As the son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, who is regarded by many as one of the greatest performers of his generation, Cooper Hoffman has faced the daunting and incredibly difficult task of proving he is much more than a nepo baby. When he walked onto the set of Paul Thomas Anderson‘s Licorice Pizza in 2021, this wasn’t simply an acting debut, this was a young man stepping into a legacy that had been quietly waiting for him, one he initially didn’t know he wanted. Now, four years later, his leading role in The Long Walk has further cemented him is a gifted thespian on his own path to triumph, while simultaneously keeping his father’s presence alive for a new generation of moviegoers.
The parallels are impossible to ignore, yet Cooper simply does not seem at all burdened by them. Instead, he’s embraced the connections to his father’s work while demonstrating a raw talent and dedication that stands entirely on its own merit. From his first collaboration with Paul Thomas Anderson to his physically and emotionally demanding rendition in The Long Walk, Cooper Hoffman is showing the world that talent, when nurtured with care and respect for the craft, can indeed run in the family.
Cooper Hoffman: From Reluctance to Revelation
Cooper Hoffman never planned to become an actor. In fact, in his father’s will, it was written that he desired for Cooper to grow up outside of Hollywood. Before his father passed away in 2014, Cooper grew up in New York City and had never even thought about the world of acting other than the fact that he knew it was his father’s vocation. However, when he was 17, this changed when Paul Thomas Anderson, a lifelong family friend and one of his father’s most trusted collaborators, approached him about auditioning for Licorice Pizza. Yet even then, Cooper wasn’t immediately convinced, and reportedly read the script very carefully to see if he connected with it. This was something that impressed PTA.
It wasn’t until that first reading with Anderson that something clicked – a genuine love for the craft began to form. And despite what many might think, Anderson didn’t hand Cooper the role out of sentimentality. The director, known for his exacting standards and having worked with Philip Seymour Hoffman on five acclaimed films, made Cooper prove he was right for the part of Gary Valentine, a fast-talking teenage entrepreneur navigating love and ambition in 1970s San Fernando Valley. The audition process was rigorous, and Cooper had to earn his place. When Licorice Pizza premiered, his performance garnered heaps of critical acclaim culminating in a Golden Globe nomination. From here, the stage was set and the arrival of a major new talent had been exhilaratingly announced.
The PTA Connection: A Bridge Between Generations
Paul Thomas Anderson’s relationship with the Hoffman family is one of the most moving creative threads in film. Among the greatest actor-director collaborations in cinema history, Anderson and Philip Seymour Hoffman worked together on acclaimed classics The Master, Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love, Boogie Nights, and Hard Eight. Simply put, Hoffman was there from the very beginning. The iconic duo’s common dedication to emotional sincerity, artistic bravery, and mutual trust served as the foundation for their creative relationship.
So, when Anderson cast Cooper Hoffman in Licorice Pizza, he wasn’t just giving a young man his first role – he was extending a legacy of collaboration that had defined much of his own artistic journey. The decision was deeply personal yet professionally sound. Anderson saw in Cooper not just echoes of his father, but a unique presence and naturalistic charm that perfectly suited the role. Working with Anderson allowed Cooper to understand the kind of director his father most respected, the environment in which Philip thrived, and the level of craft that defined his father’s approach to acting. It was an education in both filmmaking and family history, conducted on a working film set where the stakes were real and the expectations high. With that said, it’s easy to see why he has excelled so much. It’s not that often a young actor gets to work with such a unique and seminal filmmaker for their first movie.
The Long Walk: Proving Himself Through Endurance
Based on the dystopian horror novel by Stephen King, The Long Walk may sound simple at face value, but its complexity lies within its deep character studies. Set in an alternate-America ruled by a totalitarian regime, the plot centres on a group of teenage boys who compete in an annual contest known as “The Long Walk,” in which they must maintain a certain walking speed or get shot. Cooper Hoffman forefronts the picture as Raymond Garraty, aka #47.
A wealth of positive reviews quickly swarmed in for the movie, and although it was perhaps mischaracterized as a straight-up horror movie, the tension is palpable, making for a deeply unsettling and well-paced flick. Leading such a simple storyline like this, it’s become clear that Cooper Hoffman has the chops of a fully-fledged “movie star”, effortlessly holding the attention of the audience from the first anxiety-inducing frame to the last. If Licorice Pizza was Cooper Hoffman’s charming introduction to audiences, The Long Walk is his declaration of serious intent. Alongside having to convey mental toughness, the role demanded extreme physical endurance – weeks of actual walking during filming – and emotional depth as Garraty’s resolve crumbles under the weight of the horrific competition. So, as The Long Walk continues to generate buzz and Cooper’s career trajectory points steadily upward, it’s clear that the Hoffman legacy in cinema is far from over.
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