Dustin Hoffman calls his breakout role in 1967’s “The Graduate” a “terrible experience” in an essay for The New Yorker.
Mr. Hoffman, 89, said he felt “uncomfortable, unworthy” on set and worried that director Mike Nichols was angry with him or regretted casting him as Ben Braddock.
He described initially not wanting to audition, believing his looks were too “ethnic” — making him wrong for the role of an “ultimate WASP.”
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Mr. Hoffman described Nichols as “frequently sour” on set and said a “certain sadism” seemed to creep in only when working with him, which constantly made him feel he was about to be fired.
Mr. Hoffman also said it took 27 takes of a scene in which co-star Katharine Ross had to slap him. He ended up with a punctured eardrum after the repeated slaps — and the slap did not make the final cut.
“The Graduate” received seven Oscar nominations, including best picture, at the 40th Academy Awards. Mr. Hoffman was nominated for best actor. Nichols won the best director award.
Mr. Hoffman went on to collect several other Oscar nominations and won the best actor trophy for 1980’s “Kramer vs. Kramer” and 1989’s “Rain Man.”
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