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
Willy Loman of the show as he bares his soul saying "Pop, I'm nothing! I'm nothing, Pop! Can't you understand that? There's no spite in it any more. I'm just what I am, that's all." At Willy's funeral, Biff states that "He had the wrong dreams...He never knew who he was.". Although his younger son, Happy, is self-absorbed, he attempts to humor Willy. He views his Uncle Ben (his father's brother) as his role model rather than his father because Ben went out to the world as a teenager and was rich by the age of 21. He repeatedly reminds Willy of