 Hoffman had begun to be recognized as a theater actor in 1999 , when he received a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actor for the off @-@ Broadway play The Author 's Voice . This success continued with the 2000 Broadway revival of Sam Shepard 's True West , where Hoffman alternated roles nightly with co @-@ star John C. Reilly , making 154 appearances between March and July 2000 . Ben Brantley of The New York Times felt that it was the best stage performance of Hoffman 's career , calling him " brilliant " , and the actor earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play . The following year , Hoffman appeared with Meryl Streep , Natalie Portman and John Goodman in a Delacorte Theater production of Chekhov 's The Seagull – although Brantley felt that this performance was less fully realized . As a stage director , Hoffman received two Drama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Director of a Play : one for Jesus <unk> the ' A ' Train in 2001 ; another for Our Lady of 121st Street in 2003 . In a 2008 interview , Hoffman opined that " switching hats " between acting and directing helped him improve in both roles . 
