Dustin Hoffman

Hoffman was born in Los Angeles and attended Santa Monica Community College. He later studied at the Pasadena Playhouse before moving to New York to study with Lee Strasberg. He caught the world's attention for his role as Benjamin Braddock in Mike Nichol's Academy Award nominated film, "The Graduate."

Since then, he has been nominated for six more Academy Awards for diverse films such as "Midnight Cowboy," "Lenny," "Tootsie" (a film he also produced through his company, Punch Productions), and "Wag the Dog." Hoffman won the Oscar in 1979 for his role in "Kramer Vs. Kramer" and again in 1988 for "Rain Man." In 1997, he was awarded the Golden Globe's esteemed Cecil B. DeMille Award.

Hoffman made his directorial debut with the feature film, "Quartet" starring Maggie Smith, Tom Courtenay, Billy Connolly, Pauline Collins, Michael Gambon and Sheridan Smith.  The film was recognized by the National Board of Review for being one of the "Top Ten Independent Films" in 2012. Hoffman was also awarded with the "Breakthrough Director Award" by the Hollywood Film Awards. Additionally, Maggie Smith was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and Billy Connolly was nominated for a British Independent Film Award on behalf of the film.  "Quartet" grossed almost $60 million worldwide.  "Quartet" was based on Ronald Harwood's stage play of the same name.

Hoffman starred in Stephen Frear's biopic "The Program," which tells the story behind the meteoric rise and fall of cyclist Lance Armstrong. The film is based on the award winning book "Seven Deadly Sins" by David Walsh and premiered at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. He was also seen in "Boychoir," in Jon Favreau's "Chef" and Dearblah Walsh's "Esio Trot" opposite Judi Dench.

In 2010, Hoffman starred opposite Paul Giamatti in "Barney's Version," directed by Richard J. Lewis. The film premiered at the 2010 Venice Film Festival and was released by Sony Pictures Classics. Hoffman also reprised his role as Bernie Focker in "Little Fockers" starring opposite Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro and Barbara Streisand.

Hoffman starred in "Last Chance Harvey," a love story set in London, written and directed by Joel Hopkins, co-starring Emma Thompson. He received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical category for his role.

Hoffman lent his voice to the box office hit, KUNG FU PANDA. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Animated Feature Film of the Year and Hoffman received the Annie Award for Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production. He voiced the character of Shifu in KUNG FU PANDA 3.

Other film credits include: "The Tale of Despereaux," "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium," "Stranger Than Fiction," "Perfume," "Meet the Fockers," "Finding Neverland," "I Heart Huckabee's," "The Lost City," "Racing Stripes," "Runaway Jury," "Little Big Man," "Straw Dogs," "Papillon," "All the President's Men," "Marathon Man," "Straight Time," "Agatha," "Ishtar," "Dick Tracy," "Billy Bathgate," "Mad City," "Hero," "Sleepers," "Sphere," "American Buffalo," "Hook," and "Outbreak."

On television, Hoffman starred in Michael Mann and David Milch's acclaimed horseracing drama, "Luck" for HBO.

On stage, Hoffman has had an equally impressive career. His first stage role was in the Sarah Lawrence College production of Gertrude Stein's "Yes is for a Very Young Man." This performance led to several roles Off Broadway, including "Journey of the Fifth Horse," for which he won the Obie, and "Eh?" for which Hoffman won the Drama Desk Award for Best Actor.

His success on stage caught the attention of Mike Nichols, who cast him in "The Graduate." In 1969, Hoffman made his Broadway debut in Murray Schisgal's "Jimmy Shine." In 1974, he made his Broadway directorial debut with Schisgal's "All Over Town." In 1984, Hoffman garnered a Drama Desk Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Willy Loman in the Broadway revival of "Death of a Salesman," which he also produced. In addition to starring in the Broadway production, a special presentation aired on television and Hoffman won the Emmy Award. Additionally, Hoffman received a Tony Award Nomination for his role as Shylock in "The Merchant of Venice," which he reprised from his long run on the London Stage.

Hoffman produced Tony Goldwyn's feature film "A Walk on the Moon," starring Diane Lane, Viggo Mortensen, Liev Schreiber and Anna Paquin. He executive produced "The Devil's Arithmetic," which won two Emmy Awards.

Hoffman has served as the chair of the Artistic Advisory Board along with Mikhail Baryshnikov and Plácido Domingo for the Eli and Edythe Broad Stage Theater, which opened on September 20, 2008.

Hoffman was honored at the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors. Hoffman was also awarded the Honorary César Medal at the 2009 César Awards.

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