Dustin Hoffman Claims Director Mike Nichols Ordered 27 Slaps During ‘The Graduate’ Filming
Dustin Hoffman reveals a 'terrible experience' on the set of The Graduate, claiming Mike Nichols ordered he be slapped 27 times.
POLICY WIRE — London, UK — The 89-year-old actor Dustin Hoffman has revisited the production of the 1967 classic The Graduate, characterizing the filming process as a traumatic ordeal.
In his new autobiography, Look at Me, and an excerpt featured by The New Yorker, Hoffman alleged that co-star Katharine Ross was directed to slap him 27 times on camera under the instructions of director Mike Nichols.
The actor described feeling immediate sense of unworthiness and discomfort while playing the lead role under Nichols, who was the most prominent director at the time. Hoffman noted that despite the film ultimately transforming his career, the actual making process was miserable.
Nichols, who passed away in 2014, had gained notoriety through his comedy partnership with Elaine May before directing the massive hit Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Hoffman explained that his deep anxiety regarding Nichols stemmed from a fear that the director was either angry with him or had realized he had made a casting error by choosing the lead.
In the film, Hoffman portrayed Benjamin Braddock, a young college graduate from a Protestant background. Though born to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants from Russia and Romania, Hoffman secured the role after a two-year casting search.
The actor recalled that Nichols repeatedly pressured Ross to strike him with more force, despite her concerns about causing him injury. He reportedly told her he was fine even as she missed the mark.
Hoffman also detailed a harrowing underwater scene filmed shortly after the physical altercations. He wrote that he noticed bleeding from his ear after surfacing for several takes, suggesting the combination of the physical trauma and water pressure led to a ruptured eardrum.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
