Philip Seymour Hoffman's Son Cooper Shares Challenges of Acting Legacy
Cooper Hoffman knows his dad was the master.
Indeed, the son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman shared that it's meant a lot to him to follow in his father's footsteps in Hollywood—but that means he feels even more pressure not to screw up.
Noting that “of course” it’s difficult for him to pursue acting, the 22-year-old explained during a Sept. 5 appearance on Today, "We have an Oscar at the house, and that's not something everyone can say, but that's kind of looking at you your whole life, and you don't want to step into something and not do it as well as that person did."
Cooper, who was just 10 years old when the Hunger Games actor died in 2014 at age 46, shared that his success in 2021's Licorice Pizza—his debut role for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe—helped him to feel like it was the right path for him.
As he put it, "I kept doing movies and I've realized that this is where I want to be right now."
However, the Long Walk star admitted that he may not make acting his lifelong work and may eventually quit Hollywood.
"It might not be where I want to be for the rest of my life," he added. "Who knows? I'll do it until I don't want to do it anymore."
But for now, Cooper is content with where he is, and his father—who was also dad to Tallulah Hoffman and Willa Hoffman with longtime partner Mimi O'Donnell—is still guiding him along the way.
"The Master is my favorite. I watch it every time before I’m going to shoot a movie,” he noted. “It’s the best. Because it just has everything. It has love, a relationship, a friendship, parental guidance, occult, all the things are there.”
For more on the life of Philip Seymour Hoffman, read on.
Oscar-winner Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in his New York City apartment on Feb. 2, 2014. He was 46.
In the Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Hoffman's Plutarch Heavensbee plots with President Snow (Donld Sutherland).
Hoffman and Andrew Garfield shared the stage in an acclaimed 2012 revival of Death of a Salesman.
Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix garnered praise for their work in Paul Thomas Anderson's film.
The actor takes a stroll in NYC in June 2013.
At NYC's Museum of the Moving Image, the actor takes the stage at the Envision Awards.
The actor arrives at the 2011 Sundance premiere of Moneyball.
The star is all smiles at the NYC premiere of The Ides of March.
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