Hoffman would be directed by Tony and Academy Award winner Mike Nichols, who both would like Tony nominee Linda Emond to play Willy's wife, Linda. No official announcement about the production has been made.

Brian Dennehy, who won a Tony Award for playing Willy in the 2000 revival of the play, was quoted as saying, "He's a tremendous actor. He's a little young for it, but what the hell? He has a deep understanding of pain, which the part calls for."

Hoffman is 43; the Salesman script says Willy Loman is 62. Still, Lee J. Cobb originated the role to much acclaim at 38 in 1949, and Dustin Hoffman was 46 when he tackled the part in a well-received 1984 revival, later winning an Emmy for a television adaptation.

Philip Seymour Hoffman won an Academy Award for "Capote" and additional nominations for "Charlie Wilson's War" and "Doubt." A Tony nominee for Long Day's Journey Into Night and True West, he has also been seen on New York stages in Jack Goes Boating, Othello, The Seagull and The Author's Voice.

Nichols is the recipient of nine Tony Awards for directing or producing everything from The Odd Couple to The Real Thing to Spamalot. He is an Academy Award winner for "The Graduate."