Dustin Hoffman

Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key leading man actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. Among his numerous accolades are two Academy Awards, four BAFTA Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, and two Emmy Awards as well as a nomination for a Tony Award. He was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1997, the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1999, and the Kennedy Center Honors Award in 2012.

Hoffman studied at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music before he decided to go into acting, for which he trained at the Pasadena Playhouse. He made his film debut with the black comedy The Tiger Makes Out (1967). He went on to receive two Academy Awards for Best Actor playing a man going through a divorce in Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and an autistic savant in Rain Man (1988). He was Oscar-nominated for The Graduate (1967), Midnight Cowboy (1969), Lenny (1974), Tootsie (1982), and Wag the Dog (1997). Other notable roles include in Little Big Man (1970), Straw Dogs (1971), Papillon (1973), Marathon Man (1976), All the President's Men (1976), Ishtar (1987), Dick Tracy (1990), Hook (1991), and Chef (2014).

In the 21st century, Hoffman mostly transitioned to supporting roles in films such as Finding Neverland (2004), I Heart Huckabees (2004), and Stranger than Fiction (2006), as well as Meet the Fockers (2004) and its sequel Little Fockers (2010), The Meyerowitz Stories (2017), and Megalopolis (2024). Hoffman has voiced roles in The Tale of Despereaux (2008) and the Kung Fu Panda film series (2008–present). In 2012, he made his directorial debut with Quartet.

Hoffman made his Broadway debut in the 1961 play A Cook for Mr. General. He subsequently starred as Willy Loman in the 1984 revival of Death of a Salesman and reprised the role a year later in a television film, earning a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. In 1989, he received a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play nomination for his role as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. He has received three Drama Desk Awards, for his performances in Eh? (1967), Jimmy Shine (1969), and Death of a Salesman (1984), respectively.