Step Up 2 the Streets

Background:

A professional dancer who has worked with Christina Aguilera, Usher, Mya, Marilyn Manson, Paulina Rubio, and Ricky Martin, Robert Hoffman tried his hand at acting and got smalls roles as a dancer in the films "From Justin to Kelly" (2003), "Gigli" (2003), "You Got Served" (2004; for which he shared an American Choreographer Award), "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights" (2004), "Coach Carter" (2005) and "Guess Who" (2005). He could also be seen in "She's the Man" (2006) and the recently released "Step Up 2 the Streets" (2008), playing Chase Collins, the school’s best dancer.

He will next be seen in the upcoming films "Kids in America," "Say Hello to Stan Talmadge," and "They Came from Upstairs."

On the small screen, the 6' 2" rising star, who first appeared on TV in an episode of the NBC series “American Dreams,” played Adam Putnam, a cameraman and lover of Rebecca Gayheart's reporter character Judy Nash, in the short-lived Fox drama series "Vanished" (2006). He also guest starred in "Quintuplets," "CSI: Miami," "Campus Ladies," and "Nick Cannon Presents: Short Circuitz." He is also set to appear in the pilot episode of an untitled comedy series written by Elizabeth Meriwether that stars Tia Carrere and Lacey Chabert.

Rob

Childhood and Family:

Born in Gainesville, Florida, on September 21, 1980, Robert James Hoffman III moved to Madison, Alabama, when he was 7. The eldest child of Robert Jr. and Charlotte, Robert has one younger brother named Chris and two younger sisters named Ashley and Lauren.

Robert, nicknamed “Rob,” became interested in dancing after being mesmerized by Michael Jackson's “Thriller” video. He began his dance training at the tender age of five and later went on to attend the Alabama School of Fine Arts high school with a major in dance. He later joined Ballet South, which was led by American Ballet Company legend Wes Chapman.

"I started in traditional tap, jazz and ballet classes at a small dance studio in Alabama, and then, when I started to realize, 'Okay, this is all I care about,' I went to a fine arts high school and studied really hard in classical ballet. I met this hip-hop dance crew called the BMW Crew in Birmingham, Alabama, and I'd go breakdance with them on the street and I had a girl named Kim Wolf teaching me jazz. So, I did hip-hop, B-boying, jazz, tap and ballet." Robert Hoffman

In his spare time, Robert makes short films and has a very large Internet audience via the videos. He also enjoys meeting people who can dance well. Robert is a big fan of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

You Got Served

Career:

"As soon as I saw Michael Jackson dance I knew what I had to do. I didn't know I wanted to be a 'dancer,' I just knew I had to obtain what it was that he had that made his body turn into something magical when he moved to the music." Robert Hoffman

Entering show business as a professional dancer, Robert Hoffman decided to try his hand at acting and made his acting debut in 2003 on an episode of the NBC series “American Dreams.” He followed it up with small roles as a dancer in films like "From Justin to Kelly" (2003), "Gigli" (2003), "You Got Served" (2004; for which he shared an American Choreographer Award), "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights" (2004), "Coach Carter" (2005) and "Guess Who" (2005). As a dancer, he also worked with Christina Aguilera, Usher Raymond, Mya, Marilyn Manson, Paulina Rubio, and Ricky Martin, serving as his dance double in a music video.

Meanwhile, Hoffman guest starred in multiple episodes of Fox’s sitcom "Quintuplets" and starred as a dancer in the 17-minute short film "I?" (2005). He also could be seen alongside Lindsey Haun in the horror movie "Shrooms" (2006), with Amanda Bynes and Channing Tatum in the romantic comedy "She's the Man" (2006) and alongside Dennis Farina in the comedy "Bag Boy" (2007).

During this time, TV viewers could catch him as Adam Putnam, a cameraman and lover of Rebecca Gayheart's reporter character Judy Nash, in the short-lived Fox drama series "Vanished" (2006). He was also spotted as a guest in an episode of CBS’ cop/crime drama series "CSI: Miami," Oxygen’s sitcom "Campus Ladies," and MTV’s comedy "Nick Cannon Presents: Short Circuitz." Additionally, he appeared in two un-picked TV pilots, "Dash 4 Cash" (2007) and "Revenge" (2007).

Moviegoers recently saw Hoffman in "Step Up 2 the Streets," the 2008 sequel to the 2006 movie "Step Up." In the film, co-produced by Adam Shankman and Anne Fletcher, Hoffman co-starred alongside Briana Evigan, playing Chase Collins, the school’s best dancer. To prepare for his role, Hoffman actually went into the Baltimore city underground dance scene and took part in competitive break-dance circles. Although the dancing in the film received a great deal of praise, the film received negative to mixed reviews from critics.

"I was lucky. This character is not a big stretch from me. Aside from the prep that you would do with any role to just be able to play the circumstances accordingly, it was pretty easy to get engaged and enjoy being a privileged, confident, young, skilled dancer, and then let the relationship between me and Briana [Evigan, his co-star] build." Robert Hoffman (on his character in "Step Up 2 the Streets,” 2008)

Hoffman is currently working on his upcoming film projects, "Kids in America," a drama/comedy by Michael Dowse starring Topher Grace and Anna Faris. He revealed about his character in the upcoming film, “It's a fun, quick little character bit. It's been over a year but I think I played a guy named Tyler. Just wait until you see my costume. My costume is outstanding and I'm at a party and Dan Fogler hits on my girl and I challenge him to a dance-off. And, although I might have out-danced him, he definitely won the battle. You'll just have to see it. It's brilliant.”

He is also filming "Say Hello to Stan Talmadge," a comedy set in 1979 by writer/director David Moreton starring Gary Cole and Agnes Bruckner, and "They Came from Upstairs," an adventure/fantasy movie by John Schultz in which Hoffman will co-star with Ashley Tisdale. He is also set to appear in the pilot episode of an untitled comedy series written by Elizabeth Meriwether that stars Tia Carrere and Lacey Chabert.

Awards:

• American Choreography: Outstanding Achievement in Choreography - Feature Film, "You Got Served," 2004