Oscar Profile #211: Dustin Hoffman

Born August 8, 1937 to Lillian and Harry Hoffman, a prop supervisor at Columbia, Dustin Hoffman had originally wanted to be a concert pianist but turned to acting instead, making his stage debut at the Pasadena Playhouse opposite Gene Hackman in the late 1950s. He and Hackman moved to New York in pursuit of Broadway roles where their third roommate was another future star, Robert Duvall.

Off-Broadway in 1960, he was on Broadway and TV from 1961. He made his film debut in 1967 after which he was cast in the lead in The Graduate which made him an overnight star. He was nominated for an Oscar for that and for 1969’s Midnight Cowboy. That same year he received the first bad reviews of his career for the critically lambasted John and Mary opposite Mia Farrow.

Hoffman had his pick of roles in the 1970s and turned in critically acclaimed performances in Little Big Man, Straw Dogs, Papillon, Lenny (his third Oscar nomination), All the President’s Men, Marathon Man, Straight Time, Agatha and Kramer vs. Kramer for which he received his forth Oscar nomination and first win.

The actor’s output in the 1980s slowed considerably. He received his fifth Oscar nomination for 1982’s Tootsie and then won a Tony for the 1984 Broadway revival of Death of a Salesman and an Emmy for the 1985 TV version. His 1987 film, Ishtar was the biggest critical and box-office failure of his career, but his 1988 film, Rain Man was a critical and box-office smash, earning him his sixth Oscar nomination and second win. It was also his third film to earn a Best Picture Oscar after Midnight Cowboy and Kramer vs. Kramer and the fourth of his films to win Best Director after The Graduate, Midnight Cowboy and Kramer vs. Kramer.

Hoffman’s 1990s output increased dramatically, but his roles now alternated between leads in Billy Bathgate, Outbreak, key supporting roles in Dick Tracy and Hook and co-leads in Mad City and Wag the Dog, for which he earned his seventh Oscar nomination for the latter, his last to date.

Since the turn of the 21st Century, Hoffman has continued to alternate between starring and supporting roles and added direction to his repertoire. He was on screen in such diverse films as Finding Neverland, Meet the Fockers, Stranger Than Fiction and Last Chance Harvey. Behind the camera, he directed Maggie Smith and Tom Courtenay in Quartet. He can next be seen in the made-for-TV British film Esio Trot opposite Judi Dench. He’ll be seen on the big screen next year in Stephen Frears’ United Lance Armstrong Biopic and he’ll be heard in the animated King Fu Panda 3

Dustin Hoffman remains a major star at 77.

ESSENTIAL FILMS

THE GRADUATE (1967), directed by Mike Nichols

Hoffman seemingly came out of nowhere to land the starring role in 1967’s top comedy in which everything from Calder Willingham and Buck Henry’s adaptation of Charles Webb’s novel to the contemporary soundtrack by Simon and Garfunkel fit together perfectly. Hoffman was an immediate sensation as the aimless, naïve, recent college graduate who is seduced by the middle-aged mother (Anne Bancroft) of a girl he likes (Katharine Ross). All three stars were nominated for Oscars, as was Nichols for his direction, Robert Surtees for his Cinematography, Willingham and Henry for their Screenplay and the film itself. Nichols won on his second nomination after having lost the year before for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? .

MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969), directed by John Schlesinger

Hoffman immediately proved his versatility with his portrayal of the sickly, crippled conman, Enrico “Ratso” Rizzo who befriends Jon Voight’s Joe Buck, the strapping young Texas cowboy who comes to New York to make his fortune as a male prostitute. “I’m walking here”, Hoffman’s line as he stops traffic on a busy Manhattan stree, became a popular catch-phrase at the time.

British director Schlesinger’s capture of the grit and grime that was part of the landscape of the city was almost a character unto itself. Originally rated ‘X’, the film became the only X-rated film to win an Oscar for Best Picture. The rating was later changed without changing a single line or shot in the film which also won Oscars for Schlesinger and screenwriter Waldo Salt. Hoffman and Voight were both nominated for Best Actor, losing to John Wayne in True Grit. The film was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress (Sylvia Miles) and Best Editing.

KRAMER VS. KRAMER (1979), directed by Robert Benton

This one really touched a nerve at the time as real life married women of the day were leaving their husbands and children in record numbers to pursue life on their own. Hoffman plays the upwardly mobile advertising executive whose unhappy wife (Meryl Streep) leaves him and their young son (Justin Henry) only to come back later, taking him to court to re-gain custody of the child.

The film was nominated for nine Academy awards and won five. It won for Best Picture, Actor (Hoffman), Supporting Actress (Streep), Director and Adapted Screenplay (also Benton). Its other nominations were for Supporting Actor (8-year-old Justin Henry), Supporting Actress (Jane Alexander), Cinematography and Editing.

TOOTSIE (1982), directed by Sydney Pollack

Hoffman had his most unusual role as out of work actor Michael Dorsey who disguises himself as an actress whom he calls Dorothy Michaels in order to find work on a TV soap opera. Nicknamed “Tootsie”, he falls in love with his beautiful co-star Julie, played by Jessica Lange, while Julie’s father Les, played by Charles Durning, falls in love with him/her.

The madcap comedy with heart earned ten Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Actor (Hoffman), two Supporting Actresses (Lange, Teri Garr), Director, Original Screenplay, Cinematography, Sound, Editing and Original Song (“It Might Be You”). Lange, who had also been nominated for Best Actress for Frances was the only winner. She lost Best Actress to Hoffman’s Kramer vs. Kramer co-star, Meryl Streep in Sophie’s Choice.

Durning was also nominated that year, albeit for Best Supporting Actor in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

RAIN MAN (1988), directed by Barry Levinson

Rain Man drew a lot of publicity outside of the usual show biz channels for being the first film to deal with autism, then a subject about which the general public knew very little. It was the must-see film of its time.

Although Hoffman plays the title character, an autistic savant, it is co-star Tom Cruise who has the film’s larger role as a selfish yuppie who learns after the death of his father that he had an older brother he never knew (Hoffman) to whom the wealthy father has left his fortune. The film plays out as a road picture in which the two brothers get to know each other. Nominated for eight Oscars, it won four.

The film won Best Picture, Actor (Hoffman), Director and Original Screenplay. It was also nominated for Best Cinematography, Art Direction, Editing and Original Score.