Dustin Hoffman, who dressed in drag for Tootsie thirty years ago, is no stranger to disguise. He shrouded himself in obscurity to conceal a cruel illness that nearly took his life.
The 75-year-old Rain Man actor disclosed in 2013 that he had discreetly had throat canc3r treated and that it had been “surgically cured,” but he never mentioned it again.
To find out more about the Oscar-winning actor’s experience with canc3r, continue reading.
Dustin Hoffman made his breakthrough performance in the romantic comedy The Graduate in 1967 at the age of thirty. The picture also earned Hoffman his first Oscar nomination.
Hoffman starred in iconic movies during the ensuing years, including Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, and All the President’s Men (1976).
The California native then played a dried-up actor who disguises himself as a woman in order to get a part on a soap opera in the 1983 movie Tootsie.
He claimed that the popular movie made him cry because it featured him being dubbed a “nottie” rather than a “hottie” in drag.
“I would want to be as beautiful as possible if I were going to be a woman, and they told me that’s as good as it gets.” “Well,” Hoffman remarked in an interview, “that’s as lovely as we can get you.
The now-86-year-old man had a revelation that permanently altered his behavior toward women after learning that he wasn’t particularly attractive.
“I started crying when I got home,” Hoffman says. “When I see myself on screen, I think I’m an interesting woman, but I also know that if I were to meet that character at a party, I would never talk to her because she doesn’t physically meet the requirements that we’re taught women must meet in order for us to ask them out.”
Hoffman didn’t find the comedy humorous, despite the fact that it was the second highest grossing movie of the year (E.T. the Extraterrestrial was the highest grossing movie).
“That was never a comedy for me,” he continues.
Hoffman, however, rose to prominence as one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actors.
After winning his second Oscar for Rain Man in 1988, he went on to win one Primetime Emmy and six Golden Globes.
“Identified early”
The individual, who is highly active in his career, fell silent in 2013.
Hoffman’s representation revealed the reason behind the beloved’s concealment just a few months after he directed his first British comedy, Quartet (2012), and shortly after the filming of Chef (2014), in which he costarred with Jon Favreau and Sofia Vergara.
Publicist Jodi Gottlieb told People (via ABC News) that the celebrity had successfully recovered from his disease, which he had kept a secret.
Gottlieb stated, “He was surgically cured because it was discovered early.” “Dustin is in excellent health and feels fantastic.”
The 75-year-old Tony Award contender reportedly planned to continue prophylactic therapies to reduce the likelihood of recurrence in the future. Gottlieb did not specify the sort of disease, however it has been hypothesized that he had throat canc3r.
“Appearance of years younger than 86”
After the heartbreaking news was released over ten years ago, Meet the Fockers continued to run strong, serving as a reminder of perseverance.
Since then, he has provided Master Shifu’s voice in two more Kung Fu Panda films (2008–2024) and costarred in a number of other movies, such as Sam and Kate in 2022 and the ensemble cast sci-fi thriller Megalopolis in 2024.
Hoffman and his wife Lisa Gottsegen, whom he married in 1980, were seen walking around London together in early March 2024, according to Hello!, making some adorable public demonstrations of devotion.
In addition to the two children he had with his ex-wife Anne Byrne, Hoffman married Gottsegen and had four more.
As he waved and grinned at the cameras, the Hollywood icon appeared years younger than 86, according to the publication. Alongside his wife of forty-three years, he strolled through the city, dipping into boutiques, looking tanned and carefree.
Hoffman has never discussed his fight with canc3r in public, but it seems like he’s doing great.
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