Dustin Hoffman’s disastrous first day as a director: “I fired myself”
Upon hearing Dustin Hoffman‘s name, what comes to mind is not the glittering filmography of an illustrious director. Instead, we think of classics like Kramer vs Kramer, The Graduate and Tootsie, even if the actor made an attempt to expand this image.
Hoffman is largely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time, with an effortless versatility that led him to become the leading man of equally devastating and hilarious projects. Due to his subtle and emotionally dense performance style, the actor could portray every type of story under the sun, whether it be in Elaine May’s sorely underrated tale of two poets caught in a criminal scheme or his intense portrayal of a journalist under pressure.
However, while his commanding presence can be felt in many great projects, the actor once tried to funnel his artistry into another creative practice, leading to a rather disappointing outcome.
Many actors have taken the leap and switched to the other side of their craft, going from being in front of the camera to behind it as they try their hand at directing. There have been many notable success stories to come from this journey, with the likes of Greta Gerwig making her beginnings in the mumblecore movement and going on to become the most commercially successful director of her time. The same can be said for the likes of Harris Dickinson and Kristen Stewart, who recently premiered their feature debuts at the Cannes Film Festival and received very positive reactions.
But Hoffman was one of many who attempted to step over to the dark side and quickly retreated to his original territory. The actor was set to direct the 1978 film Straight Time before having a disastrous experience and passing the ropes to someone else.
Straight Time, which stars Hoffman and Theresa Russell, follows a burglar recently released from parole who tries to find a regular job until he is sucked back into the criminal world. Perhaps it was Hoffman’s love of the project that made him want to have more creative control. Regardless, there was something about this story that made him want to take on the challenge of both directing and acting in it, but after the production began with Hoffman at the helm, he quickly realised how huge a challenge it was and gave up.
When discussing his departure from this role, Hoffman said, “This goes under the heading of: We all have our demons that it takes us a long time to unravel.” When later asked why he left his role as director, he said, “I fired myself.” Ulu Grosbard was quickly brought onto the project to replace Hoffman, a decision that was perhaps for the best given that the actor had no directorial experience up until this point.
While it can be exciting to expand our horizons and try something new, perhaps a film set is not the best place to do this, considering the high stakes and pressure of making a movie. A Hollywood picture is not a good place to be trying a new role for the first time, something that Hoffman learned very quickly.
