Graduated from Los Angeles High School in 1954. Went to Santa Monica City College where he dropped out after a year due to bad grades. But before he did, he took an acting course because he was told that "nobody flunks acting." Also received some training at Los Angeles Conservatory of Music. Decided to go into acting because he did not want to work or go into the service. Trained at The Pasadena Playhouse for two years.

1. "Luck" (2011) - Chester Bernstein (9 episodes, 2011-2012) 2. Kung Fu Panda 2 (Kung Fu Panda 2) (2011) - Shifu (voice)

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3. Little Fockers (O familie de coşmar) (2010) - Bernie Focker

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4. Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special (2010) - Shifu (voice) 5. Barney's Version (2010) - Izzy Panofsky

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6. Last Chance Harvey (2008) - Harvey Shine

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7. The Tale of Despereaux (Povestea lui Despereaux) (2008) - Roscuro (voice) 8. Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five (2008) - Shifu (voice) 9. Kung Fu Panda (Kung Fu Panda) (2008) - Shifu (voice)

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10. Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007) - Mr. Edward Magorium, Avid Shoe-Wearer 11. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006) - Giuseppe Baldini

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12. Stranger Than Fiction (2006) - Professor Jules Hilbert 13. The Holiday (2006) - Himself - Cameo Appearance (uncredited) 14. Rumor Has It... (2005) - Benjamin Braddock (archive footage) (uncredited) 15. Racing Stripes (2005) - Tucker (voice) 16. Finding Neverland (2004) - Charles Frohman 17. Freedom2speak v2.0 (2004) - Himself - Actor, USA 18. Meet the Fockers (2004) - Bernie Focker 19. Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) - The Critic 20. I Heart Huckabees (2004) - Bernard 21. "Ellen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show" (2003) - Himself (3 episodes, 2005-2009) 22. Sex at 24 Frames Per Second (2003) - Himself (archive footage) 23. The Orange British Academy Film Awards (2002) - Himself 24. Joan of Arc (1999) - The Conscience 25. Being John Malkovich (1999) - Willy Loman (archive footage) (uncredited) 26. "30 Years of Billy Connolly" (1998) - Himself 27. Wag the Dog (1997) - Stanley Motss 28. Sleepers (1996) - Danny Snyder 29. Outbreak (1995) - Col. Sam Daniels 30. "Late Show with David Letterman" (1993) - Himself / ... (4 episodes, 2004-2010) 31. Oscar's Greatest Moments (1992) - Himself (archive footage) 32. Hero (1992) - Bernie Laplante 33. Hook (1991) - Capt. Hook 34. Dick Tracy (1990) - Mumbles 35. Rain Man (1988) - Raymond Babbitt 36. Death of a Salesman (1985) - Willy Loman 37. Tootsie (1982) - Michael Dorsey / Dorothy Michaels 38. Marathon Man (1976) - Babe 39. All the President's Men (1976) - Carl Bernstein

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40. Papillon (1973) - Louis Dega

1. Was considered for the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972).

2. During the filming of Wag the Dog (1997) Hoffman, his co-star Robert De Niro and director Barry Levinson had an impromptu meeting with President Bill Clinton at a Washington hotel. "So what's this movie about?" Clinton asked De Niro. De Niro looked over to Levinson, hoping he would answer the question. Levinson, in turn, looked over to Hoffman. Hoffman, realizing there was no one else to pass the buck to, is quoted as saying, "So I just started to tap dance. I can't even remember what I said."

3. October 1997: Ranked #41 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list.

4. His parents named him Dustin after actor Dustin Farnum.

5. January 1999: He was awarded $3m in damages and compensation in a case against "Los Angeles" Magazine, because it had printed a digitally altered image of him in a dress (cf. Tootsie (1982)). In July 2001 a federal appeals court overturned the verdict. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found that because the photo appeared in an article, not an advertisement, the use of the actor's likeness did not constitute "commercial speech" and was entitled to the full protection of the 1st Amendment.

6. Brother-in-law of producer Lee Gottsegen.

7. Was in early consideration for the role of Rick Deckard in Blade Runner (1982). The role eventually went to Harrison Ford.

8. Has known Gene Hackman since 1956.

9. Has a house in the Kensington area of London.

10. Friday, March 6th, 1970, he and wife Anne Byrne Hoffman were living in a brownstone on 11th St. in New York City's Greenwich Village when the house next door blew up. Fortunately, he and his family weren't home. Members of the radical 1960's domestic terror group, that called themselves "The Weathermen" were living in that house unknown to anyone and had stored a large cache of explosives that accidentally detonated, killing three of the group's members. Henry Fonda's ex-wife, Susan Wager, was also a neighbor in that block and witnessed the explosion, as it occurred.

11. He was a neighbor of Mel Brooks in New York and was set to play the role of Franz Liebkind in Brooks' first film, The Producers (1968). Just before production was to commence, Hoffman was offered the role of Ben Braddock in The Graduate (1967), co-starring Brooks' wife Anne Bancroft, and asked to be let out of his contract. The role of Liebkind eventually went to Kenneth Mars.

12. Met actor Gene Hackman in their first month at Pasadena Playhouse and had several classes with him. Hackman failed out after three months and moved to New York to try his luck as a stage actor.

13. After attending the Pasadena Playhouse, Hoffman decided to move to New York and looked up former Playhouse classmate Gene Hackman. The two of them roomed together in New York at Hackman's one-bedroom apartment on 2nd Ave. and 26th St. Hoffman slept on the kitchen floor. Originally Hackman had offered to let him stay a few nights, but Hoffman would not leave. Hackman had to take him out to look for his own apartment.

14. Another thespian he roomed with in New York was Robert Duvall.

15. As roommates, Hoffman and Gene Hackman would often go to the apartment rooftop and play the drums. Hoffman played the bongo drums while Hackman played the conga drums. They did it out of their love for Marlon Brando, who they had heard played music in clubs. They wanted to be like Brando and were big fans of his.

16. Entered into The Guinness Book of World Records as "Greatest Age Span Portrayed By A Movie Actor" for Little Big Man (1970) in which he portrayed a character from age 17 to age 121.

17. Despite being old friends and roommates with Gene Hackman back in the 1960s, it was literally decades before he appeared on screen with him. He finally starred with Hackman in Runaway Jury (2003).

18. He was voted the 28th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.

19. Was interested in playing Shylock in Michael Radford's adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice": The Merchant of Venice (2004). However, by the time he contacted Radford, Al Pacino had already been cast for the role.

20. While filming Finding Neverland (2004) lost the tip of a finger and performed one day of shooting on morphine.

21. Has appeared in two films about "Peter Pan" (Hook (1991) and Finding Neverland (2004)). Following his appearance in ""Hook", close friend and former roommate Gene Hackman began calling him "Hook" as a joke. The name stuck and his contemporaries call him by that nickname to this day.

22. Both he and Robert Duvall said one of the best reasons why they went to acting classes were the girls. When they were young, the classes were a gold mine to them.

23. April 2005: Recipient of a Lincoln Center tribute.

24. Had expressed an early desire to play the title role in Gandhi (1982), but was offered Tootsie (1982) the same year and ended up taking the latter role. He eventually lost the Oscar that year to Ben Kingsley who played Gandhi.

25. In 1993 he, together with Anne Bancroft, accepted the Oscar for "Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium", on behalf of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, who wasn't present at the awards ceremony.

26. He was so boyish looking at age 30 that he played a generation younger than Anne Bancroft in The Graduate (1967), even though she is only six years older than him.

27. He is from a family of Polish Jews.

28. Was considered for the role of Beau Burruoghs in Rumor Has It... (2005), but the part eventually went to Kevin Costner.

29. Oscar-winning director John Schlesinger envisioned a cast of Al Pacino, Julie Christie and Laurence Olivier for "Marathon Man" (1976). Pacino has said that the only actress he had ever wanted to work with was Christie, who he claimed was "the most poetic of actresses." Producer Robert Evans, who disparaged the vertically challenged Pacino as "The Midget" when Francis Ford Coppola wanted him for The Godfather (1972) and had thought of firing him during the early shooting of the now-classic film, vetoed Pacino for the lead. Instead, Evans insisted on the casting of the even-shorter Dustin Hoffman! On her part, Christie -- who was notoriously finicky about accepting parts, even in prestigious, sure-fire material -- turned down the female lead, which was then taken by Marthe Keller (who, ironically, became Pacino's lover after co-starring with him in Bobby Deerfield (1977)). Of his dream cast, Schlesinger only got Olivier, who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

30. His performance as "Ratso" Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy (1969) is ranked #7 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).

31. His performance as Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels in Tootsie (1982) is ranked #33 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).

32. His performance as Raymond Babbitt in Rain Man (1988) is ranked #88 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

33. His performance as Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels in Tootsie (1982) is ranked #39 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

34. His performance as "Ratso" Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy (1969) is ranked #33 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

35. Two of his films are on the American Film Institute's 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time. They are Rain Man (1988) at #63 and All the President's Men (1976) at #34.

36. While having dinner with Paul McCartney, Dustin Hoffman told the story of the death of Pablo Picasso and his famous last words, "Drink to me, drink to my health. You know I can't drink anymore." Paul had a guitar with him and immediately played an impromptu chord progression while singing the quote. Thus, "Picasso's Last Words", one of the highlights of the "Band On The Run" album, was made.

37. Is active in a commercial campaign with the Swedish clothing company KappAhl.

38. On an episode of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992), Dustin Hoffman said that his cameo in the film The Holiday (2006) was not scripted and unplanned. He was driving by the Blockbuster shown in the film and saw all of the cameras and equipment so he decided to stop in and see what was happening. Because he knew director Nancy Meyers, they worked up a scene which ultimately made the final cut.

39. Was Warner Brothers' first consideration for "The Penguin" in Batman Returns (1992).

40. Was an L.A. high school classmate of Johnnie L. Cochran Jr..

41. Was in talks to appear in The Verdict (1982).

42. Has 6 children: Jenna Byrne and Karina Hoffman-Birkhead (born 1966 - adopted) with his first wife Anne Byrne Hoffman; Jake Hoffman, Rebecca Hoffman, Max Hoffman and Alexandra Hoffman with his second wife Lisa Gottsegen.

43. Is one of the main supporters and contributers to the Santa Monica College Madison Theatre in Santa Monica, CA.

44. The only actor in history to have top billing in three films that won the Best Picture Oscar: Midnight Cowboy (1969), Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and Rain Man (1988).

45. The bathroom scene in Runaway Jury (2003), where Roar confronts Finch is the first ever dialog in a movie between him and Gene Hackman. It was added when someone on the crew found out that the two, though they had been friends for 50 years, had never starred in a movie together.

46. As of 2008, he and Philip Seymour Hoffman are the only two winners of best actor in a leading role at the Oscars to share a last name. Philip won for Capote (2005) and Dustin won for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and Rain Man (1988).

47. Was considered for the role of Mario Mario in Super Mario Bros. (1993).

48. Did a brief stint while he was a struggling actor working at the toys' department at Macy's. As a joke, he set Gene Hackman's toddler son up on a display and tried to pass him off as a large doll, until a woman offered to buy him.

49. Nominated for the 1990 Tony Award (New York City) for Actor in a Drama for "The Merchant of Venice".

50. Good friends with The Graduate (1967) co-star Katharine Ross and Liev Schreiber.

51. Played Tiny Tim in a middle school production. On a bet, he changed the ending line from "God bless everyone!" to "God bless everyone, goddamn it!" on performing night and was subsequently suspended.

52. Both Hoffman and his former roommate, Gene Hackman, had their big breaks in 1967. Hoffman in The Graduate (1967) and Hackman in Bonnie and Clyde (1967).

53. As of 2010, Marlon Brando and he are the only actors to win two Oscars for leading roles in pictures that earned Oscars for best pictures: Brando won for his performances in On the Waterfront (1954) and The Godfather (1972) and Hoffman won for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and Rain Man (1988).

54. Stars in four of the American Film Institute's 100 Greatest Movies: The Graduate (1967) at #17, Midnight Cowboy (1969) at #43, Tootsie (1982) at #69 and All the President's Men (1976) at #77.