Ingredients for a film premier: red carpet (a must-have), hoards of paparazzi, a selection of TV crews and an abundance of over-excited fans. A high-profile location is of utmost importance (The Odeon in London’s Leicester Square is always a satisfactory starting point). Add a sprinkling of star-dust and a token Hollywood Legend and there you have it; a glamorous evening ready to be dished out and fed to the public eye.
Now let’s rewind and look a little more closely at the ‘token Hollywood legend’ factor. This is the make or break feature of the event; the equivalent to the season’s key item of clothing on the catwalk. Without it, heads do not turn and the occasion is deemed average (and it is better to be labelled ridiculous than merely average.)
The legend has a natural stage presence. So does this mean that his/her charisma will override the need for a grand entrance? No. Most certainly not. The arrival is designed to add to the magnetism of the scenario and the fascination of onlookers. First impressions do count. It is time to pull the black limo out of the bag. Not one of those tacky ones that has the number of the rental company plastered on its side either. This is a genuine article reserved for the finer occasions (as opposed to Chantelle’s 23rd.)
Of course, every event has slight variations. With a title like, Stranger Than Fiction, the UK premier was never going to be run of the mill. In this instance, Dustin Hoffman has the role of ‘Hollywod legend’ but plays it in an unusually grounded fashion. He is accessible rather than untouchable and more endearing than stereotypically iconic. He must adhere to certain rules and regulations. Cue the limo, red carpet walk etc. But the difference between this actor and so many of his peers is that he sincerely appreciates his position and displays his gratitude with a warm openness and willingness to make time for people. This is probably what makes him such an alluring character.
The film’s screening is already running behind schedule and it cannot start until its biggest star is comfortably seated. Rather than use this as an excuse to rush any other duties, Mr Hoffman makes sure that his fans are enjoying their evening and happily banters with paparazzi and press. Is there anyone this gentleman could not charm?
We begin to talk and his agent attempts to hurry him but the Academy Award winner is having none of it. Instead, he continues to enthuse about his time in Britain. ‘I love London,’ he says. “I would prefer to live here. Unfortunately, I raised all these children. The last one has just left the house though. So that means I can now live here if I feel like it. I don’t know where my wife is.” He attempts to pinpoint Mrs Hoffman amongst the hectic crowd still on the red carpet outside. “Maybe, I can talk her into it.”
However much he may want to, the actor is not likely to have much time for house hunting on this particular visit. Stranger Than Fiction is the reason for his business trip. He is keen to encourage people to see the film and is proud of his work. “I really do love the movie. It turned out to be one of the best scripts I have read in a long time because it has real ‘weight’ to it,” he explains. But Hoffman took a risk when it came to accepting the role of Dr. Jules Hilbert. “The truth is, it wasn’t the script that attracted me,” he confesses. “I worked with the director, Mark Foster, on Finding Neverland and we struck up a friendship. I said, ‘the next time you do something please call me and I’ll do it.’ So he called me up. He said, ‘I am directing a film, do you want to be in it?’ I asked him if I could see the script but he said I wasn’t allowed. The deal was I said yes or no. I said yes. I was lucky that it was such a good script.”
Dr. Hilbert is quite different from the characters that Hoffman has previously played and the actor is aware of this. He analyses the role. “He is an interesting character. I would say he was cerebral. He cuts himself off emotionally until the end.” The seventy year old is very proud of this part of the film, but not for its dramatic element. “At the very end of the film Hilbert has his bathing trunks on and he jumps in the pool,” he explains. “In that one scene you see the magnificence of my physique like you have never seen in any other film. You see how well built I am. I put this man to shame in the last scene,” he says pointing to his coach who is standing next to him. “My trainer will be the first to tell you how much I can bench press. Feel my biceps,” he suggests flexing his muscles. The verdict? Impressive.
After a typically humorous interlude, the star resumes the more serious side of the conversation and reveals that the character of Hilbert was not entirely fictional to its performer. “Let’s just say I have known people that are like this guy and I hung around them for a little while,” admits Hoffman. “But I don’t want to name them because I am not sure if my character is that much of an attractive one.”
The Hook star is no stranger to mingling and working with other Hollywood A-listers. He has been cast alongside a range of actors including Robert De Niro and Johnny Depp (or maybe it should be said that they have been cast alongside him.) He is Gene Hackman’s former flatmate and has struck up friendships with the likes of De Niro. “Robert is a great guy. He is also a superb actor. One of his acting tricks is to never look you directly in the eye. He pointed out a very accurate human characteristic to me. When we talk to each other we often let our eyes wonder. Too many actors are too focused on making eye contact instead of being natural about the whole thing.”
He has nothing but praise for his Stranger Than Fiction co-workers. “I didn’t work with anyone except Will Ferrell or Emma Thompson. But you are bound to enjoy working with those two. They are first rate actors and so the film has a first rate cast. It’s one of the best casts I have ever been privileged enough to work with. Maggie Gyllenhaal is in the movie as well. She is really happy because she has just had a baby,” explains the leading gentleman.
There is a myth you should never meet, let alone work with, your idols. But Hoffman would be the first to dispel it. He is almost brought to tears when reminiscing of his time spent with Arthur Miller. “Working with Arthur for a production of Death of A Salesman was just terrific. We used to talk a lot and he promised me he would help me every step of the way if I was to be in the production. He kept his promise.” You know your career has been on the right track when you can list Arthur Miller as a one-time coach
Hoffman’s career is nothing short of impressive. He first came to our attention for his role as Benjamin Braddock in Mike Nichol’s Academy Award-nominated film, The Graduate. He looks back on this time in his life with fond memories. “It was terrific. I was just a young boy working with beautiful actresses and such a talented group of people. When you’re a struggling actor and a role like Benjamin Braddock comes along you cannot believe your luck. I was waiting tables for a living and suddenly I was plucked from obscurity and was becoming a star,” he remembers.
However, his intention was never to be a ‘star’ and he struggled with the idea for a while. “It was a freak accident. I never intended to become famous. I said, “I’m going back to theatre.” I could afford to have that conceit because I had work. But then Midnight Cowboy came along and I just knew I could not turn it down.” The movie earned him his second out of seven Oscar nominations. He continued to make movies including, Arthur Penn’s Little Big Man, delivering a superb portrayal of an Indian fighter, a role which required him to age 100 years.
He next starred in Sam Peckinpah’s harrowing Straw Dogs, a film which earned harsh criticism during its original release but which, like much of Peckinpah’s work, was later the subject of much favourable reassessment. In 1973 Hoffman co-starred with Steve McQueen in the prison drama Papillon, which returned him to the ranks of box-office success before he starred as the legendary stand-up comedian Lenny Bruce in Bob Fosse”s 1974 biography Lenny; a stunning portrayal which earned him a third Academy Award nomination. “Making movies like Lenny was a real honour for me,” he says. “The 60s and 70s was a Golden Age for Hollywood and I feel so privileged to have been part of it.”
1979’s domestic drama Kramer vs. Kramer, was a major success for both camps, and Hoffman’s portrayal of a divorced father finally earned him an Academy Award on his fourth attempt at the prize. He also won a Golden Globe, as well as honours from the New York and Los Angeles critics. “To this day, Kramer Vs. Kramer is so special to me. When I watch it, it really defines a moment in my life and my career that I am very proud of,” he comments.
Hoffman’s next film, the Sydney Pollack-helmed 1982 comedy Tootsie, was even more successful at the box office; starring as an out-of-work actor who dresses in drag to win a role on a soap opera, he earned yet another Oscar nomination as the film grossed nearly $100 million during its theatrical release. “I decided it was time to take a break after Tootsie. “I had gone through a divorce and a re-marriage in 1980. I had children and I felt that it was time to put things in perspective and even go back to my theatre roots for some time.”
One of Hoffman’s more memorable theatrical roles was as Shylock in a Broadway production of Shakespeare’s, The Merchant of Venice. “Playing Shakespeare’s Shylock on stage was the most terrifying thing I have ever done,” claims the actor. “You cannot improvise Shakespeare. I had a Shakespeare Made Easy book to help me learn the lines.”
Hoffman has since starred in roles ranging from Finding Neverland, Runaway Jury with John Cusack and long-time friend Gene Hackman and David O. Russell’s, I Heart Huckabees. His role in Meet The Fockers was a huge success, really demonstrating his effortless comedic streak.
With such vast acting experience one could ponder as to whether he still manages to become emotionally involved with the characters he plays. “You don’t become the other character. You are not someone else. But you merge,” he explains. “As an actor you do your best to work on a conscious level. I think athletes would use the term, ‘in the zone.’ If you get out of ‘the zone’ and try to get back into it you can’t.”
The A-lister has an overwhelming sense of passion for his job and this fuels his energy for it. “I have been scared, frightened and even depressed but never bored. I cannot see that happening. I really appreciate being in such a lucky position and having my career,” he says. It is this attitude that makes Hoffman so charming.
As his agent persuades him it really is time for him to attend the screening, he demonstrates his generous streak once again. “I refuse to watch the movie unless everyone here can come and see it with me,” he demands. What a character.
Dustin Hoffman’s latest film, Stranger Than Fiction, is out now.
