Dustin Hoffman on TOOTSIE and his character Dorothy Michaels

In this clip from the AFI archives, Actor Dustin Hoffman shares how the film TOOTSIE came to be and why he had to play the role of Dorothy Michaels.

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Murray Schisgal ..

mm..who's been my dear friend for over 30 years

er..kicked off TOOTSIE with the thought of

how would you be different if you had been born a woman

in a conversation we had one time

not what is it feel like to be a woman

cause at all sexes have asked themselves the question

what is it feel like to be, what would it feel to be like the opposite sex

but his question was different

if..if you..if you were born a woman

..how would you be different?

so that kicked off, which is..um..it would take too long to answer

how we then got involved in TOOTSIE for..

..for about 2 years before we even got it directed

..just working on different drafts of the script

But I did go to Columbia and I asked them if they would

spend the money to do make-up tests

so that..

I could look like a woman. And if I couldn't look like a woman

they would agree not to make the movie.

And they say: "what do you mean?"

I just somehow intuitively felt that unless I could walk down

the streets of New York and not have..err..dressed as a woman..

..and not have people turned and said: "who's that guy in drag?"

or turned for any reason,..that..you know.."who's that freak?"

unless I could do that, I didn't want to make the film

I didn't want to make the audience to suspend their..their..their..

their..their believability. When we got to that point

and looked at it on screen, I was shocked that I wasn't more attractive

and I said: "now you have me looking like a woman, ..now make me a beautiful woman.."

because I thought I should be beautiful

if I was going to be a woman

I would want to be as beautiful as possible

and they said to me

that's as..

..good as it gets..

er..

that's as beautiful as we can get you

..ahahah..

...Charlie!

and it was at that moment that I had an epiphany

and I went home, started crying..er.. talking to my wife

and I said: I have to make this picture

and she said: why?

and I said: because, I think I'm an interesting woman

..when I looked at myself on screen, and I know that if I met myself at a party

I would never talk to her, that character, because..

she doesn't fulfill, physically, the demands

that we're brought up to think

we have..women have to have

in order for us to ask them out..

she said: "what are you saying?"

and I said: "there's too many interesting women I have..

..I have..

I..I have

not had the experience to know in this life..

because I have..

..been brainwashed.

and ..

that was never a comedy for me!