Willy Loman first one he ever read and predated his interest in becoming an actor. He noted that the play resonated with him because his father was a travelling salesman and he had an older brother. Hoffman eventually played the role in a high-school production. In 1965, Hoffman served as the assistant director in an off-Broadway revival of "A View from the Bridge" at the Sheridan Square Playhouse with a cast that included Robert Duvall and Jon Voight. The show's director Ulu Grosbard suggested to Miller that Hoffman had the potential to make a great Willy Loman. Miller was unimpressed and later
A Death in Canaan A Death in Canaan A Death in Canaan is a 1978 American made-for-television drama film directed by Tony Richardson and starring Stefanie Powers, Paul Clemens, and Brian Dennehy. Its plot concerns the true-life story of a teenager who is put on trial for the murder of his mother in a small Connecticut town. The film first aired on the CBS Wednesday Night Movies on March 1, 1978, and was never officially released on any analog or digital medium for rental or sale. Arthur Miller wrote his one-act play "Some Kind of Love Story" (1984) loosely based on the same incident.