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 of No. 27 Hero on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains list, while "Entertainment Weekly" ranked "All the President's Men" as one of the 25 "Powerful Political Thrillers". Hoffman next starred in "Marathon Man" (1976), a film based on William Goldman's novel of the same name, opposite Laurence Olivier and Roy Scheider. Its director, John Schlesinger also directed Hoffman in "Midnight Cowboy" in 1969. Described as "Schlesinger's thriller," by author Gene D. Phillips, Hoffman plays the hero, Babe Levy, a part-time long-distance runner and graduate student, who suddenly finds himself being pursued by a fugitive Nazi. To put himself