Summary

• Hoffman's impressive filmography showcases his range from comedic to dramatic roles, consistently pushing boundaries of modern cinema.
• From The Graduate to The Meyerowitz Stories, Hoffman's performances have earned him two Best Actor Academy Awards and critical acclaim.
• Hoffman's work in iconic films like Midnight Cowboy and Tootsie solidified his status as one of the greatest actors of his generation.

Known as one of the greatest actors of his generation, Dustin Hoffman has had an extensive and varied filmography that included some of the best movies ever made. A committed and daring method actor, Hoffman got his start with a breakout role in The Graduate but quickly shed his clean-cut persona in Midnight Cowboy and went on to star in dark and gritty features throughout the New Hollywood era. Throughout his career, Hoffman has worked with major directors like Sidney Lumet, Steven Spielberg, and Noah Baumbach, and always gave his all to portray compelling and nuanced characters.

From high-octane thrillers like Marathon Man to deeply heartbreaking domestic dramas like Kramer vs. Kramer, Hoffman has consistently pushed the boundaries of modern cinema and, for this, stood as a two-time Best Actor winner at the Academy Awards. With the impressive ability to seamlessly transition between comedic and dramatic roles, Hoffman has played meek outsiders, deranged villains, incredible super geniuses, and even succeeded outside his own gender. The unmatchable filmography of Dustin Hoffman had countless iconic roles and his impressive body of work stood as a testament to his immense talent.

10 The Meyerowitz Stories (2017)

Dustin Hoffman as Harold Meyerowitz

Dustin Hoffman proved he still had what it took to come out with performances to match his greatest work from the 1970s as Harold Meyerowitz in Noah Baumbach’s The Meyerowitz Stories. Harold was a retired Bard College art professor whose sons, played by Ben Stiller and Adam Sandler, were both damaged by his neglectful parenting and ego-driven inflating sense of pride. A bittersweet observation of troubled family dynamics, Hoffman was integral to the success of The Meyerowitz Stories as the four-times married man who tragically struggled to connect with his grown-up children.

9 Midnight Cowboy (1969)

Dustin Hoffman as Ratso Rizzo

Following Dustin Hoffman’s breakout performance in The Graduate, he was eager to prove his acting range to audiences and critics through a lead role in John Schlesinger’s Midnight Cowboy. Hoffman played the limbing conman Ratso Rizzo whose criminal behavior was in sharp contrast to the preppy wayward college graduate Benjamin Braddock. A cunning and cynical character, Hoffman fully shed his good guy reputation with the role of Ratso, brought method acting to a new extreme by walking with pebbles in shoes, improvising his iconic movie quote “I’m walking here!”, and showcasing his versatility in the Best Picture-winning movie Midnight Cowboy.

8 Lenny (1974)

Dustin Hoffman as Lenny Bruce

Playing a stand-up comedian was no easy feat, and an even more daunting prospect was Dustin Hoffman’s portrayal of countercultural icon Lenny Bruce in Lenny. Produced less than ten years after Bruce’s untimely death, Hoffman took viewers on a journey through Bruce’s determined ambition to tell it like is, how he transformed the comedic landscape, and his landmark obscenity trial that saw him convicted for comedy. Hoffman captured the vulnerability at the heart of Bruce’s controversial life, shined a light on the hypocrisy of those who were offended by his work, and his paranoid, tragic, and all too short existence.

7 Marathon Man (1976)

Dustin Hoffman as Babe Levy

Throughout Marathon Man, Dustin Hoffman transformed from an avid runner and ordinary Ph.D. candidate, into a determined protagonist entangled in a complex web of espionage. Marathon Man was an exciting thriller that showcased Hoffman’s incredible range as he turned from naïve and idealistic to strong and resilient. A powerful story involving crime, murder, and a Nazi war criminal, Hoffman’s performance was only matched by Laurence Olivier as Dr. Christian Szell, who brought a menacing air to his psychotic role. The contrast between Hoffman’s method acting and Olivier’s traditional approach led to the famous quote “why don’t you just try acting?”

6 Death Of A Salesman (1985)

Dustin Hoffman as Willy Loman

Dustin Hoffman gave one of the most powerful performances of his entire career as Willy Loman in the made-for-TV movie adaptation of Arthur Miller’s iconic play Death of a Salesman. A much more surreal envisaging of the story of the troubled traveling salesman and his fractured relationship with his two sons, Biff and Harold, Hoffman breathed new life into the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama as the true tragedy of Willy’s story was brought to the forefront. A definitive statement on the death of the American dream, Hoffman’s performance in Death of a Salesman was a powerhouse lesson in emotional acting.

5 Rain Man (1988)

Dustin Hoffman as Ray Babbitt

While the 1980s were not quite as acclaimed a period for Dustin Hoffman as the 1970s, toward the end of the decade he did deliver one of his career-defining performances opposite Tom Cruise in Rain Man. As the autistic savant Ray Babbitt, Hoffman captured the insanely intelligent and photographic memory that played a major role in influencing and educating the public on autism and those on the spectrum (via Guardian.) Hoffman won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his committed performance in Rain Man and its emotional story of two brothers and their card-counting scheme.

4 Tootsie (1982)

Dustin Hoffman as Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels

Dustin Hoffman demonstrated his willingness to try anything with his lead role in Tootsie, the story of an out-of-work actor who disguised himself as a woman to land a role on a daytime soap opera. While at first Tootsie appeared to be an absurd high concept comedy, through Hoffman’s committed performance it became a striking social commentary and an oddly tender observation on gender roles and sexism. In Hoffman’s transformation from Michael Dorsey into Dorothy Michaels, he gave himself a major acting challenge to convince people he was literally another person and find the humanity at the heart of Dorothy.

3 All The President’s Men (1976)

Dustin Hoffman as Carl Bernstein

As one of the best movies about investigative reporting, Dustin Hoffman delivered a classic performance as Carl Berstein, the young Washington Post reporter who helped uncover Richard Nixon’s Watergate Scandal. An observant study of how journalists work behind the scenes, All the President’s Men was eternally relevant as its timeless themes of Government conspiracies, corrupt abuses of power, and the importance of truth are strongly applicable to contemporary issues. Hoffman delivered a compelling and understated performance as Berstein that brought authenticity and nuance to the role which can stand against his very best work.

2 The Graduate (1967)

Dustin Hoffman as Benjamin Braddock