Robert James Hoffman III (born September 21, 1985)[2] is an American actor, producer, dancer, and choreographer.[3]
Robert James Hoffman III was born in Gainesville, Florida, the son of Charlotte and Robert Hoffman II, and moved with his family to Madison, Alabama when he was seven. He has one younger brother, Chris, and two younger sisters, Ashley and Lauren. He attended Bob Jones High School. He discovered his passion for dancing after seeing Michael Jackson's Thriller.[4]
Robert Hoffman is a YouTube pioneer and viral video sensation. He has amassed over 100 million views for his pranks, sketches, dance videos, and stunts on his PUNCHROBERT channel. Some of his most popular videos include "The Yes Dance", "Urban Ninja", and "Contemporary Eric".[5] Hoffman began creating and sharing videos online in the early 2000s, even before the launch of YouTube in 2005. His videos were often featured on popular websites like eBaum's World.[6][7][8][9][10]
Hoffman's YouTube videos have been praised for their creativity, humor, and technical skill. He teamed up with Ellen DeGeneres on three different The Ellen DeGeneres Show episodes to perform “Dance Attack” pranks based on his “Dance Assassin” YouTube videos.[11][12]
In 2004, Hoffman starred in the film You Got Served as Max, a lead dancer in the antagonist's crew.[13] He also starred in Nick Cannon's sketch comedy television series Wild 'n Out. In 2006, he co-starred alongside Amanda Bynes in the film She's the Man.[14]
In 2007, Hoffman played the role of Bluto in the horror film Shrooms.[15] He also played the role of Clyde "Windmill" Wynorski in the comedy film National Lampoon's Bag Boy.[16] Hoffman has guest starred in many shows such as American Dreams, Quintuplets, Vanished, CSI: Miami, Campus Ladies, Drop Dead Diva, and Grey's Anatomy.[17]
In 2008, he starred in the film Step Up 2: The Streets as Chase Collins, a talented dancer at the Maryland School of the Arts (M.S.A).[18] In 2009, he guest starred in the ABC Family show Greek as Evan Chamber's older brother.[19] On 1 June 2008, Step Up 2: The Streets earned Hoffman and co-star Briana Evigan an MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss.[20] In 2008, he and Evigan starred in Enrique Iglesias's music video for his single "Push", where they reprised their Step Up roles.[21]
Hoffman appeared in the 2009 film Aliens in the Attic as Ricky Dillman.[22] In 2010, Hoffman played the role of Chad Bower in the comedy thriller film Burning Palms.[23] Hoffman featured as Garth in the musical comedy film BoyBand.[24] He played the role of Tyler "Dance Machine" Jones in the movie Take Me Home Tonight.[25]
He was also featured in Garfunkel and Oates's music video for their song "Present Face".[26] In late January 2012, Hoffman landed a recurring role in the fourth season of The CW's teen drama series 90210 as Caleb Walsh, a student at seminary school studying to become a priest.[27]
In 2014, Hoffman starred as Kevin Shepherd in the indie drama Lap Dance alongside Briana Evigan, Ali Cobrin, and Carmen Electra.[28] Hoffman guest starred as Thad Callahan in the TV show The Night Shift.[29] In 2016, he had a role in the comedy film Amateur Night directed by Lisa Addario and Joe Syracus.[30]
In 2009, Hoffman produced “The PunchRobert Show” for MTV. The show was meant as a star vehicle for Hoffman and was based on his YouTube channel, but has not made it to air.[31][32]
In 2020, Hoffman discovered Maleesha Kharwa, a young woman from Mumbai, India. Kharwa was living in a slum at the time, and she had never modeled before. Hoffman created an Instagram account for Kharwa and began managing her career. Kharwa quickly went viral on Instagram, and she was soon featured on the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine and became the face of Forest Essentials cosmetics.[33][34]Hoffman's discovery and support of Kharwa is a testament to his eye for talent and his commitment to helping others succeed.[35]
Hoffman has found success in what began as only a hobby in photography on his RJH3PHOTO site. His self described “Envocative novelties in beauty” style has caught the eye of around 400 Instagram followers. [36]