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Talking to Philip Seymour Hoffman can be a daunting task. After all, it's easy to be intimidated by a man who has consistently proven himself one of the best actors of his generation, an actor who slips in and out of roles like a second skin. Hoffman is so good at disappearing completely into his roles that it's hard to remember when you first noticed him. Maybe it was in his role as the smitten production assistant in Boogie Nights. Or perhaps it was his turn as the world's most sympathetic pervert in Happiness.

One thing is for certain: Nobody who sees the upcoming Love Liza will soon forget Hoffman's fearless, gut-wrenching performance as Wilson Joel, a man so devastated by his wife's recent suicide that he embarks on a cross-country bender of gasoline-sniffing and other self- destructive behavior. It's a daring choice for Hoffman's first film as the sole star, and he's feeling the pressure to promote the small picture--which is why he's agreed to this interview.

Back to the intimidation factor: I've been told that Hoffman is a generous and professional actor on-set and that he is beloved by actors and directors alike. I've also heard that he doesn't like giving interviews and that he isn't terribly fond of reporters. Perhaps that's why he's enjoyed portraying his share of on-screen journalists: the proudly "un-cool" Lester Bangs in Almost Famous and more recently the sleazy tabloid reporter tortured by Ralph Fiennes in Red Dragon. My hopes weren't raised when he shuffled into the room and sprawled across the couch, barely looking at me. Indeed he seemed more interested in his plate of grapes than in my questions.

So, does he hate reporters? "Of course not," Hoffman said, letting out a raucous laugh and shaking his head. He admits to a quote attributed to him in which he said he's sick of stories focusing on his appearance and that he finds it lazy journalism.

"I said it because I think I've played parts where how I looked wasn't an issue at all," he explained. "Even before they described what the movie was about, they would talk about how I looked: pasty- faced, stocky, chubby. I think it's just easy and it's obvious. Sometimes I wish they'd just cut the crap and get to what the damn movie's about."

Hoffman, however, doesn't mind talking about his looks in films like Flawless or Love Liza, in which the character's appearance is integral to the story; still, he's tired of seeing this subject pop up in every story about him. "It's not so much about describing how I look, because I know how I look," he said. "It's about, Why are you interested in that in this movie? In most movies, it's so not even an issue, and they still want to discuss it."

Hoffman has always looked fine to many of us, and it would appear he's more than comfortable with his appearance. In Love Liza he spends a great deal of time in nothing but his underwear. He likewise spends a significant portion of his time in Red Dragon naked and Superglued to a chair. "Look, I just try to do what the character asks for," he said. "Maybe I don't work out the way I should or look the way I should being naked and all, but I don't think most people walk around with perfect abs."

Explaining why some reporters have found him cold, Hoffman spoke thoughtfully and deliberately.

"You're either having a conversation with a reporter that is nurturing and thought-provoking or you're having a conversation where the reporter is just trying to make you uneasy." Earlier in the morning he had been interviewed alongside his brother, Love Liza screenwriter Gordy Hoffman. "This guy interviewed us and said, 'So which brother does your mom prefer?' There wasn't even a smile, not a trace of irony. I just looked at him and said, 'Why? Why do you want to make us uncomfortable?' I really do think it's just to get a rise out of me. I guess there's a place for that, but not for me. There's too many things in life that are stressful, and doing press to support a movie you care about shouldn't be one of them."

Tough Sell

Love Liza enjoyed a warm reception at this year's Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. But its theatrical success will largely depend on whether audiences are ready to see everybody's favorite supporting actor make the leap to leading man. If Hoffman is feeling the pressure of carrying a film on his own, it doesn't show. "It's a lot of hard work, but I like it," he enthused. "I like being the guy who has to shoot every day. It causes you to feel like you're doing some of your best work because you're doing it every day and you really get to explore that character, as opposed to doing a day here and there. You really get in the rhythm of it, and there's something very satisfying about it."

Adding to the pressure is that a movie dealing with suicide and loss is a bit of a tough sell, a fact Hoffman openly acknowledged. "When we tried to get the movie made, you can't really talk to people about the story. You need to see it. It's a movie that has to be experienced, and it's not going to be explained away." Hoffman said the opportunity to work with director Todd Louiso (best known for his acting in High Fidelity and Jerry Maguire) and the script itself are what drew him to the project. "It's a very unique and moving story," he said. "It has a lot of colors and it's very surprising. You don't know what's coming.

Louiso first directed Hoffman in his short film The Fifteen Minute Hamlet in 1995, and they had been looking to collaborate again ever since. Recalled Louiso, "He gave me a few scripts to read, and I called and told him how much I liked Liza. He said, 'I knew you would like that one, it's so depressing.'" Over the next five years, Louiso worked with Gordy Hoffman on revising and trying to sell the screenplay. "The first script was the germ of something amazing," said Louiso. "It went through a lot of different changes and really needed the time to grow. And during the rewriting, Phil was becoming more and more successful." Louiso credits Hoffman's rising profile as the main reason he was able to make a film with such dark subject matter.

"Yes, it's depressing," continued Louiso. "But it's also very funny and very touching." Supporting players Kathy Bates and Jack Kehler help provide some surprising laughs, and Hoffman said he was grateful to have them there to balance the tone. Still, the movie is likely to be remembered for Hoffman's phenomenal work in some of the agonizing scenes. Take the moment when Wilson, addicted to sniffing gasoline, is turned away from a gas station and desperately attempts to get a model airplane store to open early so he can purchase model airplane fuel. It's a painful passage, but we can't take our eyes off Hoffman. The poignancy he brings to Wilson is reminiscent of Nicolas Cage's Oscar-winning performance in Leaving Las Vegas, only better.

So, is Hoffman paying attention to the growing awards-season buzz about his performance? "I don't think about it that much and I'm not just saying that to be humble," he insisted. "If it happens, it would be good for the film. That's ultimately what those things are about-- they're about promoting movies, and hopefully it's a movie that you're proud of. Oscars can help really great movies be seen by more people." He cited Monster's Ball as an example. "That would be wonderful if it happened with Love Liza," he said, then hastily added, "But I doubt it will."

I told him I'd be willing to bet $20 he'll be nominated, but he just laughed.

His Faves

Awards buzz should be nothing new to Hoffman, who has made a habit of stealing scenes in just about every film he's graced. After studying at the prestigious NYU Tisch School of Drama, Hoffman was working at a deli when he scored his breakthrough role in 1992's Scent of a Woman. Since then, he has averaged about three films a year. In 1999 alone, there was heavy buzz on him for three movies: The Talented Mr. Ripley, Magnolia, and Flawless. It ended up being his performance as drag queen Rusty Zimmerman in Flawless that snagged Hoffman a SAG Actor Award nomination, and it was a role that Hoffman adored.

"I hesitate to say favorite because there's so many parts I've enjoyed. But Flawless definitely brought me a great amount of satisfaction," said Hoffman. "It's such a fun film and it's already starting to get cult status." Indeed many drag queens have approached Hoffman and raved about his performance. Rather than playing the standard over-the-top drag queen, Hoffman is remarkably subtle. Appearing in his own short hair and ordinary clothing, Hoffman uses his voice and mannerisms to convey a woman trapped in a man's body. Rusty could easily have been a cartoonish caricature, particularly considering Flawless was directed by Joel Schumacher (8mm and Batman and Robin).

"I love Joel!" Hoffman said in defense of Schumacher. "He gets a really bad rap, but the thing is that it doesn't matter because he's a great guy. Joel has a lot of films where people silently enjoy it and won't admit it. I had more people talk about how much they enjoy that movie than anything else I've done."

The love is apparently mutual, as Schumacher was so insistent on using Hoffman he reportedly adjusted the shooting schedule of Flawless to accommodate the actor's busy schedule. Hoffman seems to inspire such loyalty in just about everyone he works with. He's appeared in all four of Paul Thomas Anderson's movies (most recently Punch-Drunk Love as a sleazy businessman), each time playing a radically different role. He's currently re-teaming with Ripley director Anthony Minghella in the film adaptation of Charles Frazier's best-selling novel Cold Mountain. "I work with certain people again because I'm supposed to," said Hoffman. "There are just certain people who are supposed to be in my life. Anthony and Paul are definitely two of those people."

That brings us to John C. Reilly, who costarred with Hoffman in three films and the 2000 Broadway revival of Sam Shepard's True West. The production about feuding brothers was famous not only for garnering Tony nominations for the two leads but also because the actors swapped parts every few nights, alternating the roles of passive Austin and sociopathic Lee. "John is my soul brother," he raved. "My connection with him is deep, it's a very profound relationship, and being around him sometimes I get nervous because he's one of the few people I look up to and am awed by. I watch him and I always think he's better than everyone else, including myself." The respect is more than reciprocated. "Philip is a fearless actor," Reilly has said. "He's the only person out there that I think of as a real contemporary."

Is there anyone left he hasn't worked with he would consider a dream collaborator? "I hesitate to answer that because you never know what somebody's really going to be like, and it's also up to serendipity," mused Hoffman. "I kind of like to leave that to the cosmos and not jinx it or try to push it."

Singing His Praises

Theories to the secret of Hoffman's success abound. "I think people like Phil because they connect with him," said Louiso. "He has such a warm quality in that way, with whatever character he's playing. You meet him and see he's very accessible in person, there's no ego that gets in the way." Love Liza co-star Jack Kehler concurred: "He does whatever needs to be done to honor his commitment to his work. I caught Flawless one night and thought, God, look at this guy. Look at what he's doing. He's just amazing."

Louiso also noted that Hoffman possesses a natural talent, but it doesn't stop there. "I don't know if people realize it, but he's put in so much time--and he still does," said Louiso. "He doesn't go around and hobnob at parties, he really studies his craft. He still does theatre and he does things like this film. It's so admirable. There's not an ounce of pretension in him. I love him for that."

Critics love him, too, and have been singing his praises for years. David Thomson's New Biographical Dictionary of Film calls him "so good that only the best material is going to build our sense of him." Hoffman responded, "It's very nice what he says, actually. This whole book is interesting. He's like everybody's therapist. It's incredibly insightful." Hoffman is also mentioned frequently in the recently published The Academy Awards: The Complete History of Oscar as an actor who has been unjustly overlooked for his performances over the years. "That's nice," he said, until I told him the book incorrectly referred to him as "Seymour Philip Hoffman" in one passage. Without a trace of ego, Hoffman laughed for a long time.

Hoffman may have spent years as "that guy" in various supporting roles, but it would appear he's just a step away from becoming a household name. Louiso, for one, couldn't be more pleased. "Phil is the real deal, and it just makes me so happy that he's getting the attention he's getting."

Hoffman is still adjusting to being in the spotlight. He may not have time. He will next be seen onscreen in Spike Lee's The 25th Hour, opposite Ed Norton. He has no fewer than three movies scheduled for release in 2003. In addition Hoffman is still very active with the LABrynith Theatre Company, of which he is co-artistic director. "It's quite an exciting time for us," said Hoffman. "John Patrick Shanley's new play is going up. It's a wonderful company with great people involved. It takes a lot of my time, but I love it." Hoffman has directed several productions for the New York-based company and has expressed interest in directing a film. "It will probably happen sometime, but it's a big commitment."

And of course, there's that fearless, vanity-free work in Love Liza. It's a gutsy move that should pay off, particularly around awards time. I reminded Hoffman of our bet, but he wouldn't hear of it. "Yeah, yeah," he said with a smile as he headed out the door. "I'll send you the twenty bucks."