Dustin Hoffman filmography acting with a 1984 performance as Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman" – Hoffman reprised the role a year later in a television film. 1987 saw the release of originally ill-received comedy "Ishtar", in which he starred with Warren Beatty; its critical support has since grown. He won his second Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the autistic Ray Babbitt in the 1988 film "Rain Man", co-starring Tom Cruise. In 1989, he was nominated for a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award for playing Shylock in a stage performance of "The Merchant of Venice". In
Dustin Hoffman Heat of the Night". Although "Life" magazine joked that "if Dustin Hoffman's face were his fortune, he'd be committed to a life of poverty", "The Graduate" was a gigantic box-office hit for Embassy Pictures, making Hoffman a major new star at the same time. The film received near-unanimous good reviews. "Time" magazine called Hoffman "a symbol of youth" who represented "a new breed of actors." The film's screenwriter, Buck Henry, notes that Hoffman's character made conventional good looks no longer necessary on screen: Hoffman biographer Jeff Lenburg adds that "newspapers across the country were deluged with thousands of letters from