Dustin Hoffman


Actor
Dustin Hoffman

About

Also Known As
Dustin Lee Hoffman
Birth Place
Los Angeles, California, USA
Born
August 08, 1937

Biography

Dustin Hoffman emerged as a key figure in the Hollywood Renaissance period of the 1960s and 1970s, personifying identifiable misfits and antiheroes in films embraced by a new breed of filmgoer. After struggling on and off Broadway, the Strasberg-trained actor rocketed to fame as the star of director Mike Nichols' seminal "The Graduate" (1967). Chameleon-like characters in such diverse e...

Family & Companions

Anne Byrne
Wife
Ballerina. Married on May 4, 1969; divorced in 1980.
Lisa Hoffman
Wife
Former lawyer. Married on October 21, 1980.

Notes

According to Mel Brooks, he had planned to cast Dustin Hoffman as Franz Liebkind in "The Producers" before Hoffman landed his star-making role in "The Graduate" opposite Brooks' wife Anne Bancroft.

In 1997. Hoffman filed a $5 million lawsuit against Los Angeles magazine which published a computer-altered image of the actor in character from "Tootsie" modeling designer clothing. The actor, who had not given his permission for the photograph, claimed in his suit that it hurt his career and that he would be paid a great a deal of money to model clothes. The US District Court judge agreed and in January 1999 awarded $1.5 million in damages.

Biography

Dustin Hoffman emerged as a key figure in the Hollywood Renaissance period of the 1960s and 1970s, personifying identifiable misfits and antiheroes in films embraced by a new breed of filmgoer. After struggling on and off Broadway, the Strasberg-trained actor rocketed to fame as the star of director Mike Nichols' seminal "The Graduate" (1967). Chameleon-like characters in such diverse efforts as "Midnight Cowboy" (1969), "Little Big Man" (1970), "Straw Dogs" (1971) and "Papillon" (1973) solidified his growing reputation. The one-two punch of the hits "All the President's Men" (1976) and "Marathon Man" (1976) proved Hoffman could deliver at the box office as well. More so than any other actor of the period, he pleased critics and fans alike with his performances in "Kramer vs. Kramer" (1979), "Tootsie" (1982) and "Rain Man" (1988), winning Best Actor Oscars for two of these three nominated performances. Over the decades that followed, Hoffman divided his energies between strong supporting work in projects like "Sleepers" (1996) and sharing top-billing with fellow heavy weights like Robert De Niro in such films as "Wag the Dog" (1997). In the new millennium, he enjoyed a creative and commercial resurgence with a run of playful comic performances in "I [Heart] Huckabees" (2004), "Meet the Fockers" (2004), and the hit animated feature "Kung Fu Panda" (2008). He also appeared in the sequeles to the latter film, "Kung Fu Panda 2" (2011) and "Kung Fu Panda 3" (2016), in addition to roles in Jon Favreau's "Chef" (2014) and the critically acclaimed "The Meyerowitz Stories" (2017). Hoffman boasted a film career that spanned more than four decades and consistently delved into new creative territory, validating his status as one of the most gifted actors of his generation or any other.

Dustin Lee Hoffman was born on Aug. 8, 1937, in Los Angeles. His father worked at Columbia Studios in props and set dressing before shifting to furniture design, launching his own short-lived store, Harry Hoffman Furniture Company. His mother was a former jazz pianist and set Hoffman up with a piano and a teacher from the age of five. He was a restless student who frustrated parents and teachers with his poor grades and was first kicked out of school in the third grade. He harbored dreams of becoming a jazz musician, studying piano at with the L.A. Conservatory of Music, but he eventually became frustrated with what he felt was his limited talent, giving up music in his late teens to try his hand at something else. When he graduated from Los Angeles High School in 1955, Hoffman enrolled at Santa Monica City College, and within a year, was in danger of flunking out. He was desperately looking for a way to boost his grades when a friend suggested an acting course, which would be an easy three credits and a guaranteed no-fail. Hoffman found much more than just an easy-A class - he found his true passion. He was not the greatest actor initially, but for the first time in his life, he found himself focusing for hours on end on something.

After barely making it through a year at Santa Monica College, Hoffman convinced his parents to fund his new found passion with tuition to the Pasadena Playhouse, where he became fast friends with fellow student Gene Hackman. At the time, the Playhouse was populated with square-jawed matinee types hoping to become the next Rock Hudson, while Hoffman and Hackman stood apart with their anti-establishment reverence for Beat poetry and Method acting. Factor in their average looks and Hoffman's 5'5" height, and they seemed destined for character actor status. They shared the stage in a number of productions over the next two years, including "Of Mice and Men" and "The Taming of the Shrew," before Hackman headed to Manhattan. Hoffman soon followed his friend, arriving in New York City in 1958 and spending his first few weeks too scared to leave Hackman and his wife's postage stamp-sized apartment, where he spent nights nestled between the refrigerator and the bathtub. Eventually the newlyweds wanted their kitchen back and Hackman sent Hoffman to live with his friend Robert Duvall. The three remained close during the ensuing decade of off-off-Broadway productions, workshop training and odd jobs. They shared a dedication to their art, playing bongos on rooftops in homage to their hero Marlon Brando, and resigning themselves to a broke, bohemian existence rich with meaning. Becoming movie stars was never even a goal for the budding thespians, who would have been happy scraping by far from the Great White Way.

It would be several years before Hoffman would grace even the smallest stages; instead starting his New York career working in a mental institution and typing phone books while auditioning for roles for which he was consistently rejected. By 1960, he was ready to give up acting altogether, when he finally landed onstage in one of Gertrude Stein's final plays, "Yes is for a Very Young Man." The following year, he had a small part on Broadway and his first walk-on television role. Just as he was beginning to build some momentum, however, an accident left Hoffman hospitalized with burns so severe that he was not expected to live. Following extensive surgery, he was able to make a full recovery, but his brush with death made him more determined than ever to pursue his passion. When he was able to resume a normal life, Hoffman began training with Method acting legend Lee Strasberg at the Actor's Studio. It was there, that he refined his technique and began to hone the dramatic approach that would become his trademark. He spent a year onstage with the Theater Company of Boston before returning to the New York stage in 1965's "Harry, Noon and Night." He gained further theatrical experience as an assistant director on "A View From the Bridge" and as manager on the Broadway play "The Subject Was Roses." All the while, the starving actor was hawking toys at Macy's and waiting tables. In 1966, Hoffman began to receive critical recognition for his work, earning Drama Desk and Theater World Awards for the farce "Eh?" and an Obie for the war drama "Journey of the Fifth Horse," which was recorded and shown on public television the same year.

Little did Hoffman know that his years of Method training and his non-traditional looks would be tailor-made for the filmmaking renaissance that exploded in the late 1960s with character-based dramas that boldly explored the darker side of the American dream. Hoffman was among the establishing figures in "New Hollywood" when director Mike Nichols improbably cast the unknown in "The Graduate" (1967). Despite playing a protagonist that the novel characterized as a tall, blonde, athletic New England blueblood, Hoffman happened to possess the perfect blend of awkwardness, goofiness and disaffected melancholy in his portrayal of Benjamin Braddock, a recent college graduate reluctant to sign up for the empty, post-Atomic lifestyle of his cocktail-chugging parents. Benjamin's complicated relationship with the older generation, further complicated by an affair with family friend Mrs. Robinson, resonated strongly with young audiences battling with their own value systems. Due to his career-making performance in his first of many hit films, Hoffman became a symbol of that generation, despite being 30 years old when the film was released.

For skillfully navigating the treacherous strait between satiric caricature and Method drama, Hoffman received an Academy Award nomination for his subtly hilarious yet profoundly moving performance. Hoffman's payday for the landmark film was paltry - a concession he had made in order to avoid signing a multi-picture deal that would put him at the mercy of the studio. His career breakthrough was followed by a trip back to the unemployment line - where a Life magazine photographer happened to capture the unglamorous moment - before Hoffman returned to Broadway in Murray Shisgal's "Jimmy Shine." The film offers poured in, but most were pale "Graduate" variations and none captured Hoffman's interest until John Schlesinger approached him for a very different role. Advisors told Hoffman he was nuts for following up an Oscar-nominated starring role with a supporting one opposite some unknown named Jon Voight, but his instincts were spot on when it came time to choose his next project, "Midnight Cowboy" (1969). The absorbing film adaptation of Leo Herlihy's novel about a pair of desperate outsiders barely surviving New York's sordid underbelly became a landmark of American cinema. Hoffman was again nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Enrico "Ratso" Rizzo, a limping, tubercular nickel-and-dime conman who forms an unlikely support system with a Texas hustler (Voight). Upon Hoffman's second nomination, a Life magazine cover featured a sketch of Hoffman and fellow nominee John Wayne, with the headline "A Choice of Heroes." The Academy was apparently not ready to embrace the new face of Hollywood, instead awarding the statue to Wayne.

On a definite roll moving into the 1970s, Hoffman starred in a new take on Wayne's Western genre with the satirical "Little Big Man" (1970), earning a BAFTA nomination for the subtle anti-war protestation. He joined director Sam Peckinpah for "Straw Dogs" (1971), playing an expatriate mathematician caught up in escalating violence with local English toughs before a gritty turn opposite Steve McQueen in the prison escape drama "Papillon" (1973). Hoffman was again recruited by John Schlesinger for the thriller "Marathon Man" (1976), now portraying a troubled college student caught up in a conspiracy plot with former Nazi Laurence Olivier. In 1974's "Lenny" (1974), Hoffman was nominated for an Academy Award for his complex, multi-dimensional portrait of hard-driving social comedian Lenny Bruce. The same year, he made his directorial debut on Broadway with Murray Schisgal's "All Over Town." Hoffman tackled the portrayal of another real-life figure in the gripping Watergate docudrama, "All the President's Men" (1976), playing aggressive, young Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein who, along with Bob Woodward (Robert Redford), tirelessly unraveled the crimes of the Nixon administration. "Straight Time" (1978) failed to attract popular attention, but Hoffman's acclaimed performance as a hard-core criminal stood as a hallmark of his approach to performance - one which eschewed easy sentiment in favor of three-dimensional grit.

Hoffman scored both a critical and popular success in 1979 with "Kramer vs. Kramer." In the film, his role as a father left to forge a relationship with his young son after his wife leaves them, hit close to home for the actor who was simultaneously struggling with the end of his own marriage. Finally, after turning in over a decade of incredible performances, he received his first Best Actor Oscar for his painfully honest portrait. His next outing, "Tootsie" (1982), was considerably more lighthearted but also explored the evolving role of gender in society. The story, developed by Hoffman and Shisgal with an uncredited Elaine May, revolved around a desperate unemployed actor who masquerades as a woman in order to land a part on a soap opera, and unwittingly becomes a role model of the liberated, modern woman. Hoffman's ability to move between genders believably and hilariously made his portrayal of Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels perhaps his most beloved performance, but the shoot was not without its troubles, with the notoriously difficult Hoffman clashing often with director and co-star Sydney Pollack. Hoffman's well-informed performance as a struggling New York actor may have induced nostalgia, for he next returned to Broadway for a revival of "Death of a Salesman," winning a Drama Desk Award, but curiously overlooked by the Tony committee for his run as Willy Loman in the Arthur Miller classic. Competing with the ghost of Lee J. Cobb's original stage performance, some found Hoffman too slight and too young, ignoring the fact that he was almost a decade older than Cobb when he played the role on Broadway. However, a taped version of the play aired on CBS in 1985 and Hoffman was recognized with Emmy and Golden Globe awards.

Sadly, a charming Elaine May script called "Ishtar" (1987) suffered from highly-publicized budgetary failures, forever tarnishing the enjoyable Dustin Hoffman/Warren Beatty comedy about a pair of cut-rate lounge singers. Hoffman rebounded from this embarrassment with a second Academy Award for his riveting portrayal of an autistic savant in "Rain Man" (1988), hailed by some as one of the most objective, unsentimental portraits of a handicapped person in the American cinema. Hoffman and co-star Tom Cruise spent months in preparation for their roles, befriending real-life counterparts to the film's brothers to bring as much realism as possible to Hoffman's behavior and the pair's strained relationship. Returning to the beloved immediacy of the stage, Hoffman next enjoyed a long run on London's West End as Shylock in "The Merchant of Venice." In 1990, he reprised the role on Broadway, receiving a Tony nomination. There was no question that Hoffman had a solid reputation as one of America's greatest actors, but even his high performance standards were not enough to boost a string of failures like "Family Business" (1989) "Dick Tracy" (1990) and "Hero" (1992). In Steven Spielberg's lavish but uneven update of the Peter Pan "Hook" (1991), Hoffman's villain was more comical than menacing and though curiously successful overseas, "Hook" was seen as a flop at home. Hoffman bounced back in a surprisingly traditional heroic role in the hit thriller "Outbreak" (1995). As a military specialist in epidemiology, Hoffman's serious and dedicated Colonel Sam Daniels was a thorn in the side of Army brass but the best man for the job when an unknown virus in the African rain forest spreads to the United States.

Hoffman reunited with director Barry Levinson for a three-picture run, beginning with "Sleepers" (1996), in which the actor offered a scene-stealing turn as a pony-tailed defense lawyer with substance abuse problems. "Wag the Dog" (1997) cast him as a slick Hollywood producer called upon to create a fake war to divert the country's attention away from a presidential sex scandal. The actor's droll turn - reputedly inspired by legendary producer Robert Evans - was the highlight of the film. "Sphere" (1998) teamed Hoffman with Sharon Stone, Samuel L. Jackson and Peter Coyote as scientists on an underwater mission investigating the crash of a possible alien spacecraft. In 1999, Hoffman produced his first feature, the Vietnam-era family portrait "A Walk on the Moon" (1999), and was honored by the American Film Institute in "A Tribute to Dustin Hoffman," a televised ceremony during which he was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

What should have been a career highlight was followed by several years of doubt and anxiety over his work. Having temporarily lost his spark, Hoffman reevaluated his career as an actor in his mid-fifties and toyed with ideas of writing and directing. Ultimately, he decided to cast aside many of his self-imposed limitations and approach offers with a new openness and renewed zeal for his art. He returned with a run of wonderful, mature dramas beginning with "Moonlight Mile," where he played half of a married couple (opposite Susan Sarandon) grieving over the death of their daughter with the aid of her fiancé, Jake Gyllenhaal. He was surprisingly intimidating as a nightclub owner and crime boss in the neo-noir caper "Confidence" (2003) before starring for the first time opposite longtime friend Gene Hackman in "Runaway Jury" (2003). In the adaptation of the John Grisham bestseller, Hoffman played a courtly Southern attorney drawn into a deadly confrontation over the attempts of a ruthless jury manipulator (Hackman) to influence the verdict of a case.

Hoffman joined the cast of writer-director David O. Russell's eccentric "I [Heart] Huckabees" (2004), playing opposite Lily Tomlin as a husband-and-wife team of "existential detectives" and continued his career upswing with a supporting turn in "Finding Neverland" (2004) as the nervous but charming financier of "Peter Pan" creator J.M. Barrie (Johnny Depp). He teamed with Barbra Streisand to play Ben Stiller's eccentric parents in "Meet the Fockers" (2004), with Hoffman nearly stealing the entire film with his genial, ever-smiling characterization of proud papa Bernie Focker. Hoffman earned equal comedic accolades for his more understated performance as a literary expert enlisted to help protagonist (Will Ferrell) identify the author he hears narrating his own life in his head in "Stranger Than Fiction" (2006). The pair's rapid-fire exchanges were among the film's comedic highlights.

Hoffman's role as a French perfume maker in the stylish period thriller "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" (2006) was well-reviewed though little-seen in the United States; however it was a box office hit internationally. He returned to mainstream cinema in the cartoonish title role of "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" (2007), a film about an enchanted toy store and its 243-year-old proprietor. Unfortunately, the suspiciously "Willy Wonka"-like tale failed to inspire critics, though its whimsical promise lured a fair amount of families to the multiplex. After voicing martial arts master, Shifu, in the hugely successful "Kung Fu Panda" (2008), Hoffman delivered a comically touching performance in "Last Chance Harvey" (2008), playing a down-and-out jingle writer and spurned father who finds his life and romantic passions renewed when he meets an intelligent and compassionate woman (Emma Thompson) at the airport. Hoffman made a long-awaited return to award contention when he received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical.

Hoffman followed soon after with a scene-stealing performance as the father of Paul Giamatti's curmudgeonly title character in the dark comedy "Barney's Version" (2010). Arguably less daring on an artistic level, although certainly more lucrative were his contributions to the inevitable sequels "Little Fockers" (2010) and "Kung Fu Panda 2" (2011). Far more intriguing was Hoffman's first venture as the star of the ensemble television drama "Luck" (HBO, 2011-12). An insider's look at the lives of various denizens in and around a Los Angeles area racetrack, "Luck" centered around the story of Chester "Ace" Bernstein (Hoffman), an ex-con with mob connections looking to get back in the game, take over the racetrack, and exact a bit of revenge on the people responsible for landing him in prison. Created by David Milch and co-produced by Michael Mann (who directed the pilot episode), "Luck" met with exceptional reviews and strong ratings, ensuring it a second season. Amidst the accolades, however, concerns over the deaths of two horses during production threatened to change the fortunes of the show for the worse. When a third thoroughbred died in March 2012, HBO - under siege from outraged animal activism groups - scrapped the planned second season and cancelled the show altogether in a move that shocked the industry.

Filmography

 

Cast (Feature Film)

Hal (2018)
Himself
The Meyerowitz Stories (2017)
Kung Fu Panda 3 (2016)
Voice
Roald Dahl's Esio Trot (2015)
The Cobbler (2015)
Chef (2014)
Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)
Voice
Barney's Version (2010)
Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story (2010)
Narrator
Little Fockers (2010)
Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Shifu
Last Chance Harvey (2008)
Visual Acoustics: The Modernism of Julius Shulman (2008)
Narrator
The Tale of Despereaux (2008)
Voice
Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007)
Trumbo (2007)
Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
Perfume: the Story of A Murderer (2006)
The Lost City (2005)
Racing Stripes (2005)
Finding Neverland (2004)
Charles Frohman
Meet the Fockers (2004)
I Heart Huckabees (2004)
Confidence (2003)
Runaway Jury (2003)
Moonlight Mile (2002)
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)
Joan'S Conscience
Warner Bros: No Guts, No Glory -- 75 Years Of Award Winners (1998)
Sphere (1998)
Mad City (1997)
Wag the Dog (1997)
American Buffalo (1996)
Sleepers (1996)
Inside the Academy Awards '95 (1995)
Performer
Outbreak (1995)
Colonel Sam Daniels Md
Hero (1992)
Billy Bathgate (1991)
Hook (1991)
Dick Tracy (1990)
Family Business (1989)
Rain Man (1988)
Ishtar (1987)
Death of a Salesman (1985)
Tootsie (1982)
Agatha (1979)
Kramer Vs. Kramer (1979)
Straight Time (1978)
All The President's Men (1976)
Marathon Man (1976)
Lenny (1974)
Lenny Bruce
Papillon (1973)
Straw Dogs (1972)
David Sumner
Alfredo, Alfredo (1972)
Alfredo
Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? (1971)
Georgie Soloway
The Point (1971)
Little Big Man (1970)
Jack Crabb
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Ratso Rizzo
Madigan's Millions (1969)
Jason Fister
John and Mary (1969)
John
The Graduate (1967)
Benjamin Braddock
The Tiger Makes Out (1967)
Hap

Producer (Feature Film)

The Devil's Arithmetic (1999)
Executive Producer (Punch 21)
A Walk on the Moon (1999)
Producer
Death of a Salesman (1985)
Executive Producer
The Wide Blue Road (1956)
Producer

Music (Feature Film)

The Meyerowitz Stories (2017)
Song Performer
Last Chance Harvey (2008)
Song Performer
Last Chance Harvey (2008)
Song
Ishtar (1987)
Song
Ishtar (1987)
Song Performer

Special Thanks (Feature Film)

Being John Malkovich (1999)
Special Thanks To

Misc. Crew (Feature Film)

Hal (2018)
Other

Cast (Special)

The 61st Annual Golden Globe Awards (2004)
The 45th Annual Grammy Awards (2003)
Presenter
The 75th Annual Academy Awards (2003)
New York at the Movies (2002)
Goldwyn (2001)
Narrator
Dustin Hoffman: First in His Class (2001)
The 7th Annual Blockbuster Entertainment Awards (2001)
Presenter
A Home For the Holidays With Mariah Carey (2001)
Presenter
AFI Awards 2001 (2001)
AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Barbra Streisand (2001)
Performer
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED'S SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR (2000)
Presenter
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs (2000)
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)
Interviewee
American Film Institute Salute to Dustin Hoffman (1999)
The AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars (1999)
The 13th Annual American Comedy Awards (1999)
Presenter
The 24th Annual People's Choice Awards (1998)
Presenter
To Life! America Celebrates Israel's 50th (1998)
Gene Hackman: Portrait of an Artist (1998)
The 70th Annual Academy Awards (1998)
Performer
The 54th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1997)
Performer
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies (1995)
The American Film Institute Salute to Steven Spielberg (1995)
Performer
Comic Relief VI (1994)
The 65th Annual Academy Awards Presentation (1993)
Presenter
Aretha Franklin: Duets (1993)
In a New Light '93 (1993)
Earth and the American Dream (1993)
Voice
The Walt Disney Company Presents the American Teacher Awards (1992)
Presenter
In a New Light (1992)
Muhammad Ali's 50th Birthday Celebration (1992)
Oprah: Behind the Scenes (1992)
The 63rd Annual Academy Awards Presentation (1991)
Presenter
Waldo Salt: A Screenwriter's Journey (1990)
Time Warner Presents the Earth Day Special (1990)
The 62nd Annual Academy Awards Presentation (1990)
Performer
The 44th Annual Tony Awards (1990)
Performer
Common Threads: Stories From the Quilt (1989)
Narrator
The 61st Annual Academy Awards Presentation (1989)
Performer
The 3rd Annual Hollywood Insider Academy Awards Special (1989)
Private Conversations: The Making of the Television Adaptation of "Death of a Salesman" With Dustin Hoffman (1985)
The Night of 100 Stars II (1985)
TV's Censored Bloopers (1984)
Bette Midler -- Ol' Red Hair Is Back (1977)
Marlo Thomas and Friends in Free to Be... You and Me (1974)
Higher and Higher, Attorneys at Law (1968)
Arthur Greene

Writer (Special)

Time Warner Presents the Earth Day Special (1990)
Other Writer

Special Thanks (Special)

Time Warner Presents the Earth Day Special (1990)
Other Writer

Misc. Crew (Special)

The 68th Annual Academy Awards (1996)
Archival Footage
The 67th Annual Academy Awards (1995)
Archival Footage

Life Events

1960

Made his stage debut in "Yes Is For a Very Young Man" at Sarah Lawrence College

1961

Made his Broadway stage debut in "A Cook For Mr. General"

1961

Made his screen-acting debut on the "Sweet Prince of Delancey Street" episode of "Naked City" (ABC)

1964

Joined the Theatre Company of Boston and appeared in "Endgame", "The Quare Fellow", "In the Jungle of Cities" and other plays

1965

Served as assistant to the director (Ulu Grosbard) on off-Broadway revival of "A View From the Bridge"

1965

Appeared in "Harry, Noon and Night" at the American Place Theater, NYC

1965

Worked as stage manager for "The Subject Was Roses" on Broadway; directed by Ulu Grosbard

1967

Had his breakthrough screen role as Benjamin Braddock in Mike Nichols' "The Graduate"; received his first Oscar nomination as Best Actor

1967

Made his feature acting debut in "Tiger Makes Out"

1968

Made his Broadway directorial debut with "Jimmy Shine"

1969

Earned second Best Actor Academy Award nomination for his mesmerizing performance as Ratso Rizzo in "Midnight Cowboy"

1973

Co-starred with Steve McQueen in the crime drama "Papillon"

1974

Directed Broadway production of "All Over Town"

1974

Received third Best Actor Oscar nomination as comedian Lenny Bruce in Bob Fosse's biopic "Lenny"

1974

Appeared in the ABC children's TV special "Marlo Thomas and Friends in Free to Be...You and Me"

1978

Began directing film, "Straight Time" (turned over to Ulu Grosbard)

1979

Earned Best Actor Oscar as a separated father coping with parenting in "Kramer vs. Kramer"

1982

Delivered a brilliant performance as an out-of-work actor who resorts to drag to win a role in the comedy "Tootsie"; nominated for a Best Actor Oscar

1985

Executive produced and starred as Willy Loman in CBS special "Death of a Salesman" (which he had previously done in a revival onstage)

1988

Won second Oscar as Best Actor for his turn as an autistic man in Barry Levinson's "Rain Man"; also first collaboration with the director

1991

Provided a guest voice for "The Simpsons" (Fox) as Lisa's beloved Jewish substitute teacher; credited as "Sam Etic"

1995

Was inducted into the French Order of Arts and Letters

1997

Received rave reviews for his portrayal of a Hollywood producer (reportedly based on Robert Evans) in Barry Levinson's political satire "Wag the Dog"; earned Best Actor Academy Award nomination

1998

Reteamed with Levinson for "Sphere"

1999

Produced "The Blouse Man," which marked the directorial debut of actor Tony Goldwyn

2001

Announced to make feature directorial debut with "Personal Injuries"

2002

Played opposite Susan Sarandon in the touching drama "Moonlight Mile"

2003

Co-starred in the thriller "Runaway Jury"

2003

Played a mob boss in the drama "Confidence"

2004

Starred opposite Johnny Depp in "Finding Neverland," which detailed the experiences of 'Peter Pan' author J.M. Barrie

2004

Starred opposite Jude Law and Naomi Watts in David O. Russell's comedy "I Heart Huckabees"

2004

Was cast as Ben Stiller's father in "Meet the Fockers," the follow-up to 2000's hit "Meet the Parents"

2006

Cast in Andy Garcia's feature directorial debut "The Lost City"

2006

Co-starred as a literary expert opposite Will Ferrell in the Marc Forster comedy "Stranger Than Fiction"

2007

Played an eccentric toy shop owner in the fantasy film "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium"

2008

Voiced the character of kung fu master Shifu in the animated feature "Kung Fu Panda"

2008

Co-starred with Emma Thompson in the romantic comedy "Last Chance Harvey"; earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor

2010

Played Paul Giamatti's father in "Barney's Version"

2010

Reprised role of Ben Stiller's father Bernie Focker in the comedy sequel "Little Fockers"

2011

Once again voiced kung fu master Shifu in "Kung Fu Panda 2"

2012

Co-starred with Nick Nolte and Gary Stevens on the horse-racing drama "Luck" (HBO), the show was cancelled in March 2012 during season two production following death of third horse on set.

2012

Made his feature directorial debut with "Quartet"; the film starred Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Pauline Collins, and Billy Connolly as retired opera singers

2014

Appeared in "The Cobbler"

2016

Reprised the role of Shifu in "Kung Fu Panda 3"

2016

Co-starred in historical drama "Medici: Masters of Florence"

2017

Co-starred in the critically acclaimed "The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)"

Photo Collections

The Graduate - Movie Posters
Here are a few variations of the one-sheet movie poster for The Graduate (1967), starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft. One-sheets measured 27x41 inches, and were the poster style most commonly used in theaters.

Videos

Movie Clip

All That Jazz (1979) -- (Movie Clip) Without The Benefit Of Dying Herself Director Bob Fosse gives us Roy Scheider as Fosse-based director Joe Gideon, after a grueling dance rehearsal, editing his film about a dead comic, with Cliff Gorman as Davis Newman, based on Dustin Hoffman, who played the real Lenny Bruce, in Fosse's film Lenny, focused on the famous Bruce routine about death, with Sue Paul and his actual editor, Alan Heim, in the cutting room, in All That Jazz, 1979.
Rain Man (1988) -- (Movie Clip) I've Never Dealt With These Lamborghinis Dealer Charlie (Tom Cruise) and his Lamborghinis are introduced in the title sequence and first scene from director Barry Levinson's Best Picture Academy Award-winner Rain Man, 1988.
All The President's Men (1976) -- (Movie Clip) Somebody Got To Her Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) in the Washington Post newsroom, decide to follow up on damning calls to the White House, in Alan J. Pakula's All The President's Men, 1976, from Woodward and Bernstein's book and William Goldman's screenplay.
All The President's Men (1976) -- (Movie Clip) Possible Burglary The security guard is Frank Wills, the actual guy, who called in the Watergate burglary, staged by director Alan J. Pakula, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam and Dustin Hoffman also introduced, in the 1976 version of the Woodward & Bernstein book, All The President's Men.
Papillon (1973) -- (Movie Clip) No One Is Innocent En route to the penal colony in French Guyana ca. 1933, Steve McQueen (title character) introduces himself to wisecracking counterfeiter Dega (Dustin Hoffman), their first conversation, early in director Franklin Schaffner's international hit Papillon, 1973.
Papillon (1973) -- (Movie Clip) You Escape, They Hunt Arriving from France, Steve McQueen (title character) and Dega (Dustin Hoffman) get their first look at Devil's Island, with comments from returning inmate Julot (Don Gordon), who takes his own desperate steps, in Papillon, 1973, from the international best-selling memoir by Henri Charriere.
Rain Man (1988) -- (Movie Clip) There's Four Left In The Box Autistic Raymond (Dustin Hoffman) and annoyed brother Charlie (Tom Cruise), at odds with the doctor from whom he's sort-of kidnapped the patient, have a strange encounter with waitress Sally (Bonnie Hunt) in director Barry Levinson's Diner, 1988.
Rain Man (1988) -- (Movie Clip) Don't Walk Shooting in downtown Guthrie, Oklahoma, Charlie (Tom Cruise) is exasperated with his newly-discovered autistic-savant brother Raymond (Dustin Hoffman) to whom his estranged father left his estate, so, en route to California to dispute the will, decides to look for a psychiatrist, in Barry Levinson’s Rain Man, 1988.
Midnight Cowboy (1969) -- (Movie Clip) Open, Everybody's Talkin' From director John Schlesinger, from Waldo Salt’s screenplay and the James Leo Herlihy novel, the captivating opening, shot on location in Big Spring, Texas, introducing Jon Voight as Joe Buck, and Fred Neil’s song performed by Harry Nilsson, in the 1969 Best Picture winner, Midnight Cowboy, also starring Dustin Hoffman.
Midnight Cowboy (1969) -- (Movie Clip) Terrific Shirt Joe (Jon Voight) failing further as a hustler in New York, counting his dwindling money and meeting Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman, Voight’s fellow Best Actor nominee, in his first scene), his sticky nickname provided by Jonathan Kramer, followed by the famous mostly accidental taxi scene, in John Schlesinger’s Midnight Cowboy, 1969.
Hero (1992) -- (Movie Clip) Excuse The Vulgarity Jungle Advised to visit with his son (James Madio) before his sentencing for fencing stolen goods, small-time crook Bernie (Dustin Hoffman) continues his confabulating when they find a promising wallet in a rest room, early in Hero, 1992, with Geena Davis and Andy Garcia.
Hero (1992) -- (Movie Clip) Like The Suicide? Edward Hermann’s cameo introduces Geena Davis as reporter Gale and Kevin J. O’Connor as cameraman Chucky, then we meet Chevy Chase as news director Deke, Stephen Tobolowsky as exec Wallace, and Christian Clemenson as a rival newsman, in Hero, 1992, also starring Dustin Hoffman and Andy Garcia.

Trailer

Family

Harvey Hoffman
Father
Set designer, furniture designer. First-generation Russian Jew; worked as a prop supervisor at Columbia before becoming a furniture salesman.
Lillian Hoffman
Mother
Suffered a heart attack and then a stroke in June, 1980.
Ron Hoffman
Brother
Former economics professor, lawyer. Older.
Karina Hoffman-Birkhead
Daughter
Born c. 1966; adopted; mother, Anne Byrne; father Byrne's first husband; convicted of embezzlement in London in 1998.
Jenna Hoffman
Daughter
Photographer. Born October 15, 1970; mother, Anne Byrne.
Jacob Hoffman
Son
Actor. Born March 20, 1981 with hyaline membrane (a disease of underdeveloped lungs); mother Lisa Gottsegen; appeared in a pirate baseball scene in "Hook" (1991).
Rebecca Hoffman
Daughter
Born March 17, 1983; mother Lisa Gottsegen; appeared as Jane in school play in "Hook" (1991).
Max Hoffman
Son
Born August 30, 1984; mother Lisa Gottsegen; played Peter Pan at age five in "Hook" (1991).
Alexandra Hoffman
Daughter
Born c. 1997; mother Lisa Gottsegen.

Companions

Anne Byrne
Wife
Ballerina. Married on May 4, 1969; divorced in 1980.
Lisa Hoffman
Wife
Former lawyer. Married on October 21, 1980.

Bibliography

Notes

According to Mel Brooks, he had planned to cast Dustin Hoffman as Franz Liebkind in "The Producers" before Hoffman landed his star-making role in "The Graduate" opposite Brooks' wife Anne Bancroft.

In 1997. Hoffman filed a $5 million lawsuit against Los Angeles magazine which published a computer-altered image of the actor in character from "Tootsie" modeling designer clothing. The actor, who had not given his permission for the photograph, claimed in his suit that it hurt his career and that he would be paid a great a deal of money to model clothes. The US District Court judge agreed and in January 1999 awarded $1.5 million in damages.

"Every day is a rebirth," says the actor. "I am no longer the person I was yesterday. The events of the day, in imperceptible ways, change what we can't consciously recognize."---Hoffman to The Toronto Sun, October 2, 1996.

"Our whole idea of women as physical objects is drilled into us from birth and changes little, no matter how savvy we get in other ways. I thought I played a really interesting woman in "Tootsie," but then one day I realized I probably wouldn't have sought me out at a party because I wasn't stunningly beautiful. That made me cry at my own shallowness."---Hoffman to Calgary Sun, January 15, 1998.

"Dustin starts off playing head games and progresses to physical pranks."---Jake Gyllenhaal, Hoffman's Moonlight Mile co-star to Calgary Sun, September 11, 2002.

"Here's the thing. If you can get past the big crime in our industry, which is getting older, and once you embrace the so-called limitations of what we call life, then it becomes a part of your work."---Hoffman to Confidence, August 22, 2003.

"We were coming out as actors at a time Hollywood was marketing people like Rock Hudson, Tab Hunter and Troy Donahue. Gene Hackman and Robert Duvall and I had mirrors. We weren't pretty boys. We were not what Hollywood considered leading men material. We were character actors. We were ugly."---Hoffman to Calgary Sun, October 22, 2003.

"I'm going to have the same regrets five years from now. And that is, looking at old photographs and thinking why didn't I understand how lucky I was? Why didn't I feel full? Why didn't I cherish it more, as it was happening? Why was so much of it just taken for granted?"---Hoffman on his regrets to GQ, December 2004.