Dustin Hoffman Recalls Severe Stress and Injury While Filming The Graduate

Actor Dustin Hoffman has shared candid details about his time filming the 1967 cinematic classic The Graduate, describing the experience as a terrible ordeal filled with intense anxiety and self-doubt. Writing in an excerpt from his upcoming memoir, Look at Me, published by The New Yorker, the Golden Globe winner revealed that he felt unworthy of the role and lived in constant fear that director Mike Nichols was going to fire him.

Hoffman initially believed he was entirely wrong to play the iconic protagonist Benjamin Braddock. Having read the Charles Webb novel upon which the film was adapted, the actor felt that his ethnic appearance did not match the affluent, all-American character described in the source material. Despite his initial reluctance and doubts, his agent convinced him to audition, ultimately landing him the breakout role that changed his career.

Once production began, Hoffman noted a drastic and shocking shift in the behavior of director Mike Nichols. According to the actor, Nichols went from being wonderful during rehearsals to sour, critical, and irritable once cameras started rolling. Hoffman recalled feeling that the director regretted hiring him, stating that he heard from theater director Ulu Grosbard after an on-set visit that Nichols did very much regret the casting decision.

The actor described the atmosphere on set as destabilizing, noting that criticisms regarding his appearance, including his eyebrows and thick neck, left him feeling so discouraged that he did not want to make another movie for the rest of his life. He also mentioned that a certain sadism seemed to emerge in how the director treated him, making him feel that he had no idea what he was doing during some of the movie's most famous sequences.

The production also involved physical hardships, notably during a scene with costar Katharine Ross, who played Elaine Robinson. Hoffman recalled that Nichols made them do 27 takes of a sequence where Ross had to slap him. Although the actor told Ross not to worry about hitting him except for his ear, the repeated blows combined with water pressure from underwater pool filming resulted in a punctured eardrum and dizziness by the end of the day. Ultimately, the slap scene was not even used in the finished film.

Despite the severe stress, physical toll, and constant anxiety during filming, The Graduate became a massive success and a defining milestone in Hollywood history. Released in December 1967, the film earned seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress for Anne Bancroft, and Best Actor for Hoffman, marking his very first Oscar nod. Mike Nichols won the Academy Award for Best Director in 1968.

Mike Nichols passed away in 2014 at the age of 83. Dustin Hoffman's memoir, Look at Me, is scheduled for release on November 10.