Even though it’s been a few years since his biggest hits, Dustin Hoffman is still one of Hollywood’s all-time greats. The actor, who is only 1.66 tall, celebrates his 85th birthday on August 8th.
At the beginning of his acting career, only a few believed – least of all himself. When he and his flatmates Gene Hackman (92) and Robert Duvall (91) in the 1960s were on the verge of subsistence level from casting to casting shimmying along, none of them had any illusions about the great career. The leading roles were then reserved for the Marlon Brandos and Paul Newmans, who not only had the talent to be superstars, but also the looks.
But then a new era dawned in the dream factory with the New Hollywood trend. The wild ’60s and ’70s brought violence, drugs and crude anti-heroes to screens. The time of the character heads had come.
The method acting triumvirate Al Pacino (82), Robert De Niro (78) and Dustin Hoffman became the epitome of Hollywood stars. Suddenly, a short man with an oversized nose grabbed some of the juiciest rolls and made each one unforgettable.
Unlike Pacino and De Niro, Hoffman didn’t let himself be pinned down to one type of role right from the start. Not long after “The Graduate”, in which he played the naïve student, he played just as convincingly a 120-year-old in “Little Big Man”.
He persistently rejected blockbusters and instead turned into a sleazy crook (“Asphalt Cowboy”), a stand-up comedian (“Lenny”) or slipped into women’s clothes (“Tootsie”). This is how Hoffman earned the rare status of acting genius, who, despite mega flops like “Ishtar” and half-baked slapstick like “My wife, her parents-in-law and I”, didn’t have to lose a spark of respect into old age. Two Oscars – for “Kramer vs. Kramer” and “Rain Man” – as well as various other prizes are on his shelf.
Not only did his harmless exterior help him surprise on screen, it also established his image as a friendly prankster. He was sometimes considered difficult during filming. When he didn’t sleep for days on “The Marathon Man” (1976) in order to appear believably exhausted, his exasperated co-star Laurence Olivier (1907-1989) sneered: “My dear boy, why don’t you try actors.”
Colleague Meryl Streep (73, “The Devil Wears Prada”) is said to have made life hell on the set of “Kramer vs. Kramer” in order to create the right hostility in front of the camera. That was just as little remembered as his sex and drug escapades, which he went through after his success with “The Graduate”.
Much more serious, however, were the allegations made against Hoffman in the course of the MeToo movement. At the end of 2017, several women accused the actor of having been sexually harassed and abused by him. The US actor’s lawyer dismissed the allegations as “slanderous lies”.
Hoffman has been married to his second wife Lisa (67) since 1980. He has four children with her, and two more come from his first marriage. In 2013, the actor made cancer public. The disease was discovered early, his spokeswoman said at the time. Accordingly, Hoffman was “surgically healed” and feels great. She did not provide any further information about the form of the cancer.
Most recently, Hoffman was in front of the camera for the film “As They Made Us”, directed by “The Big Bang Theory” star Mayim Bialik (46). The actor has also been heard several times as a voice actor, including for the “Kung Fu Panda” films. Hoffman doesn’t seem to give a thought to his well-deserved retirement. He once made a pact with his youngest daughter to live to be at least 100 years old, he once told the “FAZ”, and sitting around at home is not his thing. Standing in front of the camera until he drops dead is entirely to his liking.