Entertainment · Film · 3 hrs ago
Dustin Hoffman says filming The Graduate was a terrible experience
Dustin Hoffman says making The Graduate was a terrible experience, even though the 1967 film changed his life.
Hoffman played Benjamin Braddock, a young man who has an affair with an older woman and then falls for her daughter, Elaine.
He says he felt unworthy of the lead role and feared director Mike Nichols thought he was miscast.
Nichols made Katharine Ross slap Hoffman 27 times while filming a scene, though the slap was not used in the finished movie.
Hoffman says he was dizzy afterward and discovered blood coming from his ear during an underwater scene the next day.
He says the repeated slaps and water pressure punctured his eardrum.
The film was nominated for seven Oscars and won best picture; no further plans are described.
Dustin Hoffman has described filming The Graduate as a “terrible experience,” despite the film changing his life.
In an essay for The New Yorker, he said he felt uncomfortable and unworthy while playing Benjamin Braddock.
Hoffman recalled that director Mike Nichols made Katharine Ross slap him 27 times for a scene that was not used.
He said he was dizzy afterward and later discovered blood coming from his ear after an underwater scene.
The Graduate was released on Dec. 22, 1967, and won the best picture Oscar.
- Who
- Actor Dustin Hoffman, director Mike Nichols and actor Katharine Ross.
- What
- Hoffman recalled difficult filming conditions on The Graduate, including 27 takes of a slap scene that was not used.
- When
- The film was released on Dec. 22, 1967. The essay’s publication date is not stated.
- Where
- Not stated
- Why
- Hoffman said he felt uncomfortable and unworthy, and worried that Nichols thought he was doing something wrong or had been miscast.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Nichols had Ross slap Hoffman 27 times for a scene that was not used.
Hoffman filmed an underwater scene and later found blood trickling from his ear.
The Graduate first hit theaters.
The Graduate won best picture after receiving seven Oscar nominations.
- Film
- The Graduate
- Director
- Mike Nichols
- Slap-scene takes
- 27
- Release date
- Dec. 22, 1967
- Oscar nominations
- Seven
- Oscar win
- Best picture at the 40th Academy Awards
What people are saying
It was a terrible experience making the movie that changed my life.
I often felt that I was about to be fired.
Mike just kept telling Katharine to hit me, to hit me harder.
I was dizzy by the end of that day, and Mike didn’t even use the slap in the film.