Cinema Experts

“You go to the cinema and you realize you're watching the third act. There is no first or second act. There is this massive film-making where you spend this incredible amount of money and play right to the demographic. You can tell how much money the film is going to make by how it does on the first weekend. The whole culture is in the crap house. It's not just true in the movies, it's also true in the theater.”
Hoffman performed at the Pasadena Playhouse for two years with fellow actor Gene Hackman, who were both voted notoriously by their class as "Least Likely To Succeed", as both actors didn't fit in with the traditional norms of the blonde, surf tanned performers in demand at the time. Determined to prove his classmates wrong, Hackman headed for New York City and told Hoffman to call him if he were to come to New York City. 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. He also worked as a professional fragrance tester for Maxwell House. 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.
Through the early and mid-1960s, Hoffman made appearances early in his career on many television shows and movies, including Naked City, The Defenders and Hallmark Hall of Fame. Hoffman made his theatrical film debut in The Tiger Makes Out in 1967, alongside Eli Wallach.
In 1966, young up-and-coming director Mike Nichols, fresh off a Best Director Oscar- nomination for his film Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, began casting his next film The Graduate. The first choice for the role of Benjamin Braddock, Warren Beatty, soon dropped out. The second choice was Robert Redford, who also wanted the role, but agreed with Nichols that he was too charming and popular to play the role of a sweaty-palmed, sexually uncomfortable virgin.
Hoffman had been set to play the role of Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind in Mel Brooks' 1968 movie The Producers. He awoke Brooks late one evening by throwing small rocks at his apartment window. Hoffman said his agent had gotten him an audition with Mike Nichols for the lead in The Graduate. Thinking he would never get the part because they would be looking for someone who was actually attractive, Brooks allowed Hoffman to go to Los Angeles. Hungry for a role, Hoffman auditioned for the film and, luckily, he came through with the exact amount of awkwardness necessary for the role. A day or two later, Brooks was informed of the news and Kenneth Mars was cast in the role of Liebkind instead. Hoffman was cast, and the film began production in March 1967. Hoffman received an Academy Award nomination for his performance in The Graduate. The film was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar and Nichols took home the award for Best Director. The Graduate was also subsequently voted as the #7 Greatest American Movie of All-Time by the AFI.
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.
Hoffman was considered for the role of Ratso Rizzo in the film version of James Leo Herlihy's novel Midnight Cowboy after producer Jerome Hellman saw Hoffman in his one-man-show "Eh!". According to Hoffman, he thought he had proactively kinked the Ratso Rizzo chain by appearing in The Graduate, by now an international smash hit. He found his Strasberg training taking over when, to prove his dedication to the role, he asked the producer to meet him on a street corner in Manhattan. Without the producer's knowledge, Hoffman dressed up as a homeless man and begged for money on the streets. When the producer arrived, he took the man for an everyday beggar and paid no attention. Hoffman walked up to him several minutes later and introduced himself. Shocked, the producer questioned no further whether Hoffman could play Rizzo or not.
In one scene Rizzo and Joe Buck (Jon Voight) are walking a street crossing in New York City when a car almost hits the two of them. "Hey, I'm walkin' here! I'm walkin' here!" Rizzo exclaims, feverishly smacking the hood of the car. The quote has become one of the most famous in film history, recently voted #27 on AFI's Top 100 Movie Quotes Of All Time. Hoffman claims that the incident with the car was totally unscripted and ad-libbed. Hoffman received his second Academy Award nomination for Midnight Cowboy. Ironically, both Hoffman and Jon Voight lost the award to John Wayne, for playing an actual cowboy character in True Grit.
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.
Under Arthur Penn's direction, Hoffman plays the character Jack Crabb from teenager to the age of 121 years in the film Little Big Man (1970). 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. Mostly comedic, the film was widely praised by critics, but was overlooked for an award except for a supporting nomination for Chief Dan George.
Next was Straw Dogs. 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 wife (Susan George) to her home village in rural England, surrounded by violent men with lustful intentions. The film 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.
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. 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. 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.
Less than two years after Watergate ended with the resignation of Richard Nixon, 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, All the President's Men. Hoffman portrayed Carl Bernstein and Robert Redford portrayed Bob Woodward in the film, which garnered eight Oscar nominations, though none for Hoffman or Redford.
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.
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!" 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).
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.
Directed by Robert Benton, Kramer Vs. 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 traditional 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.
In Sydney Pollack's Tootsie, Hoffman portrays Michael Dorsey, a struggling actor who finds himself unable to land a job due to his stigma of being a "difficult actor" (a title to which Hoffman wasn't a stranger). Amidst the threat of ultimate failure and poverty, Michael comes up with a plan: Dress up as a woman (Dorothy Michaels) and land a role on a soap opera. Not only does he get the job, he also becomes an extremely popular character on the show. To make things worse, he develops a crush on a co-worker (Jessica Lange) who unfortunately doesn't know that Dorothy Michaels is Michael Dorsey.
Hoffman then turned to television in the role of Willy Lohman in Death of a Salesman, for which he was awarded 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.
Director Barry Levinson's Rain Man chronicles the reunion of two brothers after the death of their estranged father. One, Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise), is an indebted car salesman while the other, Raymond Babbitt (Hoffman), is an institutionalized autistic savant. Never knowing of any brother, and upon finding out that Raymond is to receive his father's fortune, Charlie takes Raymond away from the institution. Because Raymond refuses to fly, they are forced to drive back to California. During the course of this trip, Charlie finds himself forever transformed.
Because Hoffman shows no emotion throughout the entire film, it took careful crafting to make sure that Cruise's transformation was noticeable to audiences. So Levinson, Hoffman and Cruise worked for two years on this film. In that time, they decided that Hoffman's role in the film was simply Cruise's divine intervention. Because Hoffman's blankness is so strong, the audience shapes him into whatever they want him to be, and feel sympathy. Hoffman's nuanced performance has been hailed by many as the greatest of all time. The performance earned Hoffman his second Oscar. Upon accepting his second Oscar, 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."
Throughout the 1990s, Hoffman would appear in many large, studio films. Warren Beatty directed and starred as the title character in the film adaptation of Dick Tracy. 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 flopped at the box office and was critically panned, though has recently reached cult status.
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.
Fresh off his smash hit In the Line of Fire, director Wolfgang Petersen decided to make a film fictionalizing the then-threatening Ebola virus. 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.
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.
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 washed up reporter already in the museum when the event takes place and takes advantage of the situation as a way of reviving his career. Amongst negative reviews and terrible receipts, the film quickly left theatres and plunged into obscurity.
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 found Robert DeNiro 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.
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's work has primarily been supporting roles in studio films. As Ben Floss in Moonlight Mile (2002), Hoffman played the father of a recently deceased woman, while Jake Gyllenhaal portrays the fiance of the girl and Susan Sarandon plays her grieving, free-spirit mother. Moonlight Mile, written and directed by Brad Silberling, primarily focuses on Gyllenhaal's character as the three work together to get through their grief.
Hoffman would finally have a chance to work with his friend of fifty years, Gene Hackman, in Gary Fleder's Runaway Jury, an adaptation of John Grisham's bestselling novel. In the film, John Cusack and Rachel Weisz portray two important factors in a large murder trial, one on the jury, working on the inside, and the other playing the outside. Hoffman portrays the plaintiff's attorney, while Hackman plays the jury consultant for the defense. In a pivotal and dramatic scene, Hoffman's and Hackman's characters have an argument in the court bathroom. The two friends rehearsed this scene for days. Receiving good reviews all round, the film performed somewhat poorly at the box office, failing to recoup its $60 million budget domestically.
Hoffman played the small role of theatre owner Charles Frohman in Marc Forster's dream-like J.M. Barrie biopic Finding Neverland. The film, costarring Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Julie Christie and Freddie Highmore, received rave reviews, was a hit at the box office and earned the film seven Academy Award nominations - including Best Picture and Best Actor (Depp).
Meet the Fockers (2004) is a comedy film and a sequel to Meet the Parents which saw Hoffman co-starring with Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller. The film went on to become one of the highest grossing comedies in history, and Hoffman won the 2005 MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance. Also, Hoffman recently was featured in cameo roles in Andy Garcia's The Lost City and on the final episode of HBO sitcom "Curb Your Enthusiasm"'s fifth season.
His role in 2006's Stranger Than Fiction pushed further into the comedic vein than Hoffman's performances have in recent years. He gave an interview to stv's Grant Lauchlan in December 2006 and discussed the importance of comedy in life and work. In 2006 Hoffman played the perfumier Giuseppe Baldini in Tom Tykwer's film Perfume: The Story of a Murderer. He also had a small cameo in the 2006 film, The Holiday.