105Sure, Dustin Hoffman caught his big break 50 years
ago seducing a lonely mom inThe Graduate. But
some of the actor’s most memorable roles have
been as fathers of all varieties: doomed(Death of
a Salesman), beleaguered(Kramer vs. Kramer),
overly hug-prone(Meet the Fockers). The two-time
Oscar winner’s latest onscreen patriarch is Harold
Meyerowitz, a megalomaniacal sculptor in Noah
Baumbach’sThe Meyerowitz Stories (New and
Selected)streaming on Netflix and in theaters now.
Hoffman, 80, talked to TIME about getting in—and
out of—character and what he’s learned about
acting from his relationships with his own family.
METHOD
Dustin Hoffman on
playing fathers
By Eliza Berman
TOOTSIE
ROLES
As a cross-
dressing actor
inTootsie
and a man
with autism
inRain Man,
Hoffman
broke the
movie-star
mold
▽There’s nothing that makes me more
furious than waking up and hearing a
mosquito. It’s landed on you, and you
have to kill it. You turn on the lights and
finally get it, and there’s a certain amount
of blood—your blood—that spatters.
That’s the part of you that you enlarge.ON MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
AfterThe Graduate, I was kind of first
in line of my generation. When I think
back, I think, I shouldn’t have turned
Ingmar Bergman down twice. I shouldn’t
have turned Spielberg down four times.
I have spent many years in therapy
fi ng out why. I tried to jeopardize my
s ess, and in spite of myself, I couldn’t
su eed. But I’m still sad that I made
t ose mistakes.IS KIDS AND HIS MOVIES
thing I tried to do is never
encourage my kids to see my work.
There were no posters on the wall.
Growing up, they made fun of me
because I’d say, “Let me put this
on, you’ll love this.” They’d say,
“Is it black and white, or color?”
I’d say, “Black and white.” No!
“Is it a documentary about
bugs?” I’d say, “Yes, but you’ll
love it!” They learned not to
listen to me. But I don’t have a
kid who’s seen everything I’ve
done. I don’t want to belabor
them in that way.ON HIS EARLY AMBITION TO BE
A JAZZ PIANIST
I didn’t read music easily, and I
idn’t have anywhere near perfect
p tch. We were in the car [today] next
a cement mixer, and I remembered
song I knew as a kid: “cement
ixer, put-ti put-ti.” The writer was
im Gaillard. I would give anything
have been able to do that. If God
pped me on the shoulder and said,
ou can’t do anything more in your
fession. In exchange, I’ll allow you
e a jazz pianist”—[snaps fingers]—
hat. Oh, God. □I have
findin
succe
succe
thoseON H
One
edi
pit
to
a s
mi
Sli
to h
tap
“Yo
prof
to be
like tON HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS FATHER HARRY
We had the same birthday. When he turned 80, I turned 50. We
were at the beach walking along the shore, and I said, “So, Dad,
what can you tell me? What kind of wisdom can you impart?”
He was very short, 5'2", and he looked up at me and said,
“It’s all bullsh-t.” And he walked away. I’ve never for-
gotten it. It was so Willy Loman, because he wanted to
leave an inheritance, like Willy. I was so nervous when
he came to see that play [Death of a Salesman]. I said,
“Oh, God, he’s going to know what I’m doing.” He
came backstage, and I said, “What’d you think?” He
said, “Boy, that guy’s some loser.”
ON BEING A DAD
You inherit certain things. My wife, we’ve been
together 40 years, and she knew my parents. There
were times when the kids were little and I would get
upset, and she would say, “Harry’s coming out.” And
she was right. I don’t think there’s a way around it. You
spend a lifetime—I do anyway—trying to un-wreck
yourself. Because you’ve been wrecked.
ON GETTING INTO CHARACTER
I think it has to be in you. It’s autobiographical. You think
you’re finding it outside, but you tap in to it somehow.
For this movie, I enlarged a part of myself that I inherited
from my father. I think there’s an unwritten law with sons
where the father, without stating it, lets you know very
early on that you are not to surpass him. As a little kid, you
pick up on an amazing amount intuitively. I drew on that.
ON PLAYING A CRIMINAL INSTRAIGHT TIME (1978)
You learn in acting school: This guy’s a killer. Have you ever
killed anyone? No. Almost killed anyone? No. Have you ever
been so angry that you could kill someone? Getting closer.