It looks like raw talent might run in the family. Cooper Hoffman, the son of the late Oscar-winning actor, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, has landed the lead in Paul Thomas Anderson’s untitled 1970s-set coming-of-age story.
The film is an ensemble piece but Hoffman is playing the child actor at the center of the film that involves multiple storylines and is set in the San Fernando Valley. Bradley Cooper and Bennie Safdie are among the film’s ensemble of performers but Hoffman is the star of the film alongside singer-songwriter Alana Haim.
The project, which recently jumped to MGM from Focus Features, was written by Anderson and he will produce the movie via his Ghoulardi Film Company banner. The untitled project is currently filming on location in the San Fernando Valley and has been one of the first California productions to get filming going with new COVID-19 safety protocols in place.
Working with Hoffman’s son is a bit of a full-circle moment for Anderson. Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Anderson were longtime collaborators, with a professional relationship that began with the writer-directors 1996 feature debut Hard Eight. They would go on to work together again on Boogie Nights, Punch Drunk Love, Magnolia, and The Master. Hoffman would go on to win an Oscar for Best Actor for his powerful turn in Capote but sadly Hoffman died at the age of 46 in 2014 of combined drug intoxication. Hoffman is regarded as one of the best actors of his generation with a filmography that shows range and power beyond the projects he worked on with Anderson. As for Cooper Hoffman, this will be his acting debut, and what a debut to make with one of the best directors working in the business.
