BFI's Dustin Hoffman: 10 Essential Films

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From The Graduate to Rain Man, we celebrate the career of two-time Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman, one of the finest actors of his generation.

In the early 1960s, if casting directors were looking for a leading man, he was more likely to resemble Paul Newman than he was Dustin Hoffman. Hoffman – skinny-faced and unprepossessing – was working as a jobbing stage actor in New York when he found himself in the running for the lead role in a new Mike Nichols film. After his audition out in Hollywood, the story goes that Hoffman reached out to shake the prop man’s hand and a pile of NYC subway tokens fell out of his pocket. The man’s response as he helped gather them? “You’re gonna need these, kid.”

Luckily for all of us, he didn’t end up needing them. Instead, Dustin Hoffman would unexpectedly take on the lead role as Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate (1967). Since then, he’s been one of the most dynamic actors in Hollywood, continually defying expectations, casting vanity aside and refusing to be pigeonholed. Here are 10 of his finest films.

Christina Newland
Published: 31 May 2017

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  1. 1 new

    The Graduate

    1967, in 29 top lists Check
  2. 2 new

    Midnight Cowboy

    1969, in 22 top lists Check
  3. 3 new

    Papillon

    1973, in 6 top lists Check
  4. 4 new

    Lenny

    1974, in 4 top lists Check
  5. 5 new

    All the President's Men

    1976, in 21 top lists Check
  6. 6 new

    Marathon Man

    1976, in 4 top lists Check
  7. 7 new

    Straight Time

    1978, in 2 top lists Check
  8. 8 new

    Kramer vs. Kramer

    1979, in 8 top lists Check
  9. 9 new

    Tootsie

    1982, in 17 top lists Check
  10. 10 new

    Rain Man

    1988, in 14 top lists Check
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Last updated on May 15, 2020; source