Note: Text has been lightly edited for clarity and does not match audio exactly.

Tricia Ford: Hello listeners, this is Tricia Ford, an editor at Audible. I'm thrilled to be here with Dominic Hoffman, a man many know from his acting roles on TV and film. Here at Audible, we know him well as the voice of some of the best books out there, including James by Percival Everett, Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, and The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride—just three of my personal favorites, and all award-winning novels. But Dominic is also a lifelong writer, and we're here today to celebrate and talk about Late Rehearsals, a book he calls “a collection of fictitious events, which sometimes ring true.” Welcome, Dominic. Thanks so much for being here.

Dominic Hoffman: Thank you very much for having me.

TF: What are you hoping listeners get out of listening? What's your purpose of writing this, and who do you see as your audience?

DH: I think people write so they can figure out what the world is, so they can have some kind of understanding of it just by processing and desynthesizing what happens in your life and stories you hear and things like that. I've been a writer my whole life, so I don't know how to express myself in any other way except acting and writing. The choice between reading it or listening to it is always the reader's choice, seems to me. Some people don't listen to audiobooks. Some people prefer to read them. And when you listen to them, I have the advantage of having the story in my soul and in my heart. I interpret it very personally. I think that's the difference, and I've had a lot of practice doing that now. It's very different doing your own book, though, I have to say.

TF: I was curious about that, too, what the difference is. I'm sure you've read things you didn't love and things that you totally love. Obviously, you love your own stories, as you should, but it's different. Like you said, it's in your heart. So, what was that like, sitting in the booth with your own work?

DH: It was easier. It was easier with my own work. I was much more familiar with it. When you do audiobooks, you get them a week or four days in advance, and ready, set, go, 400 pages, 60 characters, and you're vamping. With this one, I'd spent so much time writing these people and listening to them and having them speak to me, so I had a comprehensive view of not just what they sounded like, but who they were.

TF: Right, and the format of the book is really interesting, because they're not interconnected stories. They're stand-alone snippets, character studies of people and of places, and that goes deep for a very specific, short period of time.

DH: Right.

TF: In your mind, how do they connect to each other?

DH: It's always about men and women and the dynamics between the two. Then our situations and our relationships are formed by our separate realities, and all these characters have very, very different realities. The only thing that I think connects them is their need and their misunderstanding of each other, men and women. Obviously, we're not the same, and we respond differently to everything. But at the same time, we reconcile those differences the best way we can. It may not be the most successful way. But I try to write at the top of my compass, and that means the highest common denominator, knowing that it's still common. So, who I'm writing for, I'm writing for everyone.

"I've been a writer my whole life, so I don't know how to express myself in any other way except acting and writing."

There's a line in there, "Get in where you fit in." Because my reading history is catholic with a small C, I read everything. I think it's an appropriate book for anyone. I think anyone can read this and relate to some fragment of it because they're sort of fables and stories of relationships with people. Also we have our own personal relationship with ourselves. And those are the things that are the most important, especially right now, where the world is absolutely nuts. Your relationship with yourself is very important.

TF: Very true.

DH: How you see the world and how you navigate it. And that only comes from how you understand it.

TF: One thing that you just said made me think of another quote of yours that I came across prepping for the interview that I just loved. I'll read it here quickly and then we can talk about it. You say, "Through art, whether it's a painting, writing, or music performance, the imagination takes flight and not only provides a service to our souls but makes space for our understanding of the world. That's what we all need more of in this moment. Because we all have art in us. Create as much as you can."

I just love that quote. When I read short stories, it makes me want to write, which was my reaction to Late Rehearsals. I mean, I do write, but it's not my profession. But when I say write, it's that urge to create and that importance to have that in life. I think great stories or just good stories or stories that ring true to you, inspire that. I did get that out of this book in particular. But could you talk a little bit more about the importance of art in your life?

DH: It's saving me right now. It's very hard for me to reconcile the world. I won't go deep into politics or anything, but because of what's going on, I think we're in denial about how it affects us. Because you're forced to balance your sanity against insanity and navigate this madness that's going on in the world. And to do that, one of the things we have to do is keep your life regular. You see your kids, you cook dinner, you go out, you have fun, you exercise, you do all the things that you normally did before this happened. And sometimes that's misleading, it seems to me, because you don't want to spend too much time dealing with a reality that you don't really care for. You're successful in not doing it because you have your life and it is normal, and you are doing the things that you normally do. But I think it's drastically affecting us, deeply affecting us. And art has been saving me.

Just the process of creating stuff, just the process of taking the challenge. Art is hard. I've been writing my whole life. People know me as an actor, but I was a writer first and foremost. And that's how I come to acting, to tell you the truth. You get the innards of writing. You say, "Okay, I know where this comes from, so I know how to interpret this character." I spend a couple months in Paris every year, and I spend a lot of time seeing art. I draw the line between all these things, all the arts, the music, writing, acting. All those things are related in that they require every bit of your humanity and your imagination, good or bad, to manifest itself, it seems to me, at your best. So, it's very important. I think one of the first things that happens with kids when they're born is they show their artistic sensibilities. It's what appeals to them, too, and it's a beautiful thing.

TF: Another thing that you talk about is discipline, how when you're "in concert with your discipline, it's not painful." I did love that quote as well. It goes along with what you were saying with keeping life regular during trying times. To not let it take away your art or whatever you love in life. And doing it every day is kind of what makes you win and not fall for the insanity, as you said. I like that advice, because the experience of art is reading and listening to great books as well. And even if you're not creating it, consuming a whole book is an accomplishment these days, I think. A lot of people don't feel they have the time or the attention to give to a book like that. So, I think something like Late Rehearsals is a nice stepping-stone into that. You can listen to a few of the stories, take it in, and move on and pick it back up later.

DH: On that note, why short stories? Because I am absolutely enamored and just thrilled by people who can hold a 400-page narrative. I'm not one of those people. I write poems, I write television series, I write films. It's 120 pages. I write plays, I'm a playwright. That's 90 pages. I admire people who can hold a narrative together for 400-plus pages. It's extraordinary. But there's an art to writing short stories as well. I am better suited to that, and I also think it's a good time to write short stories because this is the age of TikTok. And people's attention spans are so short, you can just pick up a short story, and as you said, you can just read one and come back to it when you feel like it, when it's appropriate.

"If you make people laugh, you can talk about anything."

TF: Totally. Now, I can't let you leave without diving a little bit deeper into the art of narration. Because you are so good at it, I can't imagine that you don't approach it as seriously as you do your writing. I just want to know a little bit about your process and what your experience has been.

DH: It's the hardest job I have. You're tasked with taking a piece of work that someone spent perhaps years of their life doing, and you have a few days to prepare, and then you are obligated to interpret, in a moment, in most ways improvisationally, what they spent maybe a lifetime doing. They had to live to do this. So the responsibility is so great. I'm always humbled by just the attempt.

TF: How is it different from acting in TV or film?

DH: Well, you can get rehearsal. Theater's the best because you get rehearsal. I’m working on a solo show right now, and I'm in my little apartment or somebody lets me have their theater, and I rehearse and rehearse and rehearse and adjust and change and rethink it. You can't memorize a 400-page book and understand all the characters and their objectives and their obstacles and their needs and their emotional weight. So, you are really just improvising as you go. Like I said, it's the hardest job I have. And you have to stay so focused. You get paid per finished hour, so you are motivated to be efficient.

Just take an example of Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. That took place in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Now, it was a city that was shared by Eastern European Jews in the ’20s, and Black people. I tried to do all of them. I did an Italian woman. She had a page of stuff in Italian. And a Cuban bandleader. It was interesting. I have a lot of Jewish friends, I have a lot of Israeli friends, and I have a lot of Eastern European Jewish friends. And it's so funny because I'm talking to them about the accents and the most hysterical thing about it is they were all arguing about how I should say something. It was hysterical. But it was beautiful, it's beautiful. It's a cultural thing. And I loved attacking it culturally. But, wow, that's a high-wire act.

TF: It sure is. Do you have a favorite accent?

DH: No, no. Whatever new one I have. Whatever one I can learn soon. I would love to learn the Scottish accent, just because it's so weird. Great.

TF: It is.

DH: I would love to learn how to actually speak like that. But the thing about accents, you only learn them if somebody hires you for them. And usually they don't hire you for them if you don't have it already.

TF: There are these great books where the variety of characters in a single narrator makes sense. So you do have to do it all.

DH: Yeah, you approximate them. And as long as you're being truthful with the character, people will accept it. They will identify this voice with this person because you've presented in such a way that they could, which is hard. I don't know how anyone else feels about that, but I'm always reluctant to believe that I've been successful.

TF: Well, I have to disagree. I think you've been very successful. As a listener, it's like you sit with that voice. It doesn't take as long as it does to record it, but it's still 20 hours or so with this voice. And you connect it to those characters. It's like, to me, you are "James," and I get attached as a listener. It's a big part of the story for so many of us. I can't imagine how attached you get becoming those characters.

DH: I've done a few books on Rwanda, war, and Congo. I can tell you that being in those little rooms, separated by one sheet of glass with the director or the engineer, and there've been many times where we just need a minute to cry. And it's a very beautiful moment. It's well-earned. So, there is some very deep connection, with all the books, even books I don't like. I've read some questionable talents. But when you go all in, because you have to, you don't have a choice. You can't be subjective about this. This is a job. But it's not just a job. It's like I said, I have respect for anybody who put all that time in to write. I'm a writer, I understand what that is. Respect the work. And even for those, you give 100 percent, and you try to find the sweet spot. Sometimes you're searching when you're doing an audiobook. And then, all of a sudden, you land somewhere, and it opens the door for everything else. I can say that. It might be rare, but I mean, it happens.

"That's all we want—live a good life, create some art, don't hurt anybody."

TF: Right. And you've also done some multicast, where it's you and one or several other narrators. How do you feel about that?

DH: Well, I don't see any difference because, really, you're not in the room with anyone except your character. So you're doing that and somebody else another day has done something else. So, it's really no different.

TF: I'm just curious, they do occasionally have those duets where you get to talk—

DH: I've done those.

TF: —to each other. Have you?

DH: Oh, oh, I've never done those.

TF: They go back and forth and talk to each other. I feel like it's having a bit of a resurgence. It's mostly in romance.

DH: Oh, I would love that. I mean, I'm an actor, that's what we do. So that would be cool.

TF: You should try it. So, what are you working on now? Do you have any special projects in the works?

DH: I'm working on a new solo show. It's kind of apocalyptic. But as one of my characters says, if you make people laugh, you can talk about anything. So, everything has to have a high degree of humor in it. I don't think that's disingenuous because that's how we look at things that are very difficult to reconcile them. So, I'm working on a solo show with a bunch of characters. I've done two others before. And I'm working on a second book of short stories and finishing up a play, and a movie.

TF: Great. That’s awesome. I know sometimes you record books well in advance of publication, but what narrations do we have to look forward to?

DH: In all honesty, I don't have any.

TF: Okay [laughs], well, we know we'll be hearing from you soon enough. And we have Late Rehearsals too.

DH: Yes, another thing I'm working on is trying to get this book out. It's one thing to write it, but it's a completely different element to sell it. I'm not very good with social networking or social stuff, so that's presenting its own challenges, so that's interesting. But I'm very happy and very satisfied with this book. I like rereading it and I gave stories out to about 100 people, and the response has been significant and pretty much the same: people enjoy it. They get stuff out of it, and that's all we want—live a good life, create some art, don't hurt anybody.

TF: Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, I loved talking to you today. Is there anything that we didn't touch upon that you wanted to?

DH: Well, that's the million-dollar question, right? Because as soon as you hang up, I'll be, "Oh, why didn't I ... Oh, gosh." I thank you guys for your interest and for your support. In this crazy world, we have to always be thankful for acts of kindness. One of my characters—and I forgot, I don't even know what it is. He’s in a play or is [something]—but he has a line that really resonates with me, and he says, basically, "I'm gonna try love. I've tried everything else."

TF: Why not? We should all try it.

DH: I mean, it's very simple, but quite profound. The world would be a much better place if everyone thought like that.

TF: That's true. Thanks so much for taking time to talk today, Dominic.

DH: Thank you so much for having me.

TF: Listeners, you can find Late Rehearsals, written and performed by Dominic Hoffman, on Audible now.