PODCAST: Dustin Hoffman looks back on his career and the performance that could bring him back to the Oscars

Dustin Hoffman is universally regarded as one of the greatest actors who has ever graced the silver screen, and to the extent that such a thing can be quantified, the numbers back this up:

He has given extraordinary performances in numerous films, including "The Graduate" (1967), "Midnight Cowboy" (1969), "Little Big Man" (1970), "Straw Dogs" (1971), "Papillon" (1973), "Lenny" (1974), "All the President's Men" (1976), "Marathon Man" (1976), "Straight Time" (1978), "Kramer vs. Kramer" (1979), "Tootsie" (1982) and "Rain Man" (1988).

He is one of only eight men — the others being Spencer Tracy, Fredric March, Gary Cooper, Marlon Brando, Jack Nicholson, Tom Hanks and Daniel Day-Lewis — who have won two Academy Awards for best actor ("Kramer vs. Kramer" and "Rain Man").

And no man, living or dead, has headlined more films that went on to win the Academy Award for best picture (three — "Midnight Cowboy," "Kramer vs. Kramer" and "Rain Man" — a number matched only by Clark Gable, Jack Nicholson, and Morgan Freeman).

What's perhaps most remarkable of all is that none of the aforementioned career highlights has come within the last 20 years, during which Hoffman, now 71, has appeared on screen only sporadically, often in cameos or bit parts (Bernie Focker in "Meet the Fockers" etc.) that somehow seemed beneath him. Sure, there were flashes of greatness in "Wag the Dog" (1997), "Moonlight Mile" (2002) and maybe a few others, but nothing that truly moved audiences like Benjamin Braddock, Ratso Rizzo, Jack Crabb, Lenny Bruce, Carl Bernstein, Ted Kramer, Dorothy Michaels or Raymond Babbitt. Consequently,  a whole generation of moviegoers has grown up not knowing just who Dustin Hoffman is or appreciating how prodigiously talented he is ... or, if you're feeling cynical, was.

But wait. Just when it seemed safe to say that Hoffman's career had fallen victim to the same sort of late-career nihilism that devoured the career of his acting inspiration, Brando, he has given us reason to believe again. In the forthcoming indie "Last Chance Harvey" (nationwide 1/23, trailer), Hoffman portrays Harvey Shine, a man who travels halfway around the world to attend his daughter's wedding, where he is forced to fact some hard facts: The woman he loved as a younger man is no longer his wife; the daughter they produced no longer regards him as her principal father figure; and the job for which he has neglected them both, and into which he has poured his heart and soul for decades, no longer even wants him. Though this may make the film sound rather dour, it really is not, especially after Emma Thompson's character enters the picture and causes Harvey to realize that this trip may, indeed, be his last chance for salvation.

"Last Chance Harvey" is being promoted as "a film that celebrates new beginnings — at any age," which seems rather appropriate considering that it offers something of a new beginning for Hoffman, as well. On Tuesday, I sat down with the actor in a New York hotel room for about half an hour, during which we discussed all of this and more. I was very impressed with his unusually insightful, philosophical and poignant answers, and I hope you'll take a listen to some of the highlights of our conversation...

• AUDIO CLIP 1: Hoffman on why he became an actor

• AUDIO CLIP 2: Hoffman on redefining the look of a movie star

• AUDIO CLIP 3: Hoffman on why he never gave up character roles

• AUDIO CLIP 4: Hoffman on seeing beyond the look of a person in "Tootsie" and the real world

• AUDIO CLIP 5: Hoffman on what drives him to keep working