Dustin Hoffman

Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is one of the dominant American film actors of the late twentieth century.

Biography

Widely considered one of the greatest actors of his time, Hoffman was born to Jewish-American parents, Harry Hoffman and Lillian Gold (whose parents Max and Pauline were born in Russia), in Los Angeles, California and graduated from Los Angeles High School where he was voted "least likely to succeed." His first ambition was to be a concert pianist and he attended the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music. Then, with an interest in medicine, he attended Santa Monica College for a year before dropping out due to poor grades. In an effort to bolster his grades during that year, he took an acting class because he was told "nobody flunks acting." He performed at the Pasadena Playhouse for two years with fellow actor Gene Hackman. The two were also roommates for a while.

Related Topics:
Jewish - American - Russia - Los Angeles, California - Santa Monica College - Gene Hackman

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Hoffman relocated to New York City where he worked a series of odd jobs including an occasional small 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 dropped out of acting again, studied with Lee Strasberg and became a dedicated method actor. Hoffman made his film debut in The Tiger Makes Out (1967).

Related Topics:
1960 - 1961 - Lee Strasberg - Method actor - 1967

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He came to prominence with The Graduate (1967), playing a disaffected college graduate, though he was nearly thirty. Hoffman received an Academy Award nomination for his performance in The Graduate. In a famous career move that allowed him to escape being typecast, Hoffman got the opposite kind of role, the disruptable pimp, Ratso in Midnight Cowboy (1969) which got an Oscar nomination as well.

Related Topics:
The Graduate - 1967 - Academy Award - Typecast - Midnight Cowboy - 1969

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Hoffman has a reputation within the film business as a perfectionist, at times causing him difficulty with directors and at other times earning him Academy Awards, in films such as Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and Rain Man (1988).

Related Topics:
Academy Awards - Kramer vs. Kramer - 1979 - Rain Man - 1988

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Hoffman returned to Broadway in 1983, in the role of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman. Hoffman has his own production company, Punch Productions, which has produced several of the films in which he starred such as Tootsie (1982), Hero (1992), and Wag the Dog (1997).

Related Topics:
1983 - Death of a Salesman - Tootsie - 1982 - Hero - 1992 - Wag the Dog - 1997

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Hoffman has two children (Karin 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 (married since October 1980).

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He is an outspoken liberal and a Democrat.

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