Hoffman's role as Lester Bangs in the Cameron Crowe movie Almost Famous is quite possibly one of the most attention grabbing pieces of character acting you're likely to see. That's largely due to the fact that he taps into the very essence of the cool rock and roll journalist which pretty much every single one of us has sort of dreamed of being at one point in our teenage years. Hoffman's character is one of the most integral cogs of the story, as it is he who gives inspirational advice to the film's main character and budding writer William Miller. The passionate yet blase performance given by Hoffman is brilliant to watch, and you fully believe every word he says. What's more, his most famous advice in the movie of being "honest and unmerciful", is delivered with such honesty that it seems to inspire those watching to want to take pen to paper and put the world to rights.
