Dustin Hoffman he made you want to do for him—to give him one." In "Tootsie" (1982), Hoffman portrays Michael Dorsey, a struggling actor who finds himself dressing up as a woman to land a role on a soap opera. His co-star was Jessica Lange. "Tootsie" earned ten Academy Award nominations, including Hoffman's fifth nomination. Under direction by Sydney Pollack, Hoffman's role demanded "a steady bombardment of opposites—edgy then funny, romantic then realistic, soft then quivering." To film critic David Denby, Hoffman's character "embodies vulnerability and drive in perfect proportion. He has the knack of making everything he does seem perilous, and so
Tootsie 1981, Sydney Pollack signed on to the film as both director and producer as per the suggestion of Columbia. The idea of having director Sydney Pollack play Hoffman's agent, George Fields, was Hoffman's. Originally the role was written for, and to be played by, Dabney Coleman. Pollack initially resisted the idea, but Hoffman eventually convinced him to take the role; it was Pollack's first acting work in years. Afterwards, Pollack still wanted to keep Coleman on board and cast him as the sexist, arrogant soap opera director Ron Carlisle. To prepare for his role, Hoffman watched the film "La Cage