Oscar-winning North American actor Dustin Hoffman has successfully acted in films and has been working on the stage for more than 50 years. His path to success was winding and long, sometimes leading him "wrong way". But in the end, films with the participation of Hoffman entered the golden fund of cinema, and the characters he created were remembered and loved by the audience.
Childhood
Dustin Lee Hoffman was born on August 8, 1937 in Los Angeles (California, USA). His parents - Lillian and Harry - were descendants of Jewish immigrants from Ukraine and Romania. The Hoffman family father worked as a decorator at Columbia Pictures, enthusiastically retelling home stories about filming in Hollywood heard from colleagues. The Great Depression erupted, and the older Hoffman was forced to sell furniture in a store. Mother also left the work of a jazz pianist to raise her children.
When Dustin was 5 years old, he was already given piano lessons. At 12, he appeared on the stage of the school theater, but the debut was unsuccessful. The elder brother Ronald was a classic excellent student, participated in the filming of the film, tried himself in dancing, and later became a professor of economics. In childhood, against the background of Ron, who was brilliant with talents, Dustin Hoffman constantly felt his inferiority, and his parents were worried about his poor grades, for which the boy in the third grade was first expelled from school.
Search for yourself
In 1952, Dustin went to high school, where he continued to play music, enrolled in a tennis team and sold newspapers on the streets. Among his classmates, the young man mostly kept apart due to his short stature and skin problems. Later, the actor recalled that at the age of 16-17 he was the owner of a collection of acne, one of the worst in Los Angeles. At this time, Dustin cherished the dream of becoming a jazz pianist.
After graduating from school in 1955, the young man entered the college of Santa Monica, where he did not like it. He convinced his parents that it would be better for him to drop out of studies and enter the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music (later the California Institute of the Arts). One of his friends noticed how easily Dostin Hoffman transforms into different images. The biography of the young man at this moment made another sharp turn. He goes to the theater school, open at the Pasadena Theater.
Mastering the basics of acting in Pasadena
Dustin begins his studies in Pasadena and draws closer to another student - Gene Hackman. The paradox is that the two greatest actors of American cinema at that time were considered unpromising in their educational institution. Another Hoffman classmate was Barbra Streisand.
In Pasadena, Dustin received the first serious role. Hoffman played a lawyer in the play based on A. Miller's work “View from the Bridge”. Something confused the director in the performer. He came up and said that only by the age of 30 actor Dustin Hoffman will be able to succeed. After studying 2 courses in Pasadena, the 21-year-old man goes to New York to Manhattan, following Jim Hackman.
Hoffman accident
The first weeks in the big city unsettled Dustin, he was a little scared. He huddled for some time in the apartment of Hackman and his wife, then settled with Robert Duvall. Dustin becomes more relaxed, begins to flirt with women.
Robert Duvall recalled that then Hoffman had a lot of girls, he grew long hair, moved on a motorcycle.
One of the evenings, the actor spent in the house of his girlfriend, preparing fondue. Suddenly, the food pot exploded, hot oil splattered onto the floor and caught fire. Dustin Hoffman extinguished the flame, but received serious burns and was hospitalized in the hospital. Doctors suggested that the young man would not survive. After extensive surgery, Dustin took several months to fully recover. The threat of death gave him strength and determination, he decided to return to the scene.
Hoffman's study and theater career in New York
Soon, Dustin found a suitable theater school - the famous acting studio of Lee Strasberg in New York. Listening to the most famous directors, he failed four times. After some time, they called him and informed him that he had been accepted to the studio, where Marlon Brando and Marilyn Monroe had studied under the direction of Lee Strasberg. Together with Hoffman, his friends, Robert Duvall and Gene Hackman, attended acting classes.
Dustin simultaneously played in Broadway productions. In order to pay bills, the actor was forced to work as a teacher, a duty on a psychiatric hospital, a waiter, a toy seller. In addition to the meager income, fees for filming commercials served. Soon, he found a place for a cloakroom worker in the theater and secretly watched the game on the stage of outstanding actors for six months.
In 1966, it was time for release from Lee Strasberg 's acting studio . Hoffman safely completed his studies and received a diploma. For 6 years in New York, he played several roles in Broadway productions, and also appeared sporadically in television series. After graduation, Dustin was in an active search for "his" theater. The young actor heard about the upcoming premiere of director Larry Arrick and convinced him to take him to the lead role in one of the productions. The performance was criticized by the critics as unsuccessful, but Hoffman’s play was praised in theater magazines. Dustin's work was recognized as the best male role of the year, and the performer was awarded the prestigious Ob prize.
Symbols of "New Hollywood"
In the late 1960s, the theme of the
American dream in films was replaced by dramatic collisions that showed the characters of the characters in development. The direction was called "New Hollywood." His representatives were Barbra Streisand,
Jack Nicholson and Dustin Hoffman.
The growth of the actor by the standards of traditional Hollywood is not "stellar" - 165 cm. But this did not stop Dustin from becoming the favorite of several generations of moviegoers.
In 1967, the actor appeared in the cameo role of Hippy Hap in the black comedy "The Tiger Out." Canadian director Arthur Hiller shot the tape in New York. The next work was also a comedy film "Million Madigan."
In the film "Graduate" in 1967, a new Hollywood star - Dustin Hoffman - announced herself in full voice. The filmography of the actor was just beginning, and the role of Ben Braddock in the comedy directed by M. Nichols brought him universal acclaim by film critics. The young actor was very convincing in the role of a college graduate who rebelled against parental care.
Dustin Hoffman Awards and Nominations in the First Years of Filming
The film directed by M. Nichols “Graduate” is one of a series of successful works that marked the start of the film career of Dustin Hoffman. The filmography for all years includes more than 50 films. He constantly improved his technique, which became over time the hallmark of the actor. Often he had to listen to reproaches for perfectionism, which sometimes slowed down the filming process. The desire for the ideal embodiment of the director’s plan and his aspirations allowed Dustin to gain world recognition. Hoffman received his first film awards and nominations for playing the role of Ben Braddock in the movie "Graduate":
- BAFTA Award for Promising Starring Debut (1969);
- Golden Globe Award as the most promising newcomer to the lead role (1968);
- 1968 Academy Award nomination for Best Actor;
- 1968 Golden Globe nomination as Best Actor in a Comedy / Musical Category.
Films featuring Dustin Hoffman
A notable work of the actor in 1969 was the role of the crippled swindler, fraudster Enrico Rizzo in “Midnight Cowboy”. Hoffman's filming partner was John Voight. The film was awarded three Oscars, and later enrolled in the list of greatest films in history. The picture was a prime example of how Hollywood rethought the traditional notions of screen heroism. Hoffman's character was liked by viewers, although critics suggested the film would fail. In the seventies and eighties, successful films appeared in which Dustin Hoffman starred. The best films for this period:
- The Straw Dogs (1971).
- "Lenny" (1974).
- The Marathon Runner (1976).
- “The entire presidential army” (1976).
- Cramer vs. Cramer (1979).
- The Tootsie (1982).
- “The Man of the Rain” (1988).
Triumph in the career of Dustin Hoffman
In 1970, the British Film Academy recognized Dustin Hoffman as the best actor of the year. Performer Enrico Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy was nominated for an Oscar in the United States for best male performance.
The image of Lenny in the film of the same name brought Hoffman the third nomination for a golden statuette. The main role in the film "Kramer vs Kramer" brought Hoffman the long-awaited award of American film academics.
He was also awarded the Golden Globe Award for the image of his father, who builds relationships with his little son after the departure of his wife (Meryl Streep).
The tape has been nominated for numerous film awards more than 50 times, in 35 nominations it has been awarded.
Dustin Hoffman Filmography in the eighties and nineties
In the 1982 film Tootsie, Hoffman showed the desperation of unemployed actor Michael Dorsey. He disguises himself as actress Dorothy Michaels and participates in the soap opera on television. In this image, Michael unwittingly becomes a role model. The film "Tootsie" directed by Sidney Pollack brought Hoffman worldwide popularity, had great commercial success at the box office. Working side by side with Jessica Lang, Hoffman in 1982:
- received his fifth Academy Award nomination;
- became the best actor according to the National Society of Film Critics;
- awarded the Golden Globe Award;
- became the best actor according to BAFTA (1983).
Great success came to the actor after the release of the film "Rain Man", shot by Barry Levinson in 1988. He played the role of Raymond Babbit, suffering from autism, for which he won the Oscar for the second time, and the Golden Globe for the fifth. Hoffman managed to return to the theater, playing on Broadway in the London West End. In the nineties, Hoffman starred in the film adaptation of the comic strip “Dick Tracy”, the gangster film “Billy Bathgate”, in the fairy tale “Captain Hook”. Many viewers remembered the films with Dustin Hoffman: "Epidemic", "Sleeping", "Wrapping", "Sphere". The new century is marked by such key moments in the actor’s career as filming in the films “Crackers of hearts”, “Meet the Fockers”, “Last chance of Harvey”. In recent years, Hoffman has voiced popular cartoon characters, works on television and directs films.
Personal life of Dustin Hoffman
The ballerina Ann Bjorn Dustin Hoffman married on May 4, 1969. The family brought up two children: Jenna and Karina. In 1975, the wife of the actor decided to resume performances on stage. Hoffman had to take care of children and the household. Because of this, in the late seventies, the actor had problems with Ann Björn, ending in divorce in 1980.
Soon after the break, the relatives arranged for a new marriage. The chosen one of the actor this time was the daughter of an old family friend - lawyer Lisa Gottsegen. Dustin Hoffman, whose photo was reprinted by all his magazines with his wife, was happy. In this marriage, the children of the actor were born: Jacob, Rebecca, Max and Alexandra. Throughout his creative career, Hoffman maintains good relations with his youth friends Robert Duvall and Gene Hackman. Recently, Dustin was successfully operated on when doctors recognized his cancer.
For half a century of Hoffman's work in the cinema, many legends arose about him. He collaborates with the best
directors of Hollywood, calling him "indefatigable shorty" for perfectionism on the set. Hoffman's endless remarks led to yet another nickname - "bore." The actor likes to repeat that when shooting, it is important to take into account all the nuances so that some trifle does not spoil the result. Rumor has it about Dustin’s desire to count every dollar of his fees. But he also shows patterns of virtue, sacrificing to repair a burnt church and providing first aid to the victim. In many ways, Hoffman resembles his screen character from the movie Hero. It makes people empathize, sympathize with those who are often ignored. For this talent, the audience fell in love with Dustin Hoffman.