Dustin Hoffman Recalls Casting Struggle for The Graduate

Dustin Hoffman received the role of Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate after a phone call in the snow. He was in New York, heading to a girlfriend's apartment for breakfast, when his agent instructed him to contact director Mike Nichols at 9:00 a.m. Hoffman called at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time, waking Nichols who was in Los Angeles on Pacific Time.

Hoffman apologized for the early call. After a long silence, Nichols responded, "Well, you got it." The director later told biographer Mark Harris that Hoffman possessed a compelling quality similar to Elizabeth Taylor. Harris described the actor as hilarious and impassive, noting that the performance was startling.

Hoffman had resisted the audition for months. His agent suggested Nichols was interested, but Hoffman felt he was the wrong choice. The character Benjamin Braddock was written as an affluent, track star and debate team leader. Hoffman, who identified as Jewish, felt he did not look like the typical American student. He pointed to a Time magazine cover featuring a blond, athletic man as the ideal candidate. Nichols countered by suggesting Benjamin might be Jewish inside.

The casting process had lasted nearly two years. Screenwriter Buck Henry said the producers initially envisioned a couple like Robert Redford and Candice Bergen. Henry described the ideal Braddock family as a group of surfboards. When Hoffman was finally considered, the team rationalized his appearance as a genetic throwback from parents like Ronald Reagan and Doris Day. Editor Sam O'Steen called the screen test footage ugly but acknowledged the actor's potential.

Hoffman prepared for the audition by memorizing ten pages of dialogue in under forty-eight hours. He traveled to Los Angeles without sleep. In the makeup room, the Westmore brothers spent hours plucking his eyebrows and applying cosmetics. Nichols directed the team to adjust Hoffman's nose and neck, leading Hoffman to feel the team was trying to remove his Jewish features. He wore a turtleneck to hide his neck during the screen test.

During the screen test, Hoffman and actress Katharine Ross struggled to complete a ten-minute scene in one take. Nichols told Hoffman to relax because the curtain was not opening. Hoffman noticed Nichols was sweating, indicating the director was more anxious than the actor. Hoffman returned to New York feeling relieved to escape the production environment. He had been working in theater for nearly a decade and preferred that medium to Hollywood films.

Rehearsals for the film lasted three weeks. Nichols instructed the cast to start from zero and avoid trying to be funny. He used Hoffman's brother as a model for the character's nervousness. Hoffman learned to hold his breath and make small squeaking sounds to convey Benjamin's tension. Nichols kept these squeaks in the final edit, creating the sound of a balloon under pressure.