Award-Winning Facts About Dustin Hoffman, Hollywood’s Chameleon

It Started With An Insult

When he was still a young man, Dustin Hoffman’s aunt told him that he was not good-looking enough to be in movies. Well, Hoffman seems to have taken this as a challenge and has spent his life proving her wrong. Not only did Hoffman become a huge star, but he also became the only actor to have top billing in three films that won Best Picture. 

Shockingly, in the third act of his career, stunning allegations came out that threatened to derail everything he’d built. 

1. There Were Two Hints

When Dustin Hoffman was born on August 8, 1937, there were two hints of his future involvement in movies. First, his father had worked in the props department at Columbia Pictures and, second was his name. His parents had named him after Dustin Farnum, who was a silent film star. 

But there was still a long road ahead of Hoffman until he would be a star. 

 Images Press, Getty Images

2. He Made A Sudden Switch

Hoffman's first idea was to become a doctor, and he enrolled himself at Santa Monica College to begin his journey. For some reason, his passion for medicine suddenly disappeared, and he soon changed to acting. He went to his Aunt Pearl and told her about his intention to be an actor. 

Her reply was not at all what he wanted to hear. 

 Arettia Smith Fildi, Wikimedia Commons

3. He Had A Deficit

When Hoffman revealed that he wanted to be an actor, his Aunt Pearl was sure he wouldn’t be a success, and it was for a shocking reason. She thought he wasn’t attractive enough to be an actor. Hoffman knew he had to be more skilled than all his good-looking competitors, so he invested in the best acting classes money could buy. 

 Light show, Wikipedia

4. He Went To The Best

Hoffman joined the Pasadena Playhouse and also took classes with method acting guru Lee Strasberg. Strasberg had led major Hollywood actors—people like James Dean and Marilyn Monroe—to stardom. But as Hoffman’s Aunt Pearl had said, maybe he just didn’t have the face for acting. Well, Aunt Pearl may have been exactly right. 

 Mike Coppola, Getty Images

5. He Didn’t Have Success

Hoffman made the move to New York City and struggled to find success. He moved in with two friends and the three of them may have looked like losers hoping for the impossible to happen. But the truth was exactly the opposite. His pals were future Oscar winners: Gene Hackman and Robert Duvall. 

As it turned out, one of his friends was more like a frenemy. 

 Andrea Raffin, Shutterstock

6. He Didn’t Hold Back

Hoffman had already gotten the message that he wasn’t handsome enough for movies, but Hoffman’s new friend also agreed. Duvall told Hoffman that he looked like “Barbra Streisand in drag”. This insult was Hoffman’s worst nightmare because it meant that maybe Aunt Pearl was right and maybe he should just quit trying. 

But he didn’t. 

 Bernard Gotfryd, Wikimedia Commons

7. It Was Low-Budget

After some small success on the stage, Hoffman got an offer from eclectic filmmaker Sidney W Pink, who’d made a name for himself in 3D films. Pink also made low-budget genre pictures, often in foreign countries. He offered Hoffman the lead role in a slapstick comedy called Madigan’s Millions that he was filming in Europe. 

Hoffman had to decide between respectable stage acting or a low-budget film. 

 Bonnie Schiffman Photography, Getty Images

8. His Face Got Him The Part 

Hoffman had heard it from many sources that he didn’t have a face for the big screen, but in this case, his face helped him out. You see, in Madigan’s Millions, they were looking for someone who could play a government agent, but not look like James Bond. Hoffman certainly fit the bill, and he was off to Europe. 

Sadly, he’d soon regret making this embarrassing low-budget film. 

 NBC, Wikipedia

9. He Didn’t Make Much

Madigan’s Millions ended up sitting on the shelf for a few years, so Hoffman’s real screen debut came in a much smaller role in a bigger-budget comedy. This was the ethically-challenged The Tiger Makes Out, about a man who, instead of dating the woman he desires, decides to kidnap her. Hoffman made a measly $200 a week. 

If he wanted more money, Hoffman would have to get bigger parts. 

 Denis Makarenko, Shutterstock

10. He Wasn’t Musical

Sadly, Hoffman flubbed an audition with rising director Mike Nichols. The Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? director liked Hoffman but this was for a musical and Hoffman could barely carry a tune. In the meantime, Hoffman snagged a role in Mel Brooks’ comedy The Producers. 

Then he got a surprise call that changed everything. 

 Warner Bros., Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

11. He Thought It Was A Joke

The call was from Nichols, and he had a part for Hoffman in another project called The Graduate. When Hoffman read the description of his character, it confused him. It described him as tall, athletic, and from Boston. Hoffman, a short Jewish man, thought that Nichols was making fun of him and told him so. Nichols wanted Hoffman, and Hoffman wanted The Graduate.

 But he had to do something about his commitment to Mel Brooks. 

 Lawrence Truman Productions, The Graduate (1967)

12. He Needed Permission

In a strange coincidence, Nichols' film had Brooks’ wife, Anne Bancroft, in it. So Brooks knew that The Graduate was about an older woman romancing a younger man. Brooks thought that with Hoffman’s unusual looks, he had little chance of getting the role. Brooks gave Hoffman permission to try and get the role. 

Now, all Hoffman had to do was nail the audition. 

 NBC Television, Wikimedia Commons

13. There Was A Huge Misunderstanding

When Hoffman went to meet Joseph E Levine, who was producing The Graduate, Levine made a huge mistake. He thought Hoffman was a lowly workman there to clean the windows. When Hoffman understood what Levine was thinking, he just started cleaning windows. It wasn’t a great first meeting. 

Hoffman’s next obstacle was his competition for this very coveted role. 

 Rob Bogaerts, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

14. He Was Just Bland Enough 

Hoffman had some stiff competition for the role of Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate. Robert Redford was up for the part and wanted it badly. What it came down to was that Redford was just too handsome to play a social misfit. Once again, Hoffman’s ordinary looks would help him. He snapped the role away from Redford. 

Now, he had to show the world he was worthy of it. 

 Lawrence Truman Productions, The Graduate (1967)

15. He Grabbed Her

In The Graduate, Hoffman’s love interest is an older woman played by Anne Bancroft. When they were working a pivotal scene, Hoffman decided to paw Bancroft’s chest. The director laughed so hard that Hoffman lost it too. To stop laughing, Hoffman used the wall to bang his head. Nichols decided to keep the whole thing in the movie. 

But grabbing women without their permission would one day come back to haunt Hoffman. 

 Lawrence Truman Productions, The Graduate (1967)

16. He Made Almost No Money 

When he was negotiating his contract for The Graduate, the studio wanted him to agree to a six-picture contract. You’d think Hoffman would be over the moon, but he wasn’t. He told his agent he’d rather work for free than have to work on other movies that he didn’t choose. The studio relented, but what they offered was a joke. 

 Lawrence Truman Productions, The Graduate (1967)

17. He Was Broke

The studio said that if Hoffman didn’t want a six-picture contract, they would pay him a paltry $17,000 for the entire shoot. Hoffman accepted and even though the film was a huge hit, Hoffman was soon in the unemployment line collecting checks. To add to his humiliation, it was at this time that the embarrassing slapstick Madigan’s Millions hit theaters. 

But the humiliations weren’t about to stop there. 

 Light show, Wikipedia

18. They Were Cruel

Hoffman may have forgotten that his Aunt Pearl had called him not handsome enough for show business, but others kept reminding him. Life magazine printed a very cruel joke between its covers. They said that "if Dustin Hoffman's face were his fortune, he'd be committed to a life of poverty". 

Well, they certainly got that wrong.

 Alan Light, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

19. He Was A New Breed

Not only was The Graduate a huge hit, it also cemented Hoffman’s fame for life. Time magazine called him part of a “new breed of actors”. Buck Henry—one of the screenwriters—said that after Hoffman, male stars no longer had to have conventional good looks. All this attention must’ve floored Hoffman. 

But he wasn’t the only one surprised. 

 Lawrence Truman Productions, The Graduate (1967)

20. He Was The Least Likely 

It was becoming clear that no one expected Hoffman to be a movie star. In fact, after his big success with The Graduate, one of his friends from his early days remarked: "You were the last one I expected to make it". To add to the shock, Hoffman got a nod for Best Actor from the Academy. 

The Graduate ended up making big money at the box office. Suddenly, Hoffman was in demand. 

 Lawrence Truman Productions, The Graduate (1967)

21. He Needed To Prove Himself

Something Hoffman read in the press was bothering him. Some critics were suggesting that Hoffman’s performance in The Graduate was a fluke, or was only the result of good directing. Hoffman wanted to prove them wrong by playing a totally different character. 

He’d heard about a film called Midnight Cowboy and knew that one of the characters was perfect to prove that he was a real actor. 

 Lawrence Truman Productions, The Graduate (1967)

22. He Set Up A Surprise

The role in Midnight Cowboy was a sad con man living on the streets of New York City. It was perfect because it was nothing at all like Hoffman’s part in The Graduate. Hoffman went to an extreme measure to prove that he could handle the part. For his audition, he told the film executive to meet him on a street corner. 

He had a big surprise planned. 

 Jerome Hellman Productions, Midnight Cowboy (1969)

23. He Revealed Himself

The movie executive went to the street corner to meet Hoffman, but he couldn't see him anywhere. All he saw was a homeless guy there who was bothering people for change. After a few minutes, the guy dressed in rags revealed himself to the executive. It was Hoffman. The film executive couldn’t believe that Hoffman had fooled him and gave the part to Hoffman. 

This unconventional role had the potential to boost Hoffman’s career—or destroy it. 

 Jerome Hellman Productions, Midnight Cowboy (1969)

24. It Was An Unsavory Role 

Hoffman’s character in Midnight Cowboy was Ratso Rizzo, a particularly pathetic con artist living on the edge of society. In the past, people had told Hoffman he wasn’t handsome enough for movies. Well, now he had to get hair and makeup to make him look ugly. Hoffman even had his dentist make a plate to suggest that his teeth were rotting away. 

But Hoffman had one more idea to make his character perfect. 

 Jerome Hellman Productions, Midnight Cowboy (1969)

25. He Filled His Shoe 

Another thing Hoffman had to do for his role in Midnight Cowboy was have a believable limp. Hoffman had concerns that his limp would change from one day to the next, so he put pebbles in his shoe to make sure it was always the same. Hoffman had taken a huge risk with this film. 

Now, he had to wait anxiously to see what audiences thought. 

 Jerome Hellman Productions, Midnight Cowboy (1969)

26. They Walked Out

The first previews of Midnight Cowboy did not do well. In fact, audiences walked out “in droves” during a particularly offensive scene. If this wasn’t bad enough, the film then received an X-rating that was usually reserved for blue movies. It looked as though Hoffman had taken a rising career and invested it into something most people considered trash. 

His reputation was in serious trouble. 

 Jerome Hellman Productions, Midnight Cowboy (1969)

27. It Was A Surprise Hit

To Hoffman’s surprise, the critics ended up loving Midnight Cowboy and, according to box office receipts, so did audiences. Hoffman’s line: “I’m walking here! I’m walking here!” received the number 27th spot by the American Film Institute top lines. Years later, the Library of Congress placed this film under the category of “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant”. 

And then there were the awards. 

 Jerome Hellman Productions, Midnight Cowboy (1969)

28. He Proved Them Wrong

When the Academy Awards came around, Midnight Cowboy received seven nominations. Hoffman and co-star Jon Voight each received a nod for Best Actor. Neither won, but the film took home Best Screenplay, Best Director, and most importantly, Best Film of the Year. 

Hoffman had proven he was a real actor—now he was ready to give romantic lead a try. 

 Jerome Hellman Productions, Midnight Cowboy (1969)

29. He Went Romantic 

Even though Midnight Cowboy was a hit, Hoffman’s agent wanted to distance his client from the down-on-his-luck character. He found Hoffman a romantic role opposite Mia Farrow, who’d just found huge success in Rosemary’s Baby. John and Mary is a film about a New York City hookup between two people who barely know each other. 

The critics gave it a big “meh”, and Hoffman hurried to find more challenging projects. 

 Unknown Artist, Wikimedia Commons

30. He Had To Age 

If Hoffman was looking for a challenge, he certainly found it in 1970’s Little Big Man. In this film, Hoffman had to play the same character moving through time from age 10 to 121. Of course, he had make-up to help him, but one thing he had to work on was the voice of a very old man. To get it he did something outrageous. He screamed in his dressing room for an hour. 

Later that same year, he’d be screaming for a different, and more terrifying, reason. 

 Cinema Center Films, Little Big Man (1970)

31. He Had A Close Call

At this time, Hoffman and his wife, Anne Byrne, were living in Greenwich Village next to the left-wing militant group the Weather Underground. One day, Hoffman heard a loud explosion next door. It turned out that the Weather Underground had accidentally let off some explosives they were saving for a planned attack. Some members of the group lost their lives, but Hoffman and his family escaped injury. 

Hoffman needed a reason to laugh, and he found it in a script. 

 UPI, Wikimedia Commons

32. He Wanted To Say No

Next, Hoffman had a string of successful films including Papillon, and then an odd script landed on his lap. This was Lenny, which tells the story of controversial comedian Lenny Bruce. Hoffman’s impulse was to say no, and it was for two reasons: he didn’t like the script, and he didn’t think he was the right guy to play the role. 

Something made Hoffman do a complete 180. 

 Les Films Corona, Papillon (1973)

33. He Saw Himself

Before he said no to Lenny, Hoffman picked up Bruce’s autobiography and started to read. He soon realized that there was a lot of Bruce in himself. His wife thought so too. Hoffman took the role that Al Pacino had rejected and nabbed himself his third Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. 

Hoffman had almost literally become Lenny Bruce, now he had to become a runner. 

 Marvin Worth Productions, Lenny (1974)

34. He Let Himself Go

When Hoffman appeared in 1976’s Marathon Man, he was ready to transform himself again. He wanted his distress to seem real, so he stopped sleeping and let his body get into a terrible state. His co-star, Laurence Olivier, took one look at the disheveled Hoffman and had one piece of advice for him: “Next time try acting. It's much easier”.

Actually, the truth behind this story may be something completely different. 

 Robert Evans Company, Marathon Man (1976) 

35. His Problems Were Real

The truth was that Hoffman may have been looking out of sorts not because he was a method actor but because he was going through trauma. He later said that while filming Marathon Man, he was suffering from depression because of marital problems and partying a lot. 

But before Hoffman could get a divorce, he had to live through one onscreen. 

 Robert Evans Company, Marathon Man (1976) 

36. He Made Her Mad 

While Hoffman was dealing with his marriage problems, he was having issues with another woman. He was not getting along with Meryl Streep, his co-star on Kramer vs Kramer. This was perfect as the movie is about the divorce between Hoffman and Streep. When Hoffman surprisingly, and without warning, smashed a wine glass against the wall, Streep lost it. 

Hoffman’s poor treatment of Streep didn’t stop there—but you'll have to keep reading to find out just how far he was willing to go in the name of method acting. 

 Columbia, Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

37. The Hatred Worked

When talking about Streep, Hoffman later said that he “hated her guts”, but respected her. As it turned out, all the hatred on the set worked well for the film. Kramer vs Kramer received a whopping eight Academy Award nominations. In spite of their animosity—or because of it—both Hoffman and Streep won in their categories. 

Hoffman was ready to say goodbye to stories about divorce and concentrate on his own. 

 Columbia, Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

38. He Faced A Big Change 

Somewhere around the same time that Hoffman was collecting his Oscar for a divorce in Kramer vs Kramer, he was getting a real divorce and dating someone new. The same year he divorced Byrne, Hoffman started seeing Lisa Gottsegen. Life was looking good for Hoffman and he was eager to enjoy it. 

It was time for a comedy. 

 Columbia, Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

39. He Fooled Them All 

Of course, even when choosing a comedy, Hoffman didn’t opt for an easy role. In 1982’s Tootsie, he plays an unsuccessful actor who pretends to be a woman to get a role. To see if he could successfully pass as a woman, he went to his daughter’s school dressed as Aunt Dorthy. He fooled everyone. With Tootsie, Hoffman got his fourth nomination for Best Actor. 

If it seems that Hoffman only made hit movies, get ready for a huge flop. 

 Columbia, Tootsie (1982)

40. It Was The Worst 

Hoffman and Warren Beatty both had a debt to pay to filmmaker Elaine May. Because of this, these two very bankable stars agreed to appear in her film Ishtar. This road movie was a complete failure at the box office and—worse still—some even called it “one of the worst films ever made”. 

If Hoffman was feeling like his luck was running out, his next film did little to help. 

 Columbia, Ishtar (1987)

41. He Wanted To Quit 

The next year, Hoffman appeared as an autistic man in Rain Man with Tom Cruise. During the first few weeks of filming, Hoffman had convinced himself that he was doing bad work. He even wanted to quit and suggested Richard Dreyfuss as his replacement. Good thing he didn’t quit because Rain Man got Hoffman his second Academy Award win for Best Actor. 

His next nominated performance would get him in trouble with the president. 

 United Artists, Rain Man (1988)

42. Art Imitated Life 

In 1997, Hoffman appeared in the political comedy Wag the Dog with Robert De Niro. This film, about a president involved in a scandal, had luck on its side. One month after they released it, then-president Bill Clinton became immersed in a similar scandal. This really boosted the public’s interest in this film. 

But it also landed Hoffman in a very awkward situation. 

 New Line Cinema, Wag the Dog (1997)

43. He Danced His Way Out Of It

While filming Wag the Dog, Hoffman, De Niro, and director Barry Levinson had an awkward chance encounter. They ran into Clinton at a hotel. When Clinton asked what film they were working on, no one wanted to admit that they were working on a film about a presidential scandal. Hoffman later said he “started to tap dance” to avoid answering. 

Clearly, Hoffman was multi-talented, and it was time to honor him for it. 

 New Line Cinema, Wag the Dog (1997)

44. He Had A Scary Reaction 

In 1999, the American Film Institute decided to honor Hoffman with a Lifetime Achievement Award. During the ceremony, there was the usual montage of Hoffman showing all the characters he’d created. While it should have been a moment of great pleasure, Hoffman had an unexpected—and scary—reaction. 

 Les Films Corona, Papillon (1973)

45. He Panicked

Hoffman was sitting in the theater watching himself appear in many roles, but he was having a panic attack. It was at this point that he realized something that he’d buried inside himself. Deep down, he didn't believe that he deserved the success he’d earned. He said he actually felt depressed after getting the award. 

If Hoffman needed something to feel sad about, it was just around the corner. 

 Columbia, Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

46. A Story Came Out

Hoffman continued to make movies over the next decades and many of them were good. But for some reason, the award nominations pretty much dried up. And then, in 2017 a story came out that had the potential to completely derail his entire career. 

 Columbia, Tootsie (1982)

47. They Accused Him 

In 2017, Hoffman received accusations from seven different women about his inappropriate behavior. The range of misbehavior included his comments in front of women, asking for foot massages, and more serious accusations of being a predator. This included baring himself to a minor and putting his hands in a woman’s pants without her consent. 

It looked like the end of Hoffman’s career. 

 Garry Knight, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

48. He Has His Defenders

Hoffman hasn’t responded to all of these shocking accusations. Tootsie co-star Bill Murray came forward to defend him. Murray's explanation was simple. He said that Hoffman has been a “flirt” all his life and called him “a really sweet man”. Surely, this would not be enough to get Hoffman off the hook. Would it? 

 Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

49. He Explained Himself 

Since the accusations of 2017, Hoffman has kept a lower profile but has worked consistently—even in the family-friendly Kung-Fu Panda franchise. He seems to have put a stop to this issue with a simple statement saying: “I have the utmost respect for women and feel terrible that anything I might have done could have put her in an uncomfortable situation. I am sorry. It is not reflective of who I am”. 

 Gorup de Besanez, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

50. He Was Horrible To Her

While Hoffman refuted any wrongdoing with his accusers, we do know there's one woman who definitely suffered his mistreatment: Meryl Streep. Remember how Hoffman once smashed a wine glass near Streep's head during the filming of Kramer vs Kramer? Well, his behavior got far worse than that. One time on set, Hoffman actually hit Streep to get her into character. But Hoffman didn’t stop there. 

During another scene, Hoffman whispered the name “John Cazale” into Streep’s ear to get a reaction. Cazale had been Streep’s husband and had passed that year from cancer. After Hoffman’s terrible treatment, Streep swore she would never work with him again. 

You May Also Like: 

Meryl Streep's Life Behind The Scenes

John Cazale Was Hollywood's Greatest Supporting Actor

Gene Hackman’s Legendary Life And Tragic Death

 Columbia, Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21