Prior to her involvement in anime, she had some on-screen acting roles in films and television including Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and other media produced by Sam Raimi.
She also voiced lead ensemble characters as Rune Venus in El Hazard, Miaka Yuki in Fushigi Yûgi, Raquel Casull in Scrapped Princess, Fuu Hououji in Magic Knight Rayearth, Shinobu Maehara in Love Hina, Nia Teppelin in Gurren Lagann, Kanae Kocho in Demon Slayer, Irisviel von Einzbern in Fate/Zero.
She also provides background voices in a number of animated films recorded in the Los Angeles area, including Frozen, Epic, and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2.
Her voice was not warmly received by critics on Anime News Network who disliked her squealing schoolgirl tone,[16] and high pitch,[17] although Mike Dungan of Mania.com find her direction and acting to be entertaining.
[18] She starred as Mima Kirigoe in Perfect Blue, a psychological horror film by Satoshi Kon about a former Japanese idol who tries her hand at acting, but whose life falls apart when she is stalked by an obsessed fan and her associates are murdered one by one.
Carlos Ross of THEM Anime Reviews considered the general dub acting as "sophisticated, subtle, and well-done",[19] while Chris Homer of Fandom Post enjoyed both the English and the Japanese versions.
Aaron Silver of Anime News Network thought the dubbing was decent but her role as Lain lacked some emotion in comparison with her Japanese voice counterpart.
[23] In a review of the movie, Karen Gellender of Mania.com, who was impressed by Hoffman's previous performances as Mima and Lain, thought the dubbing was a mixed bag, and that her portrayal of Belldandy was the weakest of the bunch, with rather forced acting of emotional dialogue.
[29] Hoffman would voice high school student Shinobu Maehara in the Love Hina romantic comedy series, and supporting character Ryoko Asakura in Bang Zoom!