Dustin Hoffman Reveals Being Slapped During The Graduate Filming

Dustin Hoffman recalls the physical toll of filming The Graduate

Dustin Hoffman has described filming the 1967 Hollywood classic The Graduate as a terrible experience, revealing that he was repeatedly slapped by a co-star and later suffered a punctured eardrum. The 80-year-old actor detailed the production difficulties in an extract from his forthcoming memoir, Look at Me, published in The New Yorker.

The production issues centered on director Mike Nichols, whom Hoffman said became increasingly difficult to work with after an initially positive rehearsal period. Hoffman wrote that Nichols ordered 27 takes of a scene in which co-star Katherine Ross slapped him, despite her concerns that she might injure him.

The actor explained that the sequence featured his role as Benjamin Braddock informing Ross’s character, Elaine Robinson, about his affair with her mother. Hoffman stated that Nichols repeatedly instructed Ross to slap him harder.

Hoffman asked her not to hit his ear, but she accidentally did so during the repeated takes, leaving him dizzy by the end of the day’s filming. Despite the numerous takes, that specific footage was not used in the final film.

Hoffman observed blood leaking from his ear the next day while shooting a swimming pool scene underwater. He later found out his eardrum had ruptured, which he believed resulted from the previous day’s blows combined with underwater pressure.

Cast faces severe heat and firing fears during filming

Production conditions on the film proved demanding for other cast members as well. Hoffman recalled that Anne Bancroft, who played Mrs Robinson, fainted while filming in extreme heat and required oxygen.

Throughout the shoot, Hoffman spent much of the production convinced that Nichols regretted casting him and feared he was going to get fired.

Despite the difficulties, the 1967 film became Hoffman’s breakthrough, earning him his first Academy Award nomination. The Graduate received seven Oscar nominations, with Nichols winning Best Director.

Hoffman went on to win two Best Actor Oscars for Kramer vs Kramer and Rain Man. His memoir Look at Me, co-written with journalist Ariel Levy, will be published on 10 November.