Dustin Hoffman Quotes

United States, Actor
August 8, 1937

Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and director. Hoffman has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters.[3] He is the recipient of various accolades including; two Academy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards (including the Cecil B. DeMille Award), four BAFTAs, three Drama Desk Awards, two Emmy Awards, and a Genie Award. Hoffman received the AFI Life Achievement Award in 1999, and the Kennedy Center Honors Award in 2012.

Money is another pressure. I'm not complaining, I'm just saying that there's a certain luxury in having no money. I spent ten years in New York not having it, not worrying about it. Suddenly you have it, then you worry, where is it going? Am I doing the right thing with it?

Dustin Hoffman
I decided a long time ago but sometimes it takes you 40 years to get around to doing something - and that's the truthful answer.

Dustin Hoffman
- Truthful answer

The truth is, the older you get, the less variety of parts you are offered. If you're a star and you've spent most of your career being able to take your pick of the litter, you notice when the offers start to diminish. You're too old to play leads, so you're offered the supporting role - but many stars don't want to make that transition. They see it as a sign of symbolic impotence. And that the audience will no longer regard them as a star. I love acting, and I'm not going to determine what I do based on what I fear other people might think. I do what I want to do.

Dustin Hoffman
- Truth
- Career
- Star
You spend so much of your life basing yourself on what you think other people think of you. Then you realise that maybe one of the purposes of life is not to care.

Dustin Hoffman
- Life
- Purpose
- Care
I walked out of the theater and started crying. My wife asked me, 'Why are you crying?' I said, 'Because I can't do that.' I didn't know how he did it. I've never seen anything like that. It's like this feat, this Rodin sculpture to me. It's like hearing an opera singer and the tears go down your face because it's not human what they're doing. It's like sounds of heaven.

Dustin Hoffman
A "take" is an opportunity to fail ... and we think that we have to get it right all the time.

Dustin Hoffman
- Opportunity
- Fail