Hoffman slams movie culture

Dustin Hoffman has said a dearth of decent roles saw him lose his spark.

16:11 26 January 2005

Veteran actor Dustin Hoffman has revealed that a dearth of film roles made him lose his spark for acting.

Speaking to reporters in London, Hoffman said the film industry was obsessed with playing to certain demographic and had stopped making the films his generation wanted to see.

"There is this massive film making where you spend this incredible amount of money and play right to the demographic," he said.

"You can tell how much money the film is going to make by how it does on the first weekend."

Hoffman eventually became so disillusioned with the roles he was being offered that he temporarily quit acting and turned his attention to writing and directing.

The star of classics such as The Graduate, Papillon and Midnight Cowboy is in town to promote his latest film Meet The Fockers, a sequel to the 2000 comedy hit, Meet The Parents.

Meet The Fockers also stars Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller and Barbara Streisand.