Cooper Hoffman Steps Out From His Father's Shadow And Into His Own Spotlight!

Cooper Hoffman is an actor on the rise, a true thespian in line with the work of his late, great father Philip Seymour Hoffman. Born from a legend, whose tragic end gives even more weight to his incredible work in films like The Master and Synecdoche, New York, Cooper Hoffman has quite the legacy to live up to, yet he is taking it in stride.

Born in 2003, to Philip Seymour Hoffman and costume designer Mimi O’Donnell, Hoffman was protected by his parents from the spotlight and suffering often found in Hollywood. Though raised in the wings of a theater production and on his father’s sets, the elder Hoffman stipulated in his will that he wished for his son to grow up away from the pressures of fame. Cooper stepped into acting when he felt ready, with Paul Thomas Anderson’s acclaimed 2021 film Licorice Pizza. In the subsequent years, Cooper has jumped genres and propelled himself to leading man status through both a commitment to his craft and charisma, as well as staying out of the public limelight, very much so in the vein of his father. 

The older brother of two younger sisters, Cooper Hoffman has held the role of “man of the house” since his father’s tragic passing in 2014 when Cooper was just 10. While growing up, Cooper never thought of becoming an actor. But the scripts on the kitchen table, the wrap parties, and the film set visits sank into his heart. He became involved in school plays and was part of stage crews in his youth, as well as crewing for his friends’ short films. Mentored by his father and mother, as well as industry heavyweight Paul Thomas Anderson, Hoffman has managed to navigate the spotlight and the allure of Hollywood with maturity and grace. 

The sandy-haired Hoffman is a grounded rising star. He does not have social media and is a Knicks superfan. He rarely does interviews and is shy and introspective when he does make public appearances. Allowing himself to be insecure and open to learn encapsulates his acting style and persona. When he got the lead role in PTA’s Licorice Pizza, the world was introduced to an introspective, rare talent, both reminding the world of his father, mentor, and inspiration, while also bringing something entirely new to the field. 

Making his film debut at just 18, Hoffman received rave reviews that culminated in a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy. He admitted that, at the time, he had to feel like an adult to soak up the acclaim.

Like his father, Hoffman is slightly unpolished, vulnerable, and refreshingly unconventional for a Hollywood leading man. Audiences saw shades of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s raw openness in Cooper’s performance, though Hoffman himself is clear about forging his own path. “I had that feeling with my acting career,” he once said. “I’m going to go do this thing the way that my dad wanted it to go.”

When Cooper first arrived on the scene, it was impossible not to compare him to his father, or at least be struck by their resemblance. Philip Seymour Hoffman was one of, if not the greatest performers of his generation, an actor who found beauty in discomfort and made vulnerability riveting. The resemblance between father and son is striking, not just in their blond hair and stocky frame but in the way they both approach their craft. Neither is the conventional Hollywood leading man yet both turned that into their greatest asset. 

In an era where “nepo babies” dominate headlines, Cooper has become an example of when the term is earned rather than derided. Instead of leaning on his famous name, he has taken a harder route: playing self-conscious, deeply human characters. His debut in Licorice Pizza carried a playful looseness that recalls his father’s work in Twister or Boogie Nights. His turn in Saturday Night as legendary producer Dick Ebersol echoed PSH’s ability to find humor in power-hungry characters, like his fiery work in Punch-Drunk Love. And in The Long Walk, Cooper tapped into the same aching interiority that made PSH’s performances in films like Synecdoche, New York or Capote unforgettable.

These parallels are a beautiful inheritance. However, Cooper brings his own cadence and youthful spirit to his work, but he shares his father’s rare gift: making audiences feel seen in their awkward, insecure, unvarnished truth.

After Licorice Pizza, Hoffman quickly broadened his horizons. He appeared in Ethan Hawke’s Wildcat (2023), Jason Reitman’s "SNL" film Saturday Night (2024), and made his stage debut in Sam Shepard’s Curse of the Starving Class (2025) alongside Christian Slater. He also signed on to Simon West’s Old Guy, starring opposite Christoph Waltz and Lucy Liu in an action-comedy where he plays a cocky young assassin. Each role has tested different muscles, but it’s Hoffman’s ability to channel his vulnerability that has set him apart from peers who rely on polish or celebrity charm.

In 2025, Hoffman cemented his stardom with The Long Walk, Francis Lawrence’s chilling adaptation of Stephen King’s novel currently in theatres. Playing Ray Garraty, a teenager in a dystopian competition where slowing down means death, Hoffman gives a gripping, physical performance that has left audiences shaken. Filming was grueling: “Jesus, we went like 15 miles a day in 100-degree weather. No one is faking that. And it is exhausting,” he recalled.

The survival thriller paired him with "Industry" and Alien: Romulus breakout David Jonsson, whose camaraderie with Hoffman provided the film’s emotional core. Their chemistry was so immediate that Hoffman told Jonsson that he is “the most charismatic person I’ve ever met." That connection kept the story human, even as its existential horror grew darker.

Hoffman connected deeply with the material, admitting the film’s grief-stricken protagonist mirrored his own journey. “When your trauma is on display for the world, there’s no actually hiding it," he said. “Hopefully someone else watches it and goes, ‘He sees me, he understands me.’ That’s the only reason to do any sort of art."

With The Long Walk under his belt, Hoffman is busier than ever. He premiered Maude Apatow’s directorial debut, Poetic License, at TIFF last month, and a starring role in queer cinema icon Gregg Araki’s comeback film I Want Your Sex, where he plays the "sexual muse" of an artist portrayed by Olivia Wilde, is currently in post-production. He’s also been cast in Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial and was just confirmed to star in A24’s The Chaperones alongside David Jonsson.

Despite the momentum, Hoffman remains cautious, constantly checking in with himself about whether acting is what he still wants. “The second I really want to stop doing it, I’ll stop,” he says. But for now, Cooper Hoffman is firmly establishing himself as one of Hollywood’s most promising young stars -- not through spectacle or celebrity, but by embracing the same honest, grounded spirit that defined his father.