The making of Kramer vs. Kramer (released December 1979) produced one of the more infamous actor-versus-actor stories of the late 1970s. Contemporary reporting and later interviews portray a charged, often hostile working relationship between Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep. A 1979 Time profile quoted Streep alleging that Hoffman groped her breast when they first met (a claim that was contested by a representative at the time), and unauthorized biographies and on-set anecdotes have circulated for decades: Hoffman allegedly hurled insults and obscenities at Streep during rehearsals, taunted her by invoking the name of her recently deceased fiancé John Cazale to provoke emotional reaction, and once shattered a wine glass against a wall without warning while cameras rolled — an act reported to have sent shards into Streep’s hair. Years later, in 2018, Streep publicly said Hoffman had slapped her hard, without warning, during a first take in what she described as an overstepping of boundaries.
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AI concept artworkArchive Record · 1970s
The Hostile On‑Set Relationship Between Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep — gropes, slaps and method madness
Dustin Hoffman & Meryl Streep / Kramer vs. Kramer / 1970s
The making of Kramer vs. Kramer (released December 1979) produced one of the more infamous actor-versus-actor stories of the late 1970s. Contemporary reporting and later interviews portray a charged, often hostile working relationship between Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep. A 1979 Time profile quoted Streep alleging that Hoffman groped her breast when they first met (a claim that was contested by a representative at the time), and unauthorized biographies and on-set anecdotes have circulated for decades: Hoffman allegedly hurled insults and obscenities at Streep during rehearsals, taunted her by invoking the name of her recently deceased fiancé John Cazale to provoke emotional reaction, and once shattered a wine glass against a wall without warning while cameras rolled — an act reported to have sent shards into Streep’s hair. Years later, in 2018, Streep publicly said Hoffman had slapped her hard, without warning, during a first take in what she described as an overstepping of boundaries.
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