Critics have embraced Hoffman in a collective bear hug, and with his kleptomaniacal penchant for scene stealing, it seems only a matter of time before he's a household name.
What's the secret? Lucky is a word Hoffman uses a lot, but gutsy seems more like it. Clearly, the 32-year-old actor has a bloodhound's nose for sniffing out juicy, edgy parts. And being a bachelor helps, he says.
"You should take your time, be picky," Hoffman says laconically. "That's something everybody should do, even when you're not working.
"If you don't have kids and you're just some single guy like me - I mean I've got a girlfriend now - you just have to make choices based on 'this is the time for me to do what I need to do,' not because 'I have to do it.' Because when I have kids or something, I'm going to have to do [stuff], so why would I want to do that now?"
With that, Hoffman continues foraging ravenously through a table of breads and pastries his handlers have ordered up to his Four Seasons Hotel suite. "I just quit smoking," the husky actor explains, pushing half a muffin into his mouth, though you get the impression his case of the munchies stems in part from a desire to deflect scrutiny.
Hoffman knows his profile is about to go from low to incandescent, and he's clearly wary of the repercussions. So he dresses down, in personal delivery as well as in his attire, which includes glasses with almost nerdishly square gray frames, a baseball cap, and a T-shirt that reads "Carolina Softball."
"I think I worked really hard and it's paying off," Hoffman says. "I hope it stays a positive thing and doesn't turn negative, which it can. I'm just trying to do what I think I should do next."
