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Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is a two-time Oscar winning American actor.
Background Hoffman was born in Los Angeles, California to Jewish American parents, Harry Hoffman and Lillian Gold. After graduating from Los Angeles High School, Hoffman attended the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music with ambitions of being a concert pianist. He later attended Santa Monica College for a year before dropping out due to poor grades. While at the college, Hoffman took an acting class to boost his grade point average (he was told "nobody flunks acting") and later remarked that when he was in the class he felt totally at peace with himself . Acting beginnings Hoffman performed at the Pasadena Playhouse for two years with fellow actor Gene Hackman. Ironically, they were both voted by their class as the "least likely to succeed". Frustrated with the school, Hackman took the initiative and got on a bus for New York City, advising Hoffman to call him if he were to come to New York City. Hoffman and Hackman would later befriend another struggling young actor named Robert Duvall. Hoffman took Hackman up on his offer and soon after followed his friend to New York, where he worked a series of odd jobs, such as coat checking at restaurants, working in the typing department of the city Yellow Pages directory, or stringing Hawaiian leis, while getting the occasional bit television role. To support himself, he left acting briefly to teach. In 1960, Hoffman landed a role in an off-Broadway production and followed with a walk-on role in a Broadway production in 1961. He also did the occasional television commercial. An oft-replayed segment on programs that explore actors' early work is a clip showing a young Hoffman touting the Volkswagen Fastback. Hoffman then studied at the famed Actors Studio and became a dedicated method actor. 1960s: The breakthrough
1970s: Staying in the game Hoffman could now get the parts he dreamed of ten years earlier. Instead of making large Hollywood films, however, Hoffman more often opted to take roles in smaller-scale, character-driven films. Little Big Man (1970) In Arthur Penn's Little Big Man, Hoffman plays the character Jack Crabb from teenager to 121 years-old (an acting world record, says Guinness World Records). Crabb is a man who, on his death bed, recalls his life of struggle and adventure. A precursor to films like Forrest Gump, the film found Crabb in the middle of historical events, such as the battle at Little Big Horn, alongside General Custer. According to IMDb, Hoffman sat in his dressing room for an hour screaming at the top of his lungs in order to achieve the 121 year-old rasp. Mostly comedic, the film was widely praised by critics, but was overlooked for an award except for a supporting nomination for Chief Dan George. Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? (1971) Who Is Harry Kellerman...? featured yet another Hoffman role completely different from the rest. In the film - directed by Ulu Grosbard - Hoffman plays a Dylan-esque singer/songwriter who finds himself in life-crisis when a man named Harry Kellerman begins to spread ridiculous lies about him. Straw Dogs (1971) In his second film since The Wild Bunch, director Sam Peckinpah created one of the most startling depictions of societal violence ever on film. Hoffman (against his will, committed by contract) portrayed David, an American who moves with his girlfriend to her hometown in rural England, surrounded by violent men with lustful intentions. Often (falsely) dubbed as England's answer to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the film is arguably Peckinpah's least commercial film. It depicts graphically the primality of physical and sexual violence to a shocking degree, a quality that polarized audiences and critics alike. The film has found a cult audience since the acceptance of Peckinpah as a revolutionary of film directing. Papillon (1973) Alongside Steve McQueen and under the direction of Patton director Franklin J. Schaffner, Hoffman made his largest film to date. Papillon told the story of inmates on an island prison who plot their escape. Domestically, the film brought in more than four times its budget. Lenny (1974) In director Bob Fosse's highly experimental Lenny, Hoffman portrayed pioneering stand-up comedian Lenny Bruce in a jarring performance, covering Bruce's onstage charisma and his tragic fall from grace. Hoffman was able to mirror Lenny Bruce so closely thanks to archived audio and extremely candid video recordings. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor (Hoffman). This would mark Hoffman's third nomination in seven years. All the President's Men (1976) Only four years after the events of Watergate occurred, director Alan J. Pakula put to celluloid the story of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's investigation and ultimate unveiling of the truth behind the Watergate scandal, an investigation that would eventually cause President Richard Nixon to resign from office. Hoffman portrayed Carl Bernstein and Robert Redford portrayed Bob Woodward in the film, which garnered eight Oscar nominations, though none for Hoffman or Redford. The film remains one of the greatest films about journalism ever made. Marathon Man (1976) Reteaming with John Schlesinger, the director of Midnight Cowboy, Hoffman starred in Marathon Man, a film about the human psyche under the stress of confusion, torment and torture. The film was based on William Goldman's novel of the same name, which he adapted into a screenplay himself. Marathon Man found Hoffman re-facing the themes of distress and anger that he encountered on Straw Dogs, though this film was more conventional. Sir Laurence Olivier starred in the film as the Josef Mengele-inspired Dr. Christian Szell (AKA "The White Angel"), a sadistic Nazi who tortured countless Jews in Auschwitz. Hoffman's character finds himself in the middle of Szell's plans to smuggle diamonds out of America. In the film's most famous scene, Olivier tortures Hoffman while repeating the seemingly non-sequitur question: "Is it safe?" The quote was voted as the 70th greatest quote in the history of film by AFI. To achieve his character's exhausted look in this scene, Hoffman deprived himself of sleep for two days. During the filming Olivier famously said to Hoffman "Try acting. . . It's much easier!" While this is widely believed to have been a joke about Hoffman's Strasbergian method, Hoffman himself, who for many years denied the story altogether, now claims that Olivier had been referring to how Hoffman had been partying too hard (the real reason he had deprived himself of sleep) as a way of coping with his depression and the pain of his divorce. * For scenes in which Hoffman was to appear breathless, he would run a half mile until the moment Schlesinger called "action". After this film, Hoffman said that he would no longer play "young" roles like being a college student in Marathon Man (he was 40 at the time of its release). Straight Time (1978) Originally to be his directorial debut, Straight Time was a pet project of Hoffman's ever since he read Edward Bunker's source novel. Hoffman opted out of directing the picture and instead handed it over to Harry Kellerman director Ulu Grosbard. Hoffman starred as a thief who, upon being released from prison, decides to go straight. His plans are unfoundedly thwarted by a parole officer who, in turn, causes Hoffman to revert to a life of crime. The film was based on Bunker's experiences. Agatha (1979) In his first true failure, Hoffman found himself in Michael Apted's Agatha. The film tagline describes it as "a fictional solution to the real mystery of Agatha Christie's disappearance." Vanessa Redgrave starred as Agatha Christie. Controversy arose when the script was adjusted to accommodate Dustin Hoffman's starpower. Agatha producer David Puttnam left the production and swore he would never again work with Dustin Hoffman. Kramer Vs. Kramer (1979) Directed by Robert Benton, Kramer featured Hoffman as workaholic Ted Kramer whose wife unexpectedly leaves him, and he has to raise their son alone. Hurt and stunned, Ted is forced to juggle his priorities: success in advertising and single parenthood. In tradition feel-good fashion, he comes to see what's truly important and finds himself growing up far too late. When his ex-wife returns to reclaim their child, he finds everything he's fixed breaking all over again. Hoffman starred alongside Meryl Streep in the film, which earned Hoffman his first Academy Award. The film also received the Best Picture honor, as well as Supporting Actress (Streep) and Director. 1980s:
1990s: The commercial decade Throughout the '90s, Hoffman would do many large, studio films. Dick Tracy (1990) Warren Beatty directed and starred as the title character in this comic book adaptation. Hoffman would do his Ishtar co-star a friendly favor by playing a small role in the film under heavy make-up. He played Mumbles, a hesitant squealer who speaks extremely fast. The character of Mumbles was supposedly based on producer Robert Evans. The film was a hit with critics and a smash at the box office. Billy Bathgate (1991) Hoffman would reunite with Kramer vs. Kramer director Robert Benton for the ill-fated Billy Bathgate. In the film, the title character (Loren Dean), finds himself working his way up in organized crime in the '20s and '30s. The boss (Hoffman) promotes Billy and he becomes his mentor, just as the sydicate begins to fall apart. The film failed on almost all accounts, critically and financially. Hook (1991) In his biggest film yet, Hoffman played the title role of Captain Hook in Steven Spielberg's Hook. Robin Williams co-starred in the film as the grown-up Peter Pan, who ends up back in Neverland after his kids are kidnapped by the Captain. At $70 million, Hook was easily the most expensive film Spielberg had made up to that point, and was a huge success at the box office. The film earned Hoffman a Golden Globe nomination. Hero (1992) In Stephen Frears' Hero, Hoffman plays a lowly scoundrel who saves a few people from a plane crash while trying to find goodies in the remains. When a picture of him surfaces, a reporter (Geena Davis) mounts a search for the man, including a million-dollar reward. A much more sympathetic drifter (Andy Garcia) gets involved claiming to be the real hero. The film failed to perform well at the box office and received a mixed reception from critics. Outbreak (1995) Fresh off his smash hit In the Line of Fire, director Wolfgang Petersen decided to make a film fictionalizing the then-threatening Ebola virus. The lead role of Sam Daniels in Outbreak was originally intended for Harrison Ford. When Ford declined, the filmmakers went to Hoffman, who accepted the role. Starring alongside Rene Russo, Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Donald Sutherland, Hoffman plays the ignored whistle blower in the film. Outbreak went on to recoup its budget, but made very little profit. The film, though, did receive better-than-average reviews for a Hollywood film. Sleepers (1996) In Rain Man director Barry Levinson's period drama Sleepers, four childhood friends find themselves reunited after bloody revenge is committed against their childhood abuser. Hoffman played bumbling defense attorney Danny Snider in the film. Good reviews and decent box office led the film to cult status with the release of the film on video and, eventually, DVD. Mad City (1997) Hoffman starred opposite John Travolta in popular Greek director Costa Gavras' Mad City, a film about a man who takes a history museum hostage after losing his job. In the movie, Hoffman portrayed Max Brackett, a reporter already in the museum when the event takes place. Amongst negative reviews and terrible receipts, the film quickly left theatres and plunged into obscurity. Wag The Dog (1997) Working with Barry Levinson for the third time, Hoffman played the role of the fiendishly clever movie producer-turned-war producer Stanley Motes in Wag The Dog. The film (co-written by master writer David Mamet) found Robert De Niro playing Washington spin-doctor Conrad Brean, a man hired to invent a war in order to cover up a presidential sex scandal. When De Niro approaches Hoffman, he finds the solution slowly becoming just another big, fat problem. The film was shot in just under a month. Hoffman's Robert Evans-inspired performance in Wag The Dog earned him some of the best reviews of his career and also brought him his 7th Academy Award nomination. Sphere (1998) Once again, Hoffman would work with Barry Levinson on the Michael Crichton adaptation Sphere. It tells the story of a team of scientists sent to the bottom of South Pacific to investigate a mysterious vessel, which turns out to be a spaceship, crashed in the middle in the ocean centuries before. Hoffman plays the leader of the team, which also includes Sharon Stone, Samuel L. Jackson and Liev Schreiber. After being welcomed with a plethora of bad reviews, the film failed to regain even half of its budget domestically. Being that Wag The Dog was filmed after this and released only weeks before it, Hoffman and Levinson managed to dodge Spheres proverbial bullet. The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999) In Leon: The Professional director Luc Besson's adaptation of the story of Joan of Arc, Hoffman portrayed "The Conscience". The film failed with critics and at the box office. 2000s:
Private life Hoffman has two children (Karina and Jenna) with his first wife Anne Byrne (married May 1969; divorced in 1980), and four others (Jacob, Max, Rebecca and Alexandra) with wife Lisa Gottsegen, who is an attorney, (married since October 1980). A political liberal, Hoffman has long supported the Democratic Party, as well as Ralph Nader. Trivia The rock band Of Montreal made an album called "The Early Four Track Recordings" which tells a fictional, sarcastic story about Dustin Hoffman. Robert Duvall was Hoffman's roommate in college. Duvall and Hoffman tease each other on the matter of acting training, as Duvall was trained by Sanford Meisner whereas Hoffman was brought up on Lee Strasberg's Method acting. Hoffman is good friends with actor Gene Hackman. Hoffman on a talk show once stated that the Oscars were "obscene, dirty and no better than a beauty contest". When presenting an award at the 1974 Oscar ceremonies, Frank Sinatra responded strongly: "Contrary to what Mr Hoffman thinks, it is not an obscene evening. It is not garish and it is not embarrassing." Complete filmography | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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