Dustin Hoffman Recalls 27 Unused Slaps on ‘The Graduate’ Set

WHO:

Variety - Dustin Hoffman starred as Ben Braddock in Mike Nichols’ film *The Graduate*.

Yahoo - Katharine Ross played Elaine, the daughter of the older woman with whom Ben has an affair.

Yahoo - Mike Nichols directed *The Graduate*.

Yahoo - Hoffman wrote about making the film in an essay for *The New Yorker*.

Reddit Movies - The post linked to an article about Hoffman, Nichols, and Ross’s work on the film.

WHAT:

Variety - Hoffman described making *The Graduate* as a “terrible experience,” although the film changed his life.

Yahoo - Hoffman recalled feeling “immediately uncomfortable, unworthy” in the starring role and worrying he had no right to be there.

Yahoo - Hoffman said he feared Nichols was angry because he was doing something wrong or because Nichols had realized he had miscast the lead.

Yahoo - Hoffman said he initially did not want to audition, believing he was wrong for Benjamin, whom the novel describes as an affluent, all-American track star, straight-A student, and debate-team head.

Yahoo - Hoffman said his agent persuaded him to screen-test; he got the role.

Yahoo - Hoffman described Nichols as “frequently sour” during filming, unlike his personality in rehearsals, and said he often felt he was about to be fired.

Yahoo - Hoffman recalled Nichols ordering Ross to slap him for 27 takes in a scene in which Ben arrives at Elaine’s room, wet from rain, and tells her about his affair with an older woman. Ross worried she would hurt him; Hoffman told her, “I’m O.K. Just don’t hit my ear.” He said she missed a few times, he was dizzy afterward, and Nichols did not use the slap in the film.

Yahoo - Hoffman said blood came from his ear during an underwater scene the next day; he attributed a punctured eardrum to the slapping and water pressure while submerged in a scuba suit.

Yahoo - *The Graduate* received seven Oscar nominations and won Best Picture at the 40th Academy Awards.

WHERE:

Yahoo - The underwater scene was filmed in a pool.

WHY:

Yahoo - Hoffman said the film intensified his insecurities, including concerns about his appearance and suitability to play the affluent, “ultimate Wasp” Benjamin Braddock.

HOW:

Yahoo - Hoffman said Nichols’s directing was “irritable with everyone,” but that a “certain sadism” seemed to emerge particularly toward him.

(UPDATED November 2, 2026 19:03 UTC)

Dustin Hoffman called making *The Graduate* a terrible experience, though it changed his life. He felt unworthy as Benjamin Braddock and feared director Mike Nichols might fire him. Katharine Ross slapped Hoffman repeatedly for a scene; he later suffered a punctured eardrum.