Dustin Hoffman was born in Los Angeles and discovered acting while attending Santa Monica College. He performed at the Pasadena Playhouse before moving to New York to study with Lee Strasberg at the Actor's Studio. Hoffman rose to stardom as Benjamin Braddock, the college student seduced by Anne Bancroft's character Mrs. Robinson, in The Graduate. Hoffman has made a career of interesting characters. His roles have included a down-and-out hustler (Midnight Cowboy), a divorcing father (Kramer vs. Kramer), a cross-dressing actor (Tootsie), and an autistic savant (Rain Main).