Dustin Hoffman is still famous for the role he played in 1967: Benjamin Braddock, the confused young man in The Graduate (opposite Anne Bancroft). Since that smashing start he has developed a reputation as a brilliant actor -- and a star with a classic Hollywood ego. Perhaps the ego is deserved: he has twice won the Academy Award as best actor, for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979, with Meryl Streep) and for Rain Man (1988, with Tom Cruise). Other notable movies of Hoffman's career include the Nixon-era political thriller All The President's Men (1976, with Robert Redford), the cross-dressing comedy Tootsie (1982), the famous flop Ishtar (1987, co-starring Warren Beatty) and the political satire Wag The Dog (1997, with Robert DeNiro). All-told he's been nominated seven times for the best actor Oscar, and he stays busy in Hollywood as a reliable character actor or versatile lead. His recent films include Runaway Jury (2003, opposite Gene Hackman), Meet the Fockers (2004, starring Ben Stiller) and Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007, with Natalie Portman).
Hoffman starred with John Malkovich in the 1984 Broadway production of Death of a Salesman... Hoffman is no relation to his fellow Oscar-winning actor, Philip Seymour Hoffman.
(born Aug. 8, 1937, Los Angeles, Calif., U.S.) U.S. actor. He acted in off-Broadway plays from 1965 and made his screen debut in The Graduate (1967), a phenomenal hit. He played a remarkable range of characters in films such as Midnight Cowboy (1969), Little Big Man (1970), All the President's Men (1976), Kramer vs. Kramer (1979, Academy Award), Tootsie (1982), Rain Man (1988, Academy Award), and Wag the Dog (1997). Hoffman contributed his vocal talents to computer-animated films such as Kung Fu Panda (2008) and The Tale of Despereaux (2008). He returned to the Broadway stage in a revival of Death of a Salesman (1984), repeating the role for television (1985, Emmy Award), and played Shylock in The Merchant of Venice in London (1989) and New York (1990).
Hoffman, Dustin (b. 1937), actor. A native of Los Angeles, he studied acting at the Pasadena Playhouse and with Lee Strasberg, among others, before winning fine notices Off‐Broadway in the mid‐1960s and on Broadway in Jimmy Shine (1968), then engaging in a long, highly successful film career. But Hoffman returned to Broadway with an original interpretation of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman (1984) and as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice (1989), which he had originally played in London.
Hoffman, Dustin (hŏf'mən, hôf'-), 1937-, American actor, b. Los Angeles. Not glamorous in the manner of earlier stars, Hoffman began on Broadway, but gained widespread popularity with his first major film, The Graduate (1967). Subsequently, he accepted a series of unusual tragic and comic character roles in such films as Midnight Cowboy (1969), Little Big Man (1976), Papillon (1973), Lenny (1974), Tootsie (1982), and Wag the Dog (1997). He won Academy Awards for his performances in Kramer vs. Kramer (1980) and Rain Man (1989). He returned to Broadway in Death of a Salesman (1984) and appeared on the London stage as Shylock in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (1989).
"In my room as a kid... I'd play a fighter and get knocked to the floor and come back to win."
"I envy people who can just look at a sunset. I wonder how you can shoot it. There is nothing more grotesque to me than a vacation."
"One thing about being successful is that I stopped being afraid of dying. Once you're a star you're dead already. You're embalmed."
"If you have this enormous talent, it's got you by the balls, it's a demon. You can't be a family man and a husband and a caring person and be that animal. Dickens wasn't that nice a guy."
"A good review from the critics is just another stay of execution."
The emergence of Dustin Hoffman in 1967 heralded the arrival of a new era of Hollywood stardom; diminutive, wiry and unassuming, he was anything but the usual matinee idol, yet he quickly distinguished himself among the most popular and celebrated screen performers of his generation. A notoriously difficult talent famous for his battles with directors as well as his total immersion in his performances, Hoffman further battled against stereotypes by accepting roles which cast him firmly as an antihero, often portraying troubled, even tragic figures rarely destined for a happy ending. By extension, he broke new ground for all actors -- not only were stars no longer limited to heroic, larger-than-life characterizations, but in his wake virtually anyone, regardless of their seeming physical limitations, could attain success on the big screen.
Born August 8, 1937 in Los Angeles, Hoffman originally studied to become a doctor, but later focused his attentions on acting, performing regularly at the Pasadena Playhouse alongside fellow aspirant Gene Hackman. Upon relocating to New York City, he worked a series of odd jobs, landing the occasional small television role and later touring in summer stock; frustrated by his lack of greater success, Hoffman once even left acting to teach, but in 1960 he won a role in the off-Broadway production Yes Is for a Very Young Man. After 1961's A Cook for Mr. General, however, he continued to struggle, and did not reappear onstage for several years, in the meantime studying with Lee Strasberg at the Actors' Studio and becoming a dedicated Method actor. Finally, in 1964 Hoffman appeared in a string of theatrical projects including productions of Waiting for Godot and The Dumbwaiter; two years later he won a Best Actor Obie for his work in The Journey of the Fifth Horse.
In 1967 Hoffman made his film debut with a tiny role in the feature The Tiger Makes Out; a similarly brief appearance in Un Dollaro per Sette Vigliachi followed later that same year, as did a highly-acclaimed turn in the theatrical farce Eh? It was here that he was first spotted by director Mike Nichols, who cast him in the lead role in his 1967 black comedy The Graduate. Though 30 at the time of filming, Hoffman was perfectly cast an alienated college student, and his work won him not only an Oscar nomination but also made him a hugely popular performer with the youth market. His status as a burgeoning counterculture hero was solidified thanks to his work in John Schlesinger's 1969 Academy Award winner Midnight Cowboy, which earned Hoffman a second Oscar bid; while the follow-up, the romance John and Mary, was a disappointment, in 1970 he starred in Arthur Penn's Little Big Man, delivering a superb portrayal of an Indian fighter -- a role which required him to age 100 years.
Directed by his longtime friend Ulu Grosbard, 1971's Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying
Those Terrible Things About Me? was Hoffman's first outright failure; he next starred in Sam Peckinpah's harrowing Straw Dogs, a film which earned harsh criticism during its original release but which, like much of Peckinpah's work, was later the subject of much favorable reassessment. In 1973 Hoffman co-starred with Steve McQueen in the prison drama Papillon, which returned him to the ranks of box-office success before he starred as the legendary stand-up comedian Lenny Bruce in Bob Fosse's 1974 biography Lenny, a stunning portrayal which earned him a third Academy Award nomination. Another real-life figure followed as Hoffman portrayed Carl Bernstein opposite Robert Redford's Bob Woodward in All the President's Men, Alan J. Pakula's riveting docudrama on the Watergate break-in.
Next, Hoffman reteamed with director Schelsinger for 1976's Marathon Man, which cast him alongside Laurence Olivier and scored another major hit; 1978's Straight Time, a pet project helmed by Grosbard, was critically acclaimed but a financial disappointment, and 1979's Agatha pleased neither audiences nor the media. 1979's domestic drama Kramer vs. Kramer, on the other hand, was a major success with both camps, and Hoffman's portrayal of a divorced father finally earned him an Academy Award on his fourth attempt at the prize. He also won a Golden Globe, as well as honors from the New York and Los Angeles critics. Hoffman's next film, the Sydney Pollack-helmed 1982 comedy Tootsie, was even more successful at the box office; starring as an out-of-work actor who dresses in drag to win a role on a soap opera, he earned yet another Oscar nomination as the film grossed nearly $100 million during its theatrical release.
After a long absence, Hoffman returned to the stage in 1984 to portray Willy Loman in a Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman; a year later, he reprised the performance for a CBS television special, earning an Emmy and another Golden Globe. He did not return to films until 1987, when he shared top billing with Warren Beatty in Elaine May's disastrous comedy Ishtar; in the wake of the big-budget project's chilly audience reception, any number of films were discussed as a follow-up, but after much debate Hoffman finally agreed to co-star with Tom Cruise in Barry Levinson's 1988's Rain Man. His performance as a middle-aged autistic won a second Best Actor Oscar, and helped spur the picture to become a major financial as well as critical success; the following year Hoffman again turned to Broadway to star as Shylock in a presentation of The Merchant of Venice, followed by the motion picture Family Business, in which he starred with Sean Connery and Matthew Broderick.
After making an unbilled and virtually unrecognizable cameo appearance in Beatty's 1990 comic strip adaptation Dick Tracy, Hoffman starred in the 1991 crime drama Billy Bathgate, the first in a string of films which saw his drawing power gradually diminishing throughout the decade. That same year he starred as Captain Hook opposite Robin Williams' portrayal of an adult Peter Pan in the Steven Spielberg fantasy Hook, a major disappointment for all involved; after 1992's Hero proved similarly lackluster, Hoffman disappeared from the screen for three years. His comeback film, the adventure tale Outbreak, performed moderately well at the box office, but the follow-up, Michael Corrente's oft-delayed adaptation of the David Mamet drama American Buffalo, saw only limited release. Hoffman next joined an ensemble cast also including Robert DeNiro and Brad Pitt in Levinson's 1996 drama Sleepers, trailed a year later by Costa-Gavras' Mad City. Sphere and Wag the Dog followed. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
Career Highlights: Tootsie, All the President's Men, The Graduate
First Major Screen Credit: The Graduate (1967)
Biography
The emergence of Dustin Hoffman in 1967 heralded the arrival of a new era of Hollywood stardom. Diminutive, wiry and unassuming, he was anything but the usual matinee idol, yet he quickly distinguished himself among the most popular and celebrated screen performers of his generation. A notoriously difficult talent famous for his battles with directors as well as his total immersion in his performances, Hoffman further battled against stereotypes by accepting roles which cast him firmly as an antihero, often portraying troubled, even tragic figures rarely destined for a happy ending. By extension, he broke new ground for all actors -- not only were stars no longer limited to heroic, larger-than-life characterizations, but in his wake virtually anyone, regardless of their seeming physical limitations, could attain success on the big screen.
Born August 8, 1937 in Los Angeles, Hoffman originally studied to become a doctor, but later focused his attentions on acting, performing regularly at the Pasadena Playhouse alongside fellow aspirant Gene Hackman. Upon relocating to New York City, he worked a series of odd jobs, landing the occasional small television role and later touring in summer stock. Frustrated by his lack of greater success, Hoffman once even left acting to teach, but in 1960 he won a role in the off-Broadway production Yes Is for a Very Young Man. After 1961's A Cook for Mr. General, however, he continued to struggle, and did not reappear onstage for several years, in the meantime studying with Lee Strasberg at the Actors' Studio and becoming a dedicated Method actor. Finally, in 1964 Hoffman appeared in a string of theatrical projects including productions of Waiting for Godot and The Dumbwaiter. Two years later he won a Best Actor Obie for his work in The Journey of the Fifth Horse.
In 1967 Hoffman made his film debut with a tiny role in the feature The Tiger Makes Out, a similarly brief appearance in Un Dollaro per Sette Vigliachi followed later that same year, as did a highly-acclaimed turn in the theatrical farce Eh? It was here that he was first spotted by director Mike Nichols, who cast him in the lead role in his 1967 black comedy The Graduate. Though 30 at the time of filming, Hoffman was perfectly cast as an alienated college student, and his work won him not only an Oscar nomination but also made him a hugely popular performer with the youth market. His status as a burgeoning counterculture hero was solidified thanks to his work in John Schlesinger's 1969 Academy Award winner Midnight Cowboy, which earned Hoffman a second Oscar bid. While the follow-up, the romance John and Mary, was a disappointment, in 1970 he starred in Arthur Penn's Little Big Man, delivering a superb portrayal of an Indian fighter -- a role which required him to age 100 years.
Directed by his longtime friend Ulu Grosbard, 1971's Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? was Hoffman's first outright failure. He next starred in Sam Peckinpah's harrowing Straw Dogs, a film which earned harsh criticism during its original release but which, like much of Peckinpah's work, was later the subject of much favorable reassessment. In 1973 Hoffman co-starred with Steve McQueen in the prison drama Papillon, which returned him to the ranks of box-office success before he starred as the legendary stand-up comedian Lenny Bruce in Bob Fosse's 1974 biography Lenny, a stunning portrayal which earned him a third Academy Award nomination. Another real-life figure followed as Hoffman portrayed Carl Bernstein opposite Robert Redford's Bob Woodward in All the President's Men, Alan J. Pakula's riveting docudrama on the Watergate break-in.
Next, Hoffman reteamed with director Schlesinger for 1976's Marathon Man, which cast him alongside Laurence Olivier and scored another major hit. The1978 Straight Time, a pet project helmed by Grosbard, was critically acclaimed but a financial disappointment, and 1979's Agatha pleased neither audiences nor the media. The 1979 domestic drama Kramer vs. Kramer, on the other hand, was a major success with both camps, and Hoffman's portrayal of a divorced father finally earned him an Academy Award on his fourth attempt at the prize. He also won a Golden Globe, as well as honors from the New York and Los Angeles critics. Hoffman's next film, the Sydney Pollack-helmed 1982 comedy Tootsie, was even more successful at the box office. Starring as an out-of-work actor who dresses in drag to win a role on a soap opera, he earned yet another Oscar nomination as the film grossed nearly $100 million during its theatrical release.
After a long absence, Hoffman returned to the stage in 1984 to portray Willy Loman in a Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman. A year later, he reprised the performance for a CBS television special, earning an Emmy and another Golden Globe. He did not return to films until 1987, when he shared top billing with Warren Beatty in Elaine May's disastrous comedy Ishtar. In the wake of the big-budget project's chilly audience reception, any number of films were discussed as a follow-up, but after much debate Hoffman finally agreed to co-star with Tom Cruise in Barry Levinson's 1988's Rain Man. His performance as a middle-aged autistic won a second "Best Actor" Oscar, and helped spur the picture to become a major financial as well as critical success. The following year Hoffman again turned to Broadway to star as Shylock in a presentation of The Merchant of Venice, followed by the motion picture Family Business, in which he starred with Sean Connery and Matthew Broderick.
After making an unbilled and virtually unrecognizable cameo appearance in Beatty's 1990 comic strip adaptation Dick Tracy, Hoffman starred in the 1991 crime drama Billy Bathgate, the first in a string of films which saw his drawing power gradually diminishing throughout the decade. That same year he starred as Captain Hook opposite Robin Williams' portrayal of an adult Peter Pan in the Steven Spielberg fantasy Hook, a major disappointment for all involved; after 1992's Hero proved similarly lackluster, Hoffman disappeared from the screen for three years. His comeback film, the adventure tale Outbreak, performed moderately well at the box office, but the follow-up, Michael Corrente's oft-delayed adaptation of the David Mamet drama American Buffalo, saw only limited release. Hoffman next joined an ensemble cast also including Robert De Niro and Brad Pitt in Levinson's 1996 drama Sleepers, trailed a year later by Costa-Gavras' Mad City, Sphere and Wag the Dog followed, the latter of which netted Hoffman another Best Actor nomination for his portrayal of Stanley Motss, a neurotic producer reportedly based on Robert Evans. In April of 1999, Hoffman was honored by the American Film Institute in A Tribute to Dustin Hoffman, a televised ceremony in which he was presented with an AFI Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 2002, Hoffman appeared in the poignant, psychological drama Moonlight Mile, playing a father who grieves for his deceased daughter with her fiancé, played by Jake Gyllenhaal. He continued to take selective but memorable supporting roles throughout the new millennium, playing roles like a dedicated lawyer in Runaway Jury and theatrical producer Charles Frohman in the true story of novelist James Barrie Finding Neverland. In 2004, he provided audiences with laughter in the quirky existential comedy I Heart Huckabees, and in 2005 he played Ben Stiller's eccentric father in the Meet the Parents sequel Meet the Fockers.
Respected for his versatility, Hoffman has won two Academy Awards, six Golden Globes, three BAFTAs, three Drama Desk Awards, and an Emmy Award. Dustin Hoffman received the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1999.
Hoffman was born in Los Angeles, California,[1] the second and youngest son of Lillian (née Gold) and Harry Hoffman, a Russian-born father who worked as a prop supervisor/set decorator at Columbia Pictures before becoming a furniture salesman.[2][3] Hoffman was named after stage and silent screen actor Dustin Farnum. His older brother, Ronald, is a lawyer and economist. Hoffman is from a Jewish family, although he did not have a religious upbringing.[4][5] He graduated from Los Angeles High School in 1955. He enrolled at Santa Monica College with the intention of studying medicine but left after a year to join the Pasadena Playhouse.[6]
Career
Early career
Hoffman began acting at the Pasadena Playhouse with Gene Hackman. After two years at the playhouse, Hackman headed for New York City, and Hoffman soon followed. He worked a series of odd jobs, including coat checking at restaurants, working in the typing department of the city Yellow Pages directory, and stringing Hawaiian leis, while getting the occasional bit television role. To support himself, he left acting briefly to teach. He worked as a professional fragrance tester for Maxwell House.[citation needed] He also did the occasional television commercial. An often-replayed segment on programs that explore actors' early work is a clip showing Hoffman touting the Volkswagen Fastback.
In 1960, Hoffman landed a role in an off-Broadway production and followed with a walk-on role in a Broadway production in 1961. Hoffman then studied at the famed Actors Studio and became a dedicated method actor. Sidney Pink, a producer and 3D movie pioneer, discovered him in one of his off-broadway roles and cast him in Madigan's Millions. His first critical success was in Eh? by Henry Livings which had its US premiere Off-Broadway at the Circle in the Square Downtown on October 16, 1966.
Between acting jobs, Hoffman also made ends meet by teaching acting at a community college night school, and by directing off-broadway and community theater productions. In 1967, immediately after wrapping up principal filming on The Tiger Makes Out, Hoffman flew from New York City to Fargo, North Dakota, where he directed a production of William Saroyan's The Time of Your Life for the Emma Herbst Community Theatre. The $1,000 he received for the eight-week contract was all he had to hold him over until the funds from the movie materialized.
Major roles
Hoffman in France (1985)
In 1966, Mike Nichols began casting The Graduate. Negotiations with Warren Beatty and Robert Redford fell through, and Hoffman auditioned for the role. Before Hoffman, Charles Grodin had also been in consideration for the role but, according to one anecdote, refused to work for the amount offered. Hoffman had been set to play the role of Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind in Mel Brooks' 1968 movie The Producers, but dropped out when he landed the role of Benjamin Braddock, opposite Anne Bancroft, Brooks' wife. The film began production in March 1967. Hoffman received an Academy Award nomination for his performance. After the success of this film, another Hoffman film, Madigan's Millions, shot before The Graduate, was released on the tail of the actor's newfound success. It was considered a failure at the box office.
In December 1968 Hoffman returned to Broadway to appear in the title role of Murray Schisgal and John Sebastian's musicalJimmy Shine. For his performance in the production Hoffman won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance. Just a few weeks after leaving the production, Hoffman's next major film Midnight Cowboy premiered in theatres across the United States on 25 May 1969. For his role as Ratso Rizzo in the film, Hoffman received his second Oscar nomination and the film won the Best Picture honor. This was followed by his role in Little Big Man (1970) where Jack Crabb, his character, ages from teenager to a 121-year-old man. The film was widely praised by critics, but was overlooked for an award except for a supporting nomination for Chief Dan George.
Hoffman's next starred in Robert Benton's Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) as workaholic Ted Kramer whose wife (Meryl Streep) unexpectedly leaves him; he raises their son alone. Hoffman gained his first Academy Award, and the film also received the Best Picture honor, plus the awards for Best Supporting Actress (Streep) and Director.
In Tootsie (1982), Hoffman portrays Michael Dorsey, a struggling actor who finds himself dressing up as a woman to land a role on a soap opera. His co-star was Jessica Lange. Tootsie earned ten Academy Award nominations, including Hoffman's fifth nomination.
Hoffman then turned to television in the role of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, for which he won the 1985 Emmy Award for Outstanding lead actor in a TV movie or miniseries. He would also go on to win a Golden Globe for the same performance.
Hoffman's largest film failure was Elaine May's Ishtar, with Warren Beatty. The film faced severe production problems, received almost completely negative reviews from critics and was nominated for three Razzie awards. However, Hoffman and Beatty liked the film's final cut and tried to defend it.[7][8] Hoffmann and Beatty were unaffected by the flop, and Ishtar became a cult film. James House, who later became a country music artist, served as Hoffman's vocal coach in the film.[9]
In director Barry Levinson's Rain Man (1988), Hoffman starred as an autisticsavant, opposite Tom Cruise. Levinson, Hoffman and Cruise worked for two years on the film, and his performance garnered Hoffman his second Academy Award. Upon accepting, Hoffman stated softly to his fellow nominees that it was okay if they didn't vote for him because "I didn't vote for you guys either."[10] After Rain Man, Hoffman appeared with Sean Connery and Matthew Broderick in Family Business. The film did relatively poorly with the critics and at the box office. In 1991, Hoffman voiced substitute teacher Mr. Bergstrom in the The Simpsons episode "Lisa's Substitute", under the pseudonym Sam Etic. As a reference to this episode, on the episode portraying the Itchy & Scratchy movie, Lisa says that Dustin Hoffman has a cameo but doesn't use his real name.
In 2007, he was featured in an advertising campaign for Australian telecommunications company Telstra's Next G network,[11] appeared in the 50 Cent video "Follow My Lead" as a psychiatrist, and played the title character in the family film Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. In 2008, although he was reluctant to perform in an animated film, Hoffman had a prominent role in the acclaimed film Kung Fu Panda, which was praised in part for his comedic chemistry with Jack Black and his character's complex relationship with the story's villain. He later won the Annie Award for Voice Acting in an Animated Feature for Kung Fu Panda. He next voiced Roscuro in The Tale of Despereaux and played the title character in Last Chance Harvey. He will also not reprise his role in the third installment "Little Fockers".
Hoffman married Anne Byrne in May 1969.[12] The couple had two children, Karina (b. 1966) and Jenna (b. 15 October 1970). Karina is adopted. The couple divorced in 1980. He married attorney Lisa Gottsegen in October 1980; they have four children — Jacob Edward (b. 20 March 1981), Rebecca (b. 17 March 1983), Maxwell Geoffrey (b. 30 August 1984), and Alexandra Lydia (b. 27 October 1987). Hoffman also has two grandchildren. In an interview, he said that all of his children had bar or bat mitzvahs and that he is a more observant Jew now than when he was younger; he also lamented that he is not fluent in Hebrew.[citation needed]
In 1970, Hoffman and Byrne were living in Greenwich Village in a building next door to the townhouse destroyed by members of The Weatherman when they detonated a bomb in the building's basement, killing three people. In the 2002 documentary The Weather Underground, Hoffman can be seen standing in the street during the aftermath of the explosion.[13]
^Paglia, Camille (November 12, 2008). "Obama surfs through". Salon. http://www.salon.com/opinion/paglia/2008/11/12/palin/index1.html. "..the 2002 documentary "The Weather Underground"... the news footage of the Greenwich Village townhouse destroyed in 1970 by bomb-making gone wrong in the basement still has enormous impact. Standing in the chaotic street, actor Dustin Hoffman, who lived next door, seems like Everyman at the apocalypse.".
