Dustin Hoffman describes why he loves the film: Next came director Barry Levinson's "Rain Man" (1988), where Hoffman starred as an autistic savant, opposite Tom Cruise. Levinson, Hoffman and Cruise worked for two years on the film, and Hoffman's performance gained him his second Academy Award. Behind Hoffman's motivation for doing the film, he has said, "Deep inside, "Rain Man" is about how autistic we all are." In preparation for the part, Hoffman spent two years befriending autistic people, which included taking them bowling and to fast food restaurants. "It fed my obsession," he has stated. Hoffman worked at the New York
Dustin Hoffman filmography star status and his first Academy Award nomination. He then acted in the play "Jimmy Shine" as the eponymous character and the comedy film "Madigan's Millions" (both 1968). In 1969, he starred alongside Jon Voight in the Academy Award for Best Picture winner "Midnight Cowboy", which Hoffman was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor a second time. The 1970s saw Hoffman star in several critically acclaimed and commercially successful films, including the Western "Little Big Man" (1970), psychological thriller "Straw Dogs" (1971), prison film "Papillon" (1973) alongside Steve McQueen, "Lenny" (1974) about the controversial comedian Lenny Bruce, and