Both Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman are two talented actors. Both have careers full of successes and shared the cast twice. However, their first experience together was enough for neither of them to want to see each other again.
If we think about Meryl Streep's career, many movies come to mind: Mamma Mia!, The Devil Wears Fashion, The Bridges of Madison, and Sophie's Choice, among others. The same goes for Dustin Hoffman, who has starred in iconic movies like The Graduate, Tootsie, Rain Man, and the list goes on.
And just as both were able to shine in various films, there was one in which they shared the screen and where their performances received worldwide acclaim. In 1979, Kramer vs. Kramer, a dramatic film directed by Robert Benton and starring Streep and Hoffman.
The story introduces us to a marriage made up of Ted and Joanna Kramer and their six-year-old son, Billy. Ted is a man who is very dedicated to his family but also to his work, which is why Joanna decides to leave him, leaving him in the care of the little one. When Ted finally settles into the single-dad routine, Joanna returns with the intent of regaining custody of her child.
The truth is that Kramer vs. Kramer became a real success. Not only did he get very positive reviews for his performances, but he also did it for his story, which showed very advanced points of view for the time on divorce, gender equality, and the role of parents, among others. In addition, it earned nine Academy Award nominations, of which it took home five, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor for Hoffman.
But although the film was a great success, the truth is that the biggest mistake in the production was placing Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep under the same roof. At the time of being cast in the film, the actor already had an impressive filmography full of great titles. On the other hand, Meryl was still taking her first steps, and even though she had just starred in The Deer Hunter, she still did not enjoy the popularity she has today.
This was noted during filming, in which Hoffman made use of his power and position, giving rise to a feud that lasted for years. He handled himself through method acting, while she went for a much more relaxed and vulnerable style. This caused a lot of friction during her filming, especially since the actor was in charge of bothering and harassing her moments before shooting a scene because he wanted to generate certain reactions in her.
On one occasion, while filming the scene where Joanna leaves Ted, the actor slapped the actress. As you read. When the characters leave the apartment to move the conversation to the hallway, we see how when Ted tries to approach her and touch her, Joanna immediately pushes him away and tries all the time to get him away from her. This was not just a performance but an actual reaction from Streep, who seconds earlier Hoffman had slapped to get that reaction.
And just like this, there are many anecdotes from the shooting that only deepened the bad relationship between the two actors. On some occasions, when Dustin Hoffman insisted on eliciting a violent or sad reaction from the actress, he would begin to insult and provoke her, telling her about her recently deceased fiancé, John Cazale. "He used things that he knew about her private life so that he would get the reactions that he thought she should have from her," revealed Richard Fischoff, the film's producer.
On another occasion, and like their characters, the actors had different visions of their characters. When Streep intended to carry the scene in a way, Hoffman decided to improvise and throw a glass of wine against the wall that broke into pieces and whose glass landed in the actress's hair, deeply upsetting her. "Next time you're going to do something like that, let me know," the actress warned.
The truth is that Dustin Hoffman's behavior has always been something to talk about. During the same filming, the actor ended up making Justin Henry, a little boy who played his son, his son Billy, cry, making him imagine the death of his dog, to get his reaction. Many years later, Meryl Streep spoke out about the situation, claiming that if she hadn't been so young or had so little experience, she would have raised her voice to complain.
Kramer vs. Kramer was very close to having other actors. Initially, the role of Ted had been offered to Al Pacino, but he turned it down, giving rise to Hoffman's entry. On the other hand, Meryl Streep ended up accepting the role that Jane Fonda rejected, but it was also thanks to Hoffman that the actress got the role, as he was impressed with the vision she had of her character.
As of today, Kramer vs. Kramer is considered a movie classic, and the performances of Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman have gone down in history. Of course, after that experience, neither of them wanted to know about working together. Decades later, in 2004, both were part of Lemony Snicket's 'A Series of Unfortunate Events', but they did not share any scenes together and they did not have any problems. Still, Meryl Streep revealed that all that drama was in the past.
