Dustin Hoffman was still relatively early in his career when he played Benjamin Braddock in “The Graduate,” and he was the perfect choice to play the brooding, fresh-faced college grad with no real goals or aims. Benjamin is disaffected enough that Mrs. Robinson is able to completely captivate him even as he starts falling for Elaine, and when it looks like he’s going to truly lose Elaine over his relationship with her mother, he goes to great lengths to win her back. Benjamin ultimately interrupts Elaine’s wedding to a man named Carl (Brian Avery), but when the two run away together, the film draws to a close with its now-famous final shot, showing them sitting with the weight of their decisions.
Hoffman is still a major film star and a longtime Hollywood staple, and after “The Graduate,” he appeared in huge films like “Midnight Cowboy,” “Tootsie,” “All the President’s Men,” “Hook,” and many, many more. He also picked up two Academy Awards for best actor after playing Benjamin — one for his leading role in “Kramer v. Kramer” alongside Meryl Streep and another for “Rain Man,” which co-starred Tom Cruise. Most recently, Hoffman lent his voice to “Kung Fu Panda 4” and is set to appear in Francis Ford Coppola’s (potentially troubled) ensemble science fiction film “Megalopolis.”
