Breaking into Hollywood is rarely easy and, for Cooper Hoffman, the climb to the highest comes with an additional layer of legacy. The son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, Cooper is carving his personal path, with a serious launch on the 2025 film schedule. On the similar time, the youthful Cooper is candid about discovering his means with out his dad by his facet. Earlier than each shoot, he has a easy reset: he cues up considered one of his father’s performances, and his alternative is impressed.
22-year-old Cooper Hoffman shared the ritual on TODAY whereas selling his new Stephen King adaptation, the upcoming The Lengthy Stroll, and speaking about following in his father’s footsteps. As regards to his “favourite” entry from his dad’s filmography, Hoffman stated:
The Grasp is my favourite. I watch it each time earlier than I’m about to go shoot a film. As a result of it simply has every part. It has love, a relationship, friendship, parental steerage, a cult. It’s all there.
It’s exhausting to argue with the selection. The Grasp is and can in all probability all the time be my favourite PTA flick. Indisputably, it is considered one of Paul Thomas Anderson’s greatest films. Nevertheless, pairing Philip Seymour Hoffman’s magnetic efficiency as a cult chief and Joaquin Phoenix’s flamable drifter, this drama movie is a stellar two-hander. It additionally earned the elder Hoffman an Oscar nomination and stays a contemporary appearing showcase.
Legacy isn’t a small factor to shoulder, and Cooper doesn’t faux it’s. He informed the morning present that following a large will be daunting, particularly with an Academy Award actually close by. Nevertheless, the work itself clarified his path: do the job, be taught by doing, hold going till it now not feels proper. “I’ll do it till I don’t need to anymore,” he added, a reminder that his profession is one thing he’s selecting daily, not one thing he’s trapped by.
For the younger star, the rewatch capabilities as each a research and a touchstone reminder of scale and subtlety but in addition a approach to carry a bit of his dad onto every new set, as he builds his personal legacy.
Cooper Hoffman made his debut with Anderson’s Licorice Pizza and has been selecting initiatives that stretch him, from comedy-drama to dystopian thriller. Now, he continues to construct out his filmography with The Lengthy Stroll. Within the flick, Hoffman performs Raymond Garraty, a teen thrust right into a lethal state-sanctioned endurance contest. The manufacturing demanded actual miles, and Hoffman has stated the solid walked lengthy stretches in triple-digit warmth, tallying near 400 miles over the shoot, which is a grind that solid a good, on-set brotherhood.
There’s a small grace in Hoffman’s choice. The Grasp isn’t simply considered one of “his dad’s greatest,” nevertheless it’s additionally a research in connection and management. The movie is an instance of how individuals save or break one another, and the way perception can consolation or devour. For a younger actor entering into roles that ask for stamina and steadiness, that’s a sensible syllabus. The truth that it additionally retains him near his dad is a bonus he appears to embrace.
Cooper Hoffman’s upcoming horror film, The Lengthy Stroll, hits theaters on September 12.