Dustin Hoffman Has Blown Off Steven Spielberg Four Times
Dustin Hoffman is 87 years old and has had a very fruitful career, getting his big break in The Graduate in 1967. Now, Hoffman is reflecting back on his long career and admitted that he regrets turning down several roles offered by famous director Steven Spielberg. While Hoffman was gaining traction as an actor in movies, he wanted to continue to work on Broadway, so he said no to some movie roles.
He explained, “After The 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 finding out why. I tried to jeopardize my success, and in spite of myself, I couldn’t succeed. But I’m still sad that I made those mistakes.”
Everett Collection
So, which Spielberg films did Hoffman turn down? He admitted that he said no to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Always, Amistad and Schindler’s List. By the time the ’90s rolled around, he finally said yes and appeared in the 1991 Peter Pan story Hook as Captain Hook alongside the late Robin Williams.
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He further noted, “Close Encounters. Spielberg says I’ve turned him down more than any other actor. We finally did Hook together. I just finally had to say yes! I’m glad I did it. So there’s Close Encounters [of the Third Kind], the one about slaves [Amistad] and a love story Richard Dreyfuss did [Always], and Schindler[‘s List].”
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Instead of appearing in some of Spielberg’s most iconic films, Hoffman is best known for Rain Man, Tootsie, Kramer vs. Kramer, Midnight Cowboy and many more. He most recently starred in Kung Fu Panda 4 and Megalopolis. What is your favorite Hoffman movie? Let us know in the comments!
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