The Character: In the 1988 Academy Award-winning drama 'Rain Man,' Dustin Hoffman plays Raymond, an autistic savant with excellent memory and outstanding mathematical skills. Though he can't understand things like currency, he can remember the answers to problems. When his narcissistic brother Charlie (Tom Cruise) is left without an inheritance following their father's passing, Charlie takes Raymond on a cross-country trip back to LA so he can try to get half of the money, but then he learns of Raymond's gift and takes him to Las Vegas to exploit his skills in card games.

The Inspiration: Kim Peek of Arlington, Texas was the real-life inspiration for screenwriter Barry Morrow when he penned 'Rain Man.' Known as a "megasavant," Peek had autism, which affected his social skills, and a developmental disability related to brain abnormalities -- but he had an incredible recall ability that allowed him to say, for instance, the exact day of the week someone was born on based on their birth date and the news items that were on the front page of major newspapers on that day. Dustin Hoffman met and studied Peek several times to accurately portray someone with autism, and when Barry Morrow won the Oscar for his screenplay, he gave it to Peek.

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