, sharing that he was "heartbroken" and that "the world just lost one of its best."

However, the Oscar winner told ET that he doesn't feel right publically opening up about his friendship with Fisher, and that he didn't appreciate the media coverage following her death.


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"The moment that her situation appeared on the news, it so cheapened her life," Dreyfuss told ET's Leanne Aguilera at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour in Pasadena, California, on Wednesday.

"I can't talk about it," Dreyfuss explained. "I can't do that on television. It's not meant for soundbites. It's not mean to be glib."

Dreyfuss, who had been friends with Fisher for over 40 years, starred in the 1990 dramedy Postcards From the Edge, which was written by Fisher and adapted from her hit semi-autobiographical novel of the same name.

Currently, the 69-year-old screen icon is starring in the FOX drama Shots Fired, which details the aftermath of a racially charged police shooting in a small North Carolina town, and the impact the incident has on the community.


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Dreyfuss explained that he was drawn to the story because it was "the most current show I've ever seen."

"When [co-creator Reggie Rock Bythewood] first told me about it, he said, 'I want this to show there are no heroes and no villains and it's America as we live in it.' And that's exactly what we did," he recounted. "It's astonishing in how current it is, and terrifying, and it's great."


Shots Fired
premiers March 22 on FOX.


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