Uploaded July 2015 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
"I did as much as I could do at that time in my life ... I tried as hard as I could and I couldn't do better"
- Dustin Hoffman in 1971
Interview by Milton Hoffman from the Pacifica Radio Archives
Hear more from this rare interview: blankonblank.org/interviews/dustin-hoffman-on-duplicity-famosity-acting-the-graduate-midnight-cowboy-marijuana-gangs-youth-sexual-revolution
We came across this rarely heard interview with Dustin Hoffman recorded in 1971. It's such a thoughtful, unrushed conversation from a Hollywood icon when he was just a few years into becoming a star. He was still catching his breath and asking the questions that so many of us wonder when professional careers and a family life are beginning to take shape.
Even though Hoffman was only 33 at the time of the interview, he said Hollywood already viewed as an old timer, part of the establishment. This despite the fact The Graduate, Hoffman’s breakout film, had been released a few years earlier. That was followed up by his role as Ratso Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy -- the X rated film that won an oscar for best picture.
Listening to this interview tape, we were drawn to this idea of the struggles that pop up between different generations and the questions one confronts internally as he or she gets older.
Enjoy. Here’s Dustin Hoffman like you've rarely heard him before.
CHOICE QUOTES
"When I was an adolescent it was a very, very painful time for me. I had a lot of trouble in school."
"I grew up on the coattails of an aggressive society. I carried a knife taped to my leg. I never used it, but it was there"
"when I was an adolescent it was a very, very painful time for me. I had a lot of trouble in school."
"'I'm walking here. I'm walking here.' That wasn't in the script. That was an accident. We were walking across the street, and a cab came by and threatened to ruin the shot. At that moment, I was not Ratso, I was just myself trying to save the scene."
"I've tried to bring out unattractive aspects of me in roles that I've played, and sometimes achieved that. I can't apologize for anything I've done."
"I've just been around three years. I'm thought of as a veteran. I'm no longer a newcomer. I'm kind of establishment I guess."
Get more Dustin Hoffman including the day the building next door blew up, starting out with Gene Hackman and Robert Duvall, becoming Ratso Rizzo and that Volkswagon he did before he was famous:
blankonblank.org/interviews/dustin-hoffman-on-duplicity-famosity-acting-the-graduate-midnight-cowboy-marijuana-gangs-youth-sexual-revolution
Subscribe for new episodes every other Tuesday (it's free):
youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=blankonblank
Executive Producer: David Gerlach
Animator: Patrick Smith
Audio Producer: Amy Drozdowska
Colorist: Diana Tantillo
Music You Heard via APM
"Hearts In The Sky" Gurney Slade, Peter Albion
"Folk Rock" Henry Marsh, Phil Pickett
"Peace and Love" Chris Goulstone, Clive Deamer
"Water Rising" (Instrumental) Gareth David Dickson
search.apmmusic.com
Photo You Saw
Frank Castoral/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images
Watch our previous episodes:
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Dolly Parton on Getting Dirty
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Wayne Coyne on Living with Death
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Michael Jackson on Godliness
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Jimi Hendrix on The Experience
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Meryl Streep on Beauty
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Philip Seymour Hoffman on Happiness
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youtu.be/lFIDXXDsxAo
Gene Wilder on The Truth
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John Lennon on Love
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Johnny Cash on The Gospel
youtu.be/ALGi0tcFCcw
Heath Ledger on Role Playing
youtu.be/qDRUzbAa6lI
Tupac on Life and Death
youtube.com/watch?v=6x2FqX2YZws
Kurt Cobain on Identity
youtu.be/C1Z2BkZaOQc
Janis Joplin on Rejection
youtube.com/watch?v=VdF4b1_LQnQ
More episodes: blankonblank.org/pbs
Help us caption & translate this video!
amara.org/v/Q8FS
"I did as much as I could do at that time in my life ... I tried as hard as I could and I couldn't do better"
- Dustin Hoffman in 1971
Interview by Milton Hoffman from the Pacifica Radio Archives
Hear more from this rare interview: blankonblank.org/interviews/dustin-hoffman-on-duplicity-famosity-acting-the-graduate-midnight-cowboy-marijuana-gangs-youth-sexual-revolution
We came across this rarely heard interview with Dustin Hoffman recorded in 1971. It's such a thoughtful, unrushed conversation from a Hollywood icon when he was just a few years into becoming a star. He was still catching his breath and asking the questions that so many of us wonder when professional careers and a family life are beginning to take shape.
Even though Hoffman was only 33 at the time of the interview, he said Hollywood already viewed as an old timer, part of the establishment. This despite the fact The Graduate, Hoffman’s breakout film, had been released a few years earlier. That was followed up by his role as Ratso Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy -- the X rated film that won an oscar for best picture.
Listening to this interview tape, we were drawn to this idea of the struggles that pop up between different generations and the questions one confronts internally as he or she gets older.
Enjoy. Here’s Dustin Hoffman like you've rarely heard him before.
CHOICE QUOTES
"When I was an adolescent it was a very, very painful time for me. I had a lot of trouble in school."
"I grew up on the coattails of an aggressive society. I carried a knife taped to my leg. I never used it, but it was there"
"when I was an adolescent it was a very, very painful time for me. I had a lot of trouble in school."
"'I'm walking here. I'm walking here.' That wasn't in the script. That was an accident. We were walking across the street, and a cab came by and threatened to ruin the shot. At that moment, I was not Ratso, I was just myself trying to save the scene."
"I've tried to bring out unattractive aspects of me in roles that I've played, and sometimes achieved that. I can't apologize for anything I've done."
"I've just been around three years. I'm thought of as a veteran. I'm no longer a newcomer. I'm kind of establishment I guess."
Get more Dustin Hoffman including the day the building next door blew up, starting out with Gene Hackman and Robert Duvall, becoming Ratso Rizzo and that Volkswagon he did before he was famous:
blankonblank.org/interviews/dustin-hoffman-on-duplicity-famosity-acting-the-graduate-midnight-cowboy-marijuana-gangs-youth-sexual-revolution
Subscribe for new episodes every other Tuesday (it's free):
youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=blankonblank
Executive Producer: David Gerlach
Animator: Patrick Smith
Audio Producer: Amy Drozdowska
Colorist: Diana Tantillo
Music You Heard via APM
"Hearts In The Sky" Gurney Slade, Peter Albion
"Folk Rock" Henry Marsh, Phil Pickett
"Peace and Love" Chris Goulstone, Clive Deamer
"Water Rising" (Instrumental) Gareth David Dickson
search.apmmusic.com
Photo You Saw
Frank Castoral/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images
Watch our previous episodes:
Ayn Rand on Love & Happiness
youtube.com/watch?v=mQVrMzWtqgU
Joni Mitchell on Illusions
youtube.com/watch?v=gDu36PgFwWs
John Coltrane on Giant Steps
youtube.com/watch?v=ZF0EvYd_Bgw
Ray Bradbury on Madmen
youtube.com/watch?v=2ciQoov55fM
Dolly Parton on Getting Dirty
youtube.com/watch?v=2RJPc9DXnys
Lou Reed on Guns & Ammo
youtube.com/watch?v=Jcd9BS2Ty_M
BB King on The Blues
youtube.com/watch?v=-tIphqWYu_s
Elliott Smith on Freaks
youtube.com/watch?v=pAP3sYaaBv4
Robin Williams on Masks
youtube.com/watch?v=2PHGmIAv4Dc
Wayne Coyne on Living with Death
youtube.com/watch?v=OJXU7f0hI30
Maya Angelou on Con Men
youtube.com/watch?v=VybIJEA41yk
Bette Davis on The Sexes
youtube.com/watch?v=RNnTUyrxzWY
Michael Jackson on Godliness
youtube.com/watch?v=YoCa3Po7M_8
Jimi Hendrix on The Experience
youtube.com/watch?v=nK2lfs_uiwk
Meryl Streep on Beauty
youtube.com/watch?v=OG_T5dwnJuM
Philip Seymour Hoffman on Happiness
youtube.com/watch?v=Osn8rjkPyYM
David Bowie on Stardust
youtu.be/lFIDXXDsxAo
Gene Wilder on The Truth
youtube.com/watch?v=8PUW2POEjX4
John Lennon on Love
youtu.be/DmvmnYEy9NY
Johnny Cash on The Gospel
youtu.be/ALGi0tcFCcw
Heath Ledger on Role Playing
youtu.be/qDRUzbAa6lI
Tupac on Life and Death
youtube.com/watch?v=6x2FqX2YZws
Kurt Cobain on Identity
youtu.be/C1Z2BkZaOQc
Janis Joplin on Rejection
youtube.com/watch?v=VdF4b1_LQnQ
More episodes: blankonblank.org/pbs
Help us caption & translate this video!
amara.org/v/Q8FS
