Tootsie to the Rescue!

Back in 1992, Dustin Hoffman starred in a movie called Hero, playing a fictitious do-gooder.

A few days ago, Hoffman was the real deal.

The two-time Oscar winner and his wife came to the aid of a bee-sting victim who suffered a potentially fatal allergic reaction on a Malibu beach.

In an interview with CBS' Early Show, 36-year-old Lydia Graham talked about being rescued by the legendary actor two weeks ago, after she accidentally stepped on a bee and was stung while walking down by the water with friends.

"Within about 30 seconds, I could feel my whole body started to itch and blister. My scalp was itching, under my armpits, and I could feel my eyes starting to sting and swell and my lips starting to swell up as well," Graham recounted to Early Show anchor Harry Smith.

With their friend in the throes of a major allergic reaction, Graham's two gal-pals went for help, at first approaching a beach ATV patrolman and asking him for a ride. But he said no and instead radioed for lifeguards.

Not sure if medics were on their way, the two women then ran up to the next couple they saw on the beach, which happened to be the Hoffmans, who were lounging in front of their beachfront home.

As it turned out, Hoffman's wife, Lisa, is also allergic to bee stings and twice has been hospitalized for a similar reaction. The couple sprang into action, taking the stricken woman up to their deck.

By this time Graham was beginning to panic, but still had her wits about her to notice the famous mug next to her on the sand.

"My throat was starting to dry out and get swollen. My stomach was in severe pain, and my eyes were swelling shut," said Graham. "So I did recognize that it was Dustin Hoffman, but I was sure that I was going--I could possibly die."

Lisa Hoffman rushed into the house and retrieved the drug EpiPen from a first-aid kit and injected it into Graham's thigh.

Instantly, her swelling subsided, and the Hoffmans invited her to stay until she felt better.

Graham said the Hoffmans help saved her life.

"My girlfriend, Mary Anne, called 9-1-1 emergency services, and they were so busy on that Sunday afternoon that she was put on hold," Graham said. "So [the Hoffmans] truly got the medication faster than any possible way it could have come to me."

Graham said she was so "grateful" to the Hoffmans and was glad she had an opportunity to come on television and thank them and her girlfriends for saving her life.

All in a day's work for Dustin.

When not saving the day or relaxing by the sea, the 66-year-old thespian has been busy with his usual day job.

Hoffman is currently shooting Meet the Fockers, a sequel to 2000's box-office hit, Meet the Parents, in which he and Barbra Streisand play Ben Stiller's neurotic parents, Mr. and Mrs. Focker.

Hoffman's also set to star as Meyer Lansky in The Lost City, a drama directed by his Hero costar Andy Garcia set in pre-Castro Cuba, and David O. Russell's comedy I Heart Huckabee's, with Jude Law. He's also set to star opposite Johnny Depp in Finding Neverland, a flick about author J.M. Barrie's experiences that led him to write Peter Pan. (Coincidentally, Hoffman played Captain Hook in 1991's Hook, Steven Spielberg's adventure-fantasy sequel to Barrie's tale.)

Hoffman's most recent turns on the big screen were in last year's Runaway Jury and the little-seen crime drama Confidence.