Beginning in the late 1960s, Dustin Hoffman established himself as one of his generation's finest film actors and helped usher method acting into the American cinema mainstream. From his first screen success as Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate (1967), Hoffman appeared in a series of diverse films that showcased his great range and indicated the rise of the character actor as superstar. He and actors such as Gene Hackman, Jack Nicholson, and Robert De Niro symbolized a new breed of movie star that was known more for fully inhabiting their characters than for their perfect profiles. Hoffman was, at times, criticized for being "difficult" to work with, but none could criticize his ability to employ the teachings of the method tradition that stressed the performer's ability to temporarily "be-come" his character.

Born on August 8, 1937, in Los Angeles, California, this son of a Columbia Pictures set...