 After graduating , Hoffman worked in off @-@ Broadway theater and made additional money with customer service jobs . He made his screen debut in 1991 , in a Law & Order episode called " The Violence of Summer " , playing a man accused of rape . His first cinema role came the following year , when he was credited as " Phil Hoffman " in the independent film Triple Bogey on a Par Five Hole . After this , he adopted his grandfather 's name , Seymour , to avoid confusion with another actor . More film roles promptly followed , with appearances in the studio production My New Gun , and a small role in the comedy Leap of Faith , starring Steve Martin . Following these roles , he gained attention playing a spoiled student in the Oscar @-@ winning Al Pacino film Scent of a Woman ( 1992 ) . Hoffman auditioned five times for his role , which The Guardian journalist Ryan Gilbey says gave him an early opportunity " to indulge his skill for making unctuousness compelling " . The film earned US $ 134 million worldwide and was the first to get Hoffman noticed . Reflecting on Scent of a Woman , Hoffman later said " If I hadn 't gotten into that film , I wouldn 't be where I am today . " It was only at this time that he abandoned his job in a delicatessen to become a professional actor . 
