He remembers hiding in the bathroom or staying out of sight when cast and crew took a bow.
Hoffman, the son of Philip Seymour Hoffman read for the first time in a casual, let’s-just-see audition for "Licorice Pizza” with Paul Thomas Anderson, the writer-director, and his eventual co-star Alana Haim. It was a great moment.
"I don’t think it was ever something I considered." Hoffman says that I was always afraid to go into that arena, because my father did it so well." "But I got so emotional after I read with Paul & Alana. "Oh my God, I must do this," I thought.
Hoffman was 18 years old when he began filming "Licorice Pizza". He was amazed at how easy it felt to film the film, even though it was his debut film. He was now doing what he had avoided for so long and he loved it. Hoffman's father was a regular in Anderson's films ("The Master," Magnolia," Boogie Nights," Hard Eight"), a decade later his oldest son was replacing him on an Anderson set. It is fitting that Hoffman's oldest son, Gary Valentine, was given his first line by Alana.
Hoffman stated that it felt strangely like he was walking in my shoes. It was a feeling that he might have felt. It was a strange out-of-body feeling. Through the entire shooting process, I felt extremely close to my dad."
After being nominated for three Academy Awards, including best picture . "Licorice Pizza" will now be available in 2,000 theaters. It was set in the 1970s in Anderson's San Fernando Valley, which is just over the mountains from Hollywood. Friends and family make up the cast. Andersons friends, the Haim sisters, all of whom appear in the film are long-time pals. Anderson's wife Maya Rudolph and their children appear in the film, along with Bradley Cooper, Tom Waits, George DiCaprio and Sean Penn.
Hoffman's touching presence is a highlight in the film's mix of celebrity and family. Anderson's sun-kissed film is given its breezy authenticity by Hoffman. He is often smiling or running like a child at play, and he does this more often than not. He is a man who moves and seems to be his own man. There are connections that can be difficult to break. Anderson's "Punch Drunk Love" featured Philip Seymour Hoffman as a mattress salesman. Cooper sells waterbeds in "Licorice Pizza".
Anderson chuckles, "It's one of the cinematic threads that is tied together which nobody ever could have foreseen nor predicted." "Yet we are!" Take a look at how the dice were rolled on this. The dice are rolled on the felt by shaking them.
Anderson did not initially attempt to cast Hoffman in "Licorice pizza" just as Hoffman never intended to. Anderson looked at other actors but they didn't have the right authenticity so he chose Hoffman, who he knew since childhood. Anderson had also directed him in iPhone home movies Anderson made with Jack, which he described as "generally Mission: Impossible-based situations." Cooper was the villain.
Hoffman says Anderson takes Anderson's home movies as seriously as he does. "I would laugh and he would be like, Cooper! You got to get this scene down.' It prepared me in a low way for 'Licorice Pizza.
Hoffman was not prepared for the first day. Due to Bradley Cooper's tight schedule they started with their much-talked about encounter with Jon Peters. Hoffman met Cooper in his first scene. Cooper is aggressively pushing Hoffman in the face.
Hoffman says, "I don’t believe I’ve ever felt more nervous in all my life." "The first time I took it, I was shaking. Paul didn't use it because I was stuttering my sentences. It was wonderful to have Alana there. We were both like "What the hell have we gotten ourselves into?"
Hoffman soon realized how much he enjoyed the communal thrill of filmmaking. Haim, a first-time actor, drove Hoffman to the set and to In-N-Out for lunch. Hoffman was only 11 years old when his father passed away in 2014. His fondness for Anderson's films came mostly afterward. He loves movies such as "Boogie Nights", "The Master" and others. He is a huge fan of the Mattress Man.
"I see my father, but he's playing an imaginary character." Hoffman says that he sees Paul whenever he is in a movie. It's very moving to see someone who's been in a movie. My dad is a wonderful father. He's an amazing actor, I believe. Although I admit that I am biased, I believe it to be true.
Hoffman's mother, Mimi O'Donnell (costume designer), has two younger siblings. He had avoided the public eye for most of his life before "Licorice Pizza." He says that he is afraid of being noticed. Many will recall Cooper's charming photos taken with his father at a Knicks match . (Hoffman remains a fan. Some have compared his mop of red hair to Scotty, his father's character from "Boogie Nights".
Hoffman says, "I don’t know if that is a compliment or not."
Anderson says Hoffman looks at his mother as if Hoffman is his father. Anderson says, "He has her eyes. He has her smile." Hoffman was a simple man from an early age.
Anderson says, "It's still that same empathetic open-hearted tender, funny kid that I knew when it was 2 years old." Anderson says that Anderson is more or less the same. His greatest quality is his empathy.
Anderson was especially protective of Hoffman as he gave his first solo interview. Anderson's family-oriented film production is not the only kind of business. According to Anderson, Hoffman's first step is like seeing your child ride around blind corners.
Hoffman was nominated for the Golden Globe, and was awarded the National Board of Review's best breakthrough performance. Hoffman is now getting to work. He was inspired by his experience with "Licorice Pizza" and is currently attending acting school in New York.
"Right now, for right now, I very much want be an actor. Hoffman says that Hoffman is doing it. "I'm glad to follow this path and see what happens. It's a wonderful experience that I am thoroughly enjoying. It's an honor to be compared with my father. But, I do hope that, because I am an actor, people will not just see me as his child. I hope people can differentiate us."
Hoffman has learned a lot about his father and past by making his own acting style. Hoffman illustrates this by telling Hoffman a story that his mother shared with him about how his grandfather helped his father after a split.
"His father said something beautiful: "The relationship hasn’t ended. She might not be there, but you may not see her. You're still thinking about her. Hoffman says that the relationship continues to exist.
Hoffman could attend the Oscars next month, given the Oscar nominations for "Licorice Pizza". He wouldn't be the first to attend. Hoffman vividly recalls the night his father took Hoffman to see him after he was nominated as "The Master." His dad didn't cry when he lost. The afterparty.
"He was looking after me and keeping me safe. I told him that I didn't like the way he was treating me. I want to go. It is overwhelming. Hoffman says that there are just too many people. "We went back to our hotel, played Wii and ate cheeseburgers. Joaquin Phoenix also came over and we hungout with him. That's all I wanted to do."
