Dustin Lee Hoffman is an 83-year-old American actor and filmmaker. He is famous for playing the roles of antiheroes. De Niro has described him as an actor who looks like the rest of us and heartbreakingly human.

Hoffman is undoubtedly a legendary actor, and many of his most iconic performances came during the 1980s. So lets explore some of his best movies of that era below.

The Best 80s Dustin Hoffman Movies

Though Dustin Hoffman has been a movie star for decades, his best work we would argue came during the 1980s.

So what were some of the best 80s Dustin Hoffman movies?

Here are our picks for the best Dustin Hoffman movies of the 1980s:

1. Ishtar (1987)

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 37%

Ishtar is an American action-adventure-comedy film that stars Warren Beatty and Hoffman. The story is about the two actors being terrible songwriters who go to Morocco on a job only to be confronted by a Cold War impasse.

The film was shot in New York and Morocco and garnered media attention even before the release for overspending the budget and clashes between the cast. After the release, the movie received mixed reviews and failed at the box office.

Despite the public considering it as one of the worse films released, critical support has only increased.

2. Rain Man (1988)

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 89%

Rain Man is still considered one of Tom Cruise’s best works. He stars alongside Dustin Hoffman, who plays an autistic mathematical genius. Cruise plays Dustin’s brother, and they go on a road trip to get closer.

The movie has a confident, funny, and witty tone that lets both actors explore their relationship as actors and siblings. Rain Man is rightfully remembered as a classic, and arguably one of Hoffman’s most memorable roles.

3. Tootsie (1982)

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 90%

This film placed Hoffman in the running for Best Actor in the Oscars and won the Best Actor award at the National Society of Film Critics. He plays the role of an extremely picky actor obsessed with being right and finding the truth. This unfortunately causes him to lose work due to his attitude.

As a result, he chooses to cross-dress as a woman named Dorothy and attends auditions. He earns the job, earns popularity, and quickly becomes a spokesperson for female rights while being a man. He also falls in love with his colleague and changes his attitude to be right for her. 

His acting is so flawless that there are times when you cannot distinguish between Hoffman and Dorothy. It is a sight to behold, and one of Hoffman’s finest performances.

4. Death Of A Salesman (1985)

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 100%

Hoffman’s role as Willy Lowman was perfectly written for him. He takes on the Arthur Miller role and makes it more complex. He is a fussy man who doesn’t see the reality of his life, ambition, and his family.

He has to confront this when his son Biff comes home from jail.  He plays the role of the heartbroken man who has to accept his family’s failure as his own. He feels like a traitor as he should’ve seen it coming and done all he could to protect his family and raise them right.

He eventually realizes that he can only build a legacy for his sons in death.

Dustin Hoffman’s repertoire is filled with versatile and varied films. He has only grown exponentially since his first Oscar nomination for The Graduate (1967).

So those are our top picks for the best Dustin Hoffman movies of the 1980s. Did yours make the cut?