R Scott Hoffman is currently represented by talent agent MZA in Los Angeles and Stars Talent Studio in Utah. His manager is Sherri Lynn Talent Management, and for all his public relations needs, he is represented by GTK PR Agency in Los Angeles.
HI, WELCOME TO ABOUT INSIDER! THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO CHAT WITH US! CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF, WHO IS R. SCOTT HOFFMAN IN YOUR OWN WORDS?
Thank you for having me today. I guess the best way to describe me is son, brother and father to my two daughters. After that I would hope to be viewed as a trusted loyal friend.
CAN YOU SHARE SOME OF YOUR MOST MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES FROM YOUR CHILDHOOD IN SALISBURY, NC, AND HOW THEY SHAPED YOU INTO THE PERSON YOU ARE TODAY?
Clearly my most memorable experience was my family. I frequently tell people I was raised by Ward and June Cleaver, of course I was Eddie Haskell. While I viewed my childhood as somewhat boring at the time, I can look back and see I was blessed with the greatest family and childhood experience possible. Mom and Dad’s entire focus was on raising their three children. There was never any drama or conflict amongst any of us. However, going back to the Eddie Haskell reference, I was the most challenging one of the three kids. I was never in trouble with the law or anything like that, but I was definitely the rebel. While I pretty much made all A’s in school academically, I also made mostly U’s (Unsatisfactory) in citizenship. My mother always said I wasn’t challenged enough so I “entertained” myself. Dad was a pretty strict disciplinarian, and I was usually the one being disciplined. I look back on that part of my life and now feel so blessed to have been kept between the lines by mom and especially dad. It was definitely the part of my childhood that molded me into a “compliant” citizen today. Also, Salisbury is a small conservative town in the middle of North Carolina with a population of around 25,000 when I was growing up. Crime was all but nonexistent and drugs literally were never in the conversation. The temptations that so many kids are exposed to these days really weren’t a part of my childhood.
HOW DID YOUR EXPERIENCES PLAYING FOOTBALL AND RUGBY, AS WELL AS BEING A PROFESSIONAL SKI INSTRUCTOR, INFLUENCE YOUR APPROACH TO YOUR STUDIES AND WALL STREET CAREER?
Discipline is the first thing that comes to mind. Possibly the greatest gift I received as a kid was my mother ingraining it into me that I could do anything in the world that I wanted to…if it was what I wanted to do. I’ve pretty much been an athlete from the moment I became mobile. Being from NC we pretty much come out of the womb with a basketball in hand. Having that belief in me has allowed me to pursue any and every goal in life I’ve wanted.
This discipline from sports carried over into the classroom for me. As long I made the decision to accomplish something, then I was willing to put in the work to make it happen. Professionally I’m a licensed CPA in 3 states (retired), a Chartered Financial Analyst, and held Series 3, 7, 9, 10, 63 and 65 Securities Licenses (retired). I also held several insurance licenses as well. That took a lot of hard work and discipline. It also doesn’t hurt that I’m a good test taker either.
WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO PURSUE A CAREER IN THE FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AND WHAT WERE SOME OF THE KEY MILESTONES IN YOUR 35-YEAR TENURE WITH MERRILL LYNCH, MORGAN STANLEY, AND J.P. MORGAN?
My degree was in Accounting and in order to be licensed as a CPA, back in those days it required 2 years of public accounting experience or 5 years of industry experience working under a CPA. I’m not sure of the requirements today. After completing 2 years of practice experience I decided public accounting was not my long-term career choice. I actually decided to go back to school and do the combination MBA/JD curriculum. I was within 2 weeks of sending my tuition deposit in and I came to the conclusion I didn’t have the mindset of going back to school for 4 more years. My father was an extraordinarily successful stock investor and I guess I picked it up from him. The most important thing I learned from Dad was that you don’t make money trading stocks, you make money owning stocks.
Working in that world success/milestones tend to be very quantifiable. I know the first time making 6 figures back in the eighties, when people didn’t make 6 figures, was a big deal. I essentially did three things in my career. I started as a retail broker. My first year to generate over $1 million was a major milestone. I moved from being a retail broker to institutional. My clients were foundations, endowments, hospitals, insurance companies, colleges/universities, pensions and unions. The third phase of my career was in management. In addition to running branches a real highlight for me was being the Southern Divisional sales manager for Morgan Stanley. It wasn’t just the financial milestones that did it for me. Don’t get me wrong, the money was great and I was very fortunate in that respect, but it was helping others that really did it for me. This included helping individual clients reach their financial goals, helping institutions fulfill their fiduciary obligations as stewards over the funds entrusted to them and watching and helping young professionals flourish in their early careers.
MOVING FROM THE FINANCIAL SECTOR TO HOLLYWOOD IS QUITE A SHIFT. WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO TRANSITION FROM BEING A FINANCIAL EXECUTIVE TO PURSUING A CAREER IN ACTING?
Upon finding out what I do for a living people usually say, “oh, so you’re living your dream?” I tell them frankly, “no I never really dreamt about doing this. It just kind of happened.” When I retired from the financial world I quickly discovered I don’t do nothing very well; I’m not good at doing nothing. I toyed with a few ideas but nothing really did it for me. When I moved to LA I kept meeting people in the business on both sides of the camera who kept encouraging me to act. After about a year and a half of hearing this I finally thought why not and I’d give it a shot and see what happens. When I first started I kept hearing how our life experiences are what we can draw upon to bring a character to life. It didn’t take long for me to understand what they were talking about. Remember I started at age 60. At that age we have a lot of life experience both good and bad. I always tell younger people one thing they’ll learn over life is that life does not go by the script. All said, however, being in my eighth year I realize I have so much left to learn. The good news is that I have an insatiable desire to learn in general and acting has turned out to be the perfect platform for me to pursue.
YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU DISCOVERED YOUR LOVE FOR PERFORMING AFTER BOOKING YOUR FIRST FEW AUDITIONS. CAN YOU DESCRIBE THAT MOMENT ON SET WHEN YOU REALIZED ACTING WAS YOUR NEW PASSION?
That is a great question that I’m not sure I can pinpoint a specific moment. As opposed to it kind of slapping me in the face, I just remember early on having a realization that this is what I’m supposed to be doing. I can share one moment that was as much of a validation and confidence boost on top of realization. I was doing a scene on the Oval. Col Anderson was going off of a Secret Service Agent about not BS’ing me and leveling with me on what was going on. When the director yells “Cut” the set erupted in whoops and hollers and applause. At the moment I was kind of shocked but then it sank in that I “got there”. After that I definitely knew this is for me.
IN YOUR FIRST THREE YEARS AS AN ACTOR, YOU’VE BOOKED LEADS IN A FEATURE FILM, TV SHOWS, AND SHORT FILMS. WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST CHALLENGING AND REWARDING ROLE SO FAR?
Every role for me is challenging and rewarding. Big project or small project it is really hard to book work unless you’re a name or offer only an actor. To that end any job booking is a joy. I tend to be cast in a lot of alpha male, authoritative type roles so when I get an opportunity to play what I would call “softer” roles it tends to be more of a challenge and pulling it off is very rewarding. I’m told my look alone can be very intimidating. And yes, I can give the “no one is leaving this room alive” look, lol. I get a lot of satisfaction bringing a character to life in a manner that negates what the audience might have expected from my physical look.
HOW HAVE YOU MANAGED TO BALANCE YOUR PROFESSIONAL PURSUITS WITH PERSONAL LIFE, ESPECIALLY BEING NEAR YOUR DAUGHTERS IN HOLLYWOOD?
Here is where I really feel blessed. My personal and professional life has really blended nicely. I don’t play golf anymore, I don’t hunt, fish or do things like woodworking. Acting has just become what I do. I have to be careful to not let myself get offended when people say, “oh you’ve picked up acting as a hobby”. No, it’s my job. I work and I work a lot and I work hard and I love it. I’m in the gym 2-4 hours a day most days which I would be doing anyway, but it’s also part of the job. I book things over others by being in shape. I’m currently…let’s say between opportunities relationship wise, and whenever that may change then that will definitely come into the fold. I have found the greatest personal relationships in my life seem to have happened when I wasn’t really looking. My life is great but should that special someone show up then that’ll obviously be additive to my life. I mention last, but not because they’re last, is my girls. They are first and foremost everything in my life. The great thing about acting is that I generally have complete control over my schedule and I’m able to spend a lot of time with them. They both live 100 miles south of LA and they have their own busy lives but we get together as much as possible. Not only are they the loves of my life, but they are also my two best buddies. They will both tell you I am their best friend and for me that makes me the wealthiest human being on the planet.
LOOKING AHEAD, WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR GOALS AND ASPIRATIONS IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY? ARE THERE ANY SPECIFIC TYPES OF ROLES OR PROJECTS YOU ARE EAGER TO PURSUE?
I’m not doing this for the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. I do it for work. I absolutely love the work and the challenge. The challenge of booking roles and the challenge of being the best actor I can be. I’m afraid many, particularly younger actors, are doing it for the wrong reasons. Unfortunately with the extremely low success rate in the business, a lot of people are setting themselves up for a life “failure” that could impact them in other aspects of the lives or futures. When I mentor younger new actors I try to provide my life experience and impress upon them the importance of pursuing something you love as opposed to just the end game. I tell them they’ll have a much more fulfilling life this way. My plan is to take acting as far as I can. I’d love to book series regularly on a network sitcom or prime-time drama, principal roles on major studio feature films as well as national/international commercials.
HAVING HAD SUCCESSFUL CAREERS IN BOTH FINANCE AND ACTING, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO INDIVIDUALS LOOKING TO MAKE A SIGNIFICANT CAREER CHANGE OR TO FOLLOW THEIR PASSIONS LATER IN LIFE?
Do it for the right reasons. Do it because it is what you want to do more than anything else. Do it because it will enhance your life experience. The first 25 years of my financial career I would get up in the morning and couldn’t get to work fast enough. That changed. Everything changed. The world changed, the markets changed, the industry changed, my firm changed. Looking back I can see that the last 10 years I was really just going through the motions. I’m blessed and grateful that I “fell” into acting and it turned out to be the best thing that could have ever happened to me after having my two daughters. Most importantly be prepared to work; and I mean work. Maybe you’re the one that gets the “break” or are just blessed with the natural talent that you couldn’t fail if you wanted to. But don’t count on it. Probably the best advice I ever give anyone is this, “This is a job, a really hard job. If you don’t approach and work at acting like it’s your job, then it won’t be your job.”
REFLECTING ON YOUR DIVERSE CAREER PATH, WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE ARE THE KEY FACTORS THAT HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO YOUR SUCCESS ACROSS DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES?
Believing in myself and the fact that I can and will do any and everything that I want to if I really want to do it. God bless my sweet mom for putting that in me. Hard work. I got that from Dad. Pop ran his home furnishing store for 61 years retiring at age 81. For 16 of those years he was the primary caregiver for my mom who had Parkinson’s for 16 years. Talk about one tough guy!? After that, perseverance. I’ve always had the belief that maybe I can’t out talent you, but I can sure as hell out work you…and I won’t stop.
You can connect with R. Scott Hoffman on IMDb @R Scott Hoffman and Instagram @rscotthoffman
