Dustin Hoffman is one of the most versatile actors to ever grace the silver screen. Homegrown in Hollywood, the Los Angeles native has steered a career that has spanned over seven decades and brought forth some of the most vivid character creations in cinema history.
To commemorate Dustin Hoffman’s 85th birthday, Variety ranks the 13 best performances of his career.
Hoffman broke through as Benjamin Braddock, a 21-year-old who is seduced by an older married woman (Anne Bancroft) in Mike Nichols’ “The Graduate” (1967). The film became the year’s highest-grossing release, grossing more than $104 million worldwide ($857 million adjusted for inflation).
When looking at Hoffman’s first decade in the film business, it’s hard to choose any other actor in history with a better decade of movies at the beginning of their careers. The next wave brought the best picture winner “Midnight Cowboy” (1969), “Little Big Man” (1970), “Straw Dogs” (1971), “Papillon” (1973), “Lenny” (1974), “All the President’s Men” (1976) and “Marathon Man” (1976). What an endeavor.
His undeniable brilliance has been rewarded with two acting Oscars, for “Kramer vs. Kramer” (1979) and “Rain Man” (1988) — both also won the best picture prize. Of the 44 actors and actresses that have won two or more Oscars, Hoffman is one of five whose wins have been in two best picture winners. The others are Jack Nicholson (“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “Terms of Endearment”), Marlon Brando (“On the Waterfront” and “The Godfather”), Gene Hackman (“The French Connection” and “Unforgiven”) and Mahershala Ali (“Moonlight” and “Green Book”).
He also has managed to put an Emmy on his mantle for his turn as Willy Loman in the TV movie adaptation of “Death of a Salesman” (1985), along with three BAFTAs and multiple tributes and lifetime achievements from AFI, the Gothams, the Golden Globes and more.
Still, Hoffman’s reputation on movie sets has been less than favorable, with previous colleagues like Meryl Streep and the late Sydney Pollack speaking on his poor behavior. In addition, his legacy has been further muddied by allegations of sexual misconduct, which the actor has denied.
This year, he can be seen in Mayim Bialik’s directorial debut “As They Made Us” from Quiver and an upcoming independent feature “Sam & Kate” with Sissy Spacek and his son Jake Hoffman, currently in post-production.
Read Variety’s list of Hoffman’s best performances.
Honorable mentions: “Finding Neverland” (2004); “I Heart Huckabees” (2004); “Papillon” (1973)
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Little Big Man (1970)
Role: Jack Crabb
Director: Arthur Penn
Writer(s): Calder Willingham (based on “Little Big Man” by Thomas Berger)
Distributor: National General PicturesThe scene that proves it: “What happened to your neck, grandfather?”
A hodge-podge of genre and emotion, the relationship between my cinematic mind and Arthur Penn’s revered classic is complicated. While it’s one of the few Hollywood movies of the era to show Native Americans in a positive light, it’s also a bit too flippant of its characters or themes it attempts to explore (I would love to read thoughts on it from Indigenous writers). However, Hoffman’s work is a bright spot, particularly in any scene he shares with the Oscar-nominated Chief Dan George as the wise Old Lodge Skins. It’s worth it for him alone.
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The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (2017)
Role: Harold Meyerowitz
Director: Noah Baumbach
Writer(s): Noah Baumhach
Distributor: NetflixThe scene that proves it: “Fifty-five dollars for a steak…”
A quiet dramedy in the Noah Baumbach filmography, the story of adult siblings trying to live in the shadow of their father Harold (played luxuriously by Hoffman) is his most recent “great” performance and one that was awards worthy for supporting actor. As a very stubborn but talented sculptor, he has biting exchanges with his sons Danny and Matthew (played earnestly by Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller), daughters Jean and Eliza (Elizabeth Marvel and Grace Van Patten), and his many wives, notably alcoholic Maureen (Emma Thompson). And who can forget a cameo by Sigourney Weaver as herself, standing as her best one-scene role since “The Cabin in the Woods” (2011).
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Outbreak (1995)
Role: Colonel Sam Daniels
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Writer(s): Laurence Dworet, Robert Roy Pool (based on “The Hot Zone” by Richard Preston)
Distributor: Warner Bros.The scene that proves it: “You’ll have to take us out…”
File this one under guilty pleasure, but the medical disaster drama may hit a bit too close to home nowadays with COVID. Still, Hoffman’s tender scenes with Rene Russo, exchanges with Morgan Freeman, and stoic leadership with Cuba Gooding Jr. mark career highlights.
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Hook (1991)
Role: Captain Hook
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writer(s): Jim V. Hart, Malia Scotch Marmo, Nick Castle (based on “Peter and Wendy” by J.M. Barrie)
Distributor: TriStar PicturesThe scene that proves it: “Well my stupid, sorry parasitic sack of entrails…”
There are many things unique about Dustin Hoffman’s go-for-broke turn in “Hook.” It was my first movie theater experience watching a Steven Spielberg film. Hoffman’s back-and-forth delight with the masterful Robin Williams and the quiet force that is Bob Hoskins shows him at his A-game.
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Rain Man (1988)
Role: Raymond Babbitt
Director: Barry Levinson
Writer(s): Barry Morrow, Ronald Bass
Distributor: MGM/UA Communications Co.The scene that proves it: “You waved to me bye-bye Rain Man.”
Playing one of the quintessential characters in cinema, autistic savant Raymond, won Hoffman his second Academy Award for best actor. The film also took home the gold for best picture. Even though it’s difficult to imagine an actor playing the role, with a bit of hindsight, Hoffman has demonstrated more delicate moments in his career. His co-star Tom Cruise is spectacular in his role and probably should have been in the best actor lineup. However, that doesn’t take away that he makes something seemingly flawed on paper work on screen.
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Wag the Dog (1997)
Role: Stanley Motss
Director: Barry Levinson
Writer(s): Hilary Henkin, David Mamet (based on “American Hero” by Larry Beinhart)
Distributor: New Line CinemaThe scene that proves it: “I want the credit.”
Another comedic masterstroke, Hoffman’s Oscar-nominated career in Barry Levinson’s hilarious satirical black comedy, has the actor playing Hollywood producer Stanley Motss as he fabricates a war in Albania to distract voters from a presidential sex scandal. Released one month before the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, it became one of the most timely political films in recent memory, thanks to Hoffman and two equally great performances from Robert DeNiro and Anne Heche.
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All the President’s Men (1976)
Role: Carl Bernstein
Director: Alan J. Pakula
Writer(s): William Goldman (based on “All the President’s Men” by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward)
Distributor: Warner Bros.The scene that proves it: “I’m gonna count to 10…”
This is one of those films that constantly makes me double-take and ask, “Was he not nominated for this?” One of the great two-handers in history, with Hoffman alongside Robert Redford as Bernstein and Woodward, the famous journalists that uncovered the Watergate scandal, the film showed Hoffman in a more reserved mode than in his other performances.
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Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Role: Enrico Salvatore “Ratso” Rizzo
Director: John Schlesinger
Writer(s): Waldo Salt (based on “Midnight Cowboy” by James Leo Herilhy)
Distributor: United ArtistsThe scene that proves it: “I’m walking here!”
Another two-hander, and one that brought Hoffman his second nomination for best actor, Schlesinger’s urban drama became the first X-rated film to win best picture. Considering this was Hoffman’s first outing following “The Graduate,” the actor set out to make a point that he wasn’t here for fun and games. Instead, he’s here to leave a legacy. Ratso does just that with a limp and a final scene that destroys the tear ducts.
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Marathon Man (1976)
Role: Thomas Babington Levy
Director: John Schlesinger
Writer(s): William Goldman (based on “Marathon Man” by William Goldman)
Distributor: Paramount PicturesThe scene that proves it: “So all this happened because you were afraid you were going to be robbed?”
Hoffman’s work in John Schlesinger’s “Marathon Man” was a later-in-life discovery for me. I caught up with the flick in my mid-to-late 20s — God, do I love it. Playing “Babe” Levy, a marathon runner who gets involved with a Nazi war criminal (played exquisitely by Laurence Olivier), the two deliver masterclass performances worthy of study by future thespians. However, I firmly believe that a great actor isn’t without some big snubs. Here’s one of Hoffman’s biggest ones, unable to get into one of the all-time best actor lineups that included Sylvester Stallone (“Rocky”), Robert DeNiro (“Taxi Driver”), Giancarlo Giannini (“Seven Beauties”) and Peter Finch and William Holden (“Network”). Instead, he probably split votes with himself for “All the President’s Men,” which came out the same year.
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Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
Role: Ted Kramer
Director: Robert Benton
Writer(s): Robert Benton (based on “Kramer vs. Kramer” by Avery Corman)
Distributor: Columbia PicturesThe scene that proves it: “You want french toast?”
After being nominated for three Oscars, the fourth time was the charm when Hoffman was recognized for his work as a newly single father who fights to keep custody of his son after his mother returns. Sensitive and endearing, Hoffman’s work with Justin Henry and Meryl Streep is damn near flawless.
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Tootsie (1982)
Role: Michael Dorsey
Director: Sydney Pollack
Writer(s): Larry Gelbart, Murray Schisgal, Don McGuire
Distributor: Columbia PicturesThe scene that proves it: “Shame on you, you macho shithead.”
“Tootsie” is fun. “Tootsie” is life. The conceited lifestyle that Hoffman portrays with Michael Dorsey is spot-on in every frame he inhabits. How he’s always excelled in comedies is vastly overlooked in his filmography. Alongside an Oscar-winning Jessica Lange and nominee Teri Garr, the Sydney Pollack classic stands as a critical reflection of show business.
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Lenny (1974)
Role: Lenny Bruce
Director: Bob Fosse
Writer(s): Julian Barry (based on “Lenny” by Julian Barry”)
Distributor: United ArtistsThe scene that proves it: “We’re all the same schmuck…”
I think many people acknowledge Hoffman’s turn as comic Lenny Bruce as only one of his seven acting noms. If you corner me on the right day, I would call it his finest hour in acting. Bob Fosse’s monochrome follow-up to his Oscar-winning direction on “Cabaret” (1972) sits right in the middle of his five-film-only cannon. Hoffman’s work is a refreshing turn that sits as the blueprint of modern-day gems like “Inside Llewyn Davis.” With all the respect given to Art Carney, I’ll never understand how he triumphed for “Harry and Tonto” in a lineup that included Al Pacino (“The Godfather Part II”), Albert Finney (“Murder on the Orient Express”), Jack Nicholson (“Chinatown”) and Hoffman.
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The Graduate (1967)
Role: Benjamin Braddock
Director: Mike Nichols
Writer(s): Calder Willingham, Buck Henry (based on “The Graduate” by Charles Webb)
Distributor: Embassy PicturesThe scene that proves it: Looking ahead to an uncertain future.
The beauty of “The Graduate” is wrapped into multiple facts about what it represents. A comedy that won Mike Nichols his Oscar for directing (the film’s sole win, with no other movie mimicking that type of Academy haul until “The Power of the Dog” and Jane Campion), it was Hoffman’s first role out of the gate. He has excellent chemistry with the bombshell thespian Anne Bancroft, in what many consider her career-defining performance. Hoffman received his first Oscar nom for best actor, along with a BAFTA and Golden Globe for most promising newcomer (both now defunct categories). The final gaze by Benjamin and Elaine (played by Oscar-nominee Katharine Ross) is an all-time moment in cinema.