Dustin Hoffman was born on August 8, 1937, in Los Angeles, California. The son of a furniture salesman, Hoffman was named after the silent screen actor Dustin Farnum. Dustin graduated in 1955 from Los Angeles High School, and upon graduation, he enrolled at Santa Monica College with the goal of studying medicine and becoming a doctor. However, he left college after only a year to join the Pasadena Playhouse, much to the dismay of his Aunt Pearl, who warned the young man, “You can’t be an actor. You are not good looking enough.” However, this may have motivated him even more, and he took classes at New York City’s Neighborhood Playhouse.
Early in his career, Hoffman hoped to become a classical pianist. He had studied piano for several years in his youth and even in college. However, after taking an acting class at Santa Monica College, he “caught the acting bug.” As much as he wanted to be a musician, he says that he wasn’t gifted in music, adding “I did not have an ear.” For the next 1o years, Hoffman did odd jobs and was unemployed a lot. He struggled to find acting roles and later portrayed the lifestyle of the unemployed actor in the hit film “Tootsie.” As it turns out, his first acting role was right where he started: at the Pasadena Playhouse.
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At the Pasadena Playhouse, he played right along with a future Academy Award winner, Gene Hackman. After being there for two years, Hackman headed for New York City and Hoffman wasn’t far behind him. The two got an apartment with actor Robert Duvall and shared the bills in the 1960s, with all three of them focused on finding paying work as actors. Gene Hackman says that it never occurred to any of them that they would actually do well in films. They were just looking for something to pay the bills.
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During that period, Hoffman got the occasional bit part on a TV job, and he did some commercials, but because he needed money, he briefly left acting to teach. In 1960, he finally got a break when he was cast in an Off-Broadway show that followed with a walk-on role in a production on Broadway in 1961.
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Since those early days, Dustin Hoffman has starred in movies such as “Tootsie,” “Rainman,” “Midnight Cowboy,” “Meet the Fockers,” “The Graduate,” “Death of a Salesman,” and “Kramer vs. Kramer.”
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The celebrated actor has twice won the Academy Award for best actor and has been nominated a whopping seven times.
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It’s hard to believe he’s already 83 years old. He seems so youthful. Watch the “Tootsie” trailer below.
