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 less is sometimes more. He worries about every little detail." He appears in "Little Fockers", the critically panned yet financially successful 2010 sequel to "Meet the Fockers". However, his character plays a significantly smaller role than in the previous installment. In 2011, Hoffman reprised his role as Master Shifu in the commercially and critically successful animated film "Kung Fu Panda 2". Hoffman starred in the HBO horse racing drama "Luck", as a man involved in bookmaking and casino operations. "Luck" was cancelled in March 2012 after three horses died on set. Hoffman also directed "Quartet", a BBC Films comedy starring