Actor William Daniels On All Things ‘The Graduate’ (2024)

William Daniels has played many roles during his storied acting career, including Dr. Mark Craig in “St. Elsewhere’’ (for which he won an Emmy), George Feeny in “Boy Meets World,” the voice of KITT in “Knight Rider,” Carter Nash in “Captain Nice,” John Adams in the musical, “1776.” But to this journalist, Daniels’ role in the iconic coming-of-age, counter-culture film “The Graduate” may be the one history most favors. Daniels played the part of Mr. Braddock, Ben Braddock’s (Dustin Hoffman) tightly-wound father. In the film, Ben has just graduated from college, home with his parents for the summer, trying to figure out what to do with his life.

We thought it would be interesting to catch up with Daniels, now 95, to discuss his “Graduate’’ role, and other acting things past. Following are edited excerpts from a longer conversation. On our phone interview was Daniels’ Emmy Award-winning actress wife, Bonnie Bartlett, fascinating in her own right.

Jim Clash: Bill, when you filmed “The Graduate” in 1967, did you have any idea it would become the hit it was, and still is? I mean, seven Oscar nominations.

William Daniels: No, I don’t think anybody felt that way about it. In fact, that’s a given in our business. You don’t know what you’ve got until you play it in front of an audience, you know.

Clash: When you saw the final edit of the film for the first time, what was your reaction?

Daniels: I didn’t like it, because of what they had cut. Actually, I walked out when it premiered. My wife says I was a very difficult young man. Well, I guess I was [laughs].

Clash: In your recent book, “There I Go Again,” you include a chapter about Mike Nichols, who directed “The Graduate,” and Buck Henry, who co-wrote the screenplay for it. What were they like to work with?

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Daniels: My impression was that you didn’t go near them when they were together. With their senses of humor, they would cut you down pretty good [laughs]. They were very bright, witty guys. I realized that I was not fit for their company, so I didn’t spend much time with them. I did, of course, [spend time] with Mike when he was directing the film.

Clash: Originally, Nichols had asked you to play the part of the Taft Hotel clerk, eventually played by Buck Henry, and you turned it down.

Daniels: I was out of town when I read [the script]. That was a small part. So, yes, I turned it down. When I got back, Mike asked to see me, wanted to know why I had turned it down. I said it was such a small part with only two laughs. He said, “Well, how about the father?” I said, “Well, that’s a whole other story. I have to go back and look at it, that’s a bigger part.” So after re-reading [the script], I told him I’d be happy to play the father. It was unusual, because there were only nine years’ difference between Dustin [Hoffman] and me. When I pointed that out to Mike, he said, “Doesn’t matter.” He just dismissed it. And it turned out he was right.

Clash: The whole thing was perfectly cast.

Daniels: Yes. And you’ll notice that most were from New York. Mike was in a very strong position to get what he wanted, having just directed two big Broadway plays. There were a lot of Hollywood stars who wanted to work on that picture, too, and they made it known. But Mike turned them down, and turned the studio down. In fact, at one point, he had cast Gene Hackman as Elaine Robinson’s father, but had to let him go. He brought the cast together and apologized, said it was his fault for mis-casting Gene, and replaced him with Murray Hamilton, a stage actor also from New York.

Clash: What do you remember about filming that famous scene where Ben is in the pool with the fancy scuba suit you had just bought him for his birthday?

Daniels: Mike was talking to the cinematographer about how to film Dustin in the pool, with a photographer at the other end submerged in shallow water - from that angle. I was curious about it. I walked over quietly, and Mike sensed my being there. He turned to me and said, “What?” I told him I was just interested in how he was going to film the scene. He turned to his cinematographer, and said, “Why is he attacking me?” That’s Mike, his sense of humor, or not sense of humor in this case [laughs].

Clash: The soundtrack to that movie featured a number of Simon & Garfunkel songs, most notably “The Sound Of Silence.”

Daniels: Most of us thought the film was about a well-known Broadway star, Anne Bancroft. One day Mike asked me to listen to music by these two guys, one little and one tall. He played “The Sound Of Silence.” Suddenly, I realized that the movie was really about this kid, Dustin Hoffman. That gave me, at least, a whole different outlook on the show. During filming, the camera was always on Dustin. He was an unknown then. Mike had seen him off-Broadway. The studio was really against Dustin. But Mike insisted, and got his way, and, of course, it made a star of Dustin.

Clash: Why do you think “The Graduate” has endured for more than half a century?

Daniels: I have no idea. Like I said, you never know what you’ve got until you put it in front of an audience.

ForbesActor William Daniels On His Emmy, Wife Bonnie, Favorite Role And SAGBy Jim Clash

Editor’s Note: In Part 2 of our exclusive interview series with William Daniels, we discuss his favorite roles as an actor, his winning an Emmy for St. Elsewhere in 1986, his long-time marriage to actress Bonnie Bartlett, his recent book, “There I Go Again,” and more. Stay tuned to the Forbes Lifestyle channel.

Actor William Daniels On All Things ‘The Graduate’ (2024)
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