The actor Dustin Hoffman called “the icon”
Mainstream cinema significantly developed in the 1960s, with the disintegration of the Hays Code making way for a bunch of innovative and considerably more boundary-pushing movies. One of these was The Graduate, a sexy tale that saw Dustin Hoffman play Ben Braddock, who finds himself unsure of what to do with his life after finishing university. He soon finds excitement in an affair with the older Mrs Robinson, although Ben’s sights soon shift to her daughter.
Hoffman’s performance was highly acclaimed despite it being his first significant film role. He has subsequently enjoyed an award-winning career, starring in beloved movies like Kramer vs Kramer, Midnight Cowboy, Tootsie, Rain Man, and Kung Fu Panda. Yet, before he landed his leading role in The Graduate, he had struggled to find many opportunities in the film industry.
After studying acting, he cut his teeth in the theatre, even getting to a point where he was able to direct productions himself. However, it was his work in the theatre that eventually led him to The Graduate, with the film’s director, Mike Nichols, discovering Hoffman while searching for an actor to star in his musical The Apple Tree. While he didn’t think he was right for the part, Nichols still liked Hoffman’s presence and acting abilities, choosing to cast him in The Graduate instead.
For Hoffman, one of his biggest issues was people telling him he wasn’t attractive enough to become an actor. Standing at just 5’4, Hoffman didn’t exactly have the towering height that many other stars did, but he was determined not to let that get in his way. Talking to the Guardian, he revealed that he never thought he’d become a leading man. “Oh my God no. My God no. You’re told what you are,” he explained, adding, “I was told I was a character juvenile.” Even family members didn’t believe Hoffman had what it took to become a Hollywood star. “That’s what I mean. That’s the code. You’re the funny-looking Jew that’s alongside Robert Redford,” he continued.
There were several male stars at this time that practically every budding actor admired, placing them on pedestals and considering them the cream of the crop. According to Hoffman, there was one that wasn’t worth trying to emulate because he was just too good – Marlon Brando. He explained, “Before I even thought about acting, I saw Rebel Without A Cause and I wanted to be James Dean. Brando was the icon. You had to be an idiot to think you could be Brando.”
Brando is widely considered one of the greatest actors to have ever lived, delivering countless defining performances throughout his career, from On the Waterfront and A Streetcar Named Desire to The Godfather and Apocalypse Now. Hoffman thought he was untouchable, although he eventually got to speak to Brando on the phone decades after first seeing the Hollywood legend on screen.
He told David Sheff, “Brando was my generation’s icon,” adding, “I saw On the Waterfront and had an experience I’d never had at the movies before and didn’t know why.” Hoffman confessed, “The conversation lasted until the battery went out more than an hour later. I named performances and moments. I couldn’t let him off the phone.”
The pair never starred alongside each other, but they did come close. Hoffman starred in Arthur Penn’s Little Big Man in 1970, which Brando turned down due to his reluctance to play a Native American character. Still, Hoffman’s love for Brando has never faltered.
