 In 2002 , Hoffman was given his first leading role ( despite joking at the time " Even if I was hired into a leading @-@ man part , I 'd probably turn it into the non @-@ leading @-@ man part " ) in Todd Louiso 's tragicomedy Love Liza ( 2002 ) . His brother Gordy wrote the script , which Hoffman had seen at their mother 's house five years earlier , about a widower who starts sniffing gasoline to cope with his wife 's suicide . He considered it the finest piece of writing he had ever read , " incredibly humble in its exploration of grief " , but critics were less enthusiastic about the production . A review for the BBC wrote that Hoffman had finally been given a part that showed " what he 's truly capable of " , but few witnessed this as the film had a limited release and earned only US $ 210 @,@ 000 . 
