The Untold Truth Of The Graduate

Before Spaceballs and Blazing Saddles, there was The Producers. Mel Brooks' freshman film broke comedic boundaries by making the Nazis funny and was a wildly popular movie that eventually became a successful musical and won Brooks an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. 

Before The Graduate, Dustin Hoffman had a few minor film roles under his belt, but he was mostly known as a strong stage actor. According to IndieWire, when Mel Brooks approached Hoffman to be in The Producers, he originally said yes to playing the "fanatical Hitler supporter, Liebkind," but asked Brooks' permission to audition for The Graduate. 

Mel Brooks agreed, as he was aware of the script, considering that his wife was already slated to star in it, and didn't think Hoffman stood a chance. "I thought this was all too bizarre," Brooks said. "Go, you're a mutt. The minute they see you on film, they'll say we got the wrong guy. He called me back two days later and said they want me." Hoffman's career move made him instantly famous and led him on an upward trajectory to becoming one of the most acclaimed dramatic actors of his time.

Did Hoffman think that would happen? "Every studio turned it down," says producer Lawrence Turman in a New York Post interview. "They read the book and hated it, and no one thought it was funny." So no, Hoffman wasn't expecting it.