It wasn't until filming was well under way that he realised he'd landed the best role on the show. "Aaron Korsh, the creator, always had in mind that Louis is the anti-hero and slowly reveals his heart. "But not in the beginning. In the beginning, he was just a firm douche."
For those who haven't caught the past four seasons of Suits, it centres on a Manhattan law firm and its cast of hot-shot lawyers, the hottest of whom is Harvey Specter, who hires Mike Ross - an unqualified college dropout - as his junior associate.
Louis is a fellow senior associate and Specter's nemesis, who desperately wants to be part of the gang but never will be because, well, he's a douche.
The series, which lives up to its dramedy genre, delivering genuine laughs as well as strong storylines, has never screened on New Zealand television but is available on Lightbox and Netflix. In America it became a surprise hit, but Hoffman was wary of believing the hype.
"I had been on four other series that never lasted more than a year and a half," he says. "I'd done fine, so you start to wonder, 'Will I ever be one of those lucky actors who get to be part of something lasting?'
"I'd had a drought of four years of not really finding any work and then this came out of nowhere." But past experience had left him battle-scarred.
"Everyone tells you, 'This is good, get ready.' But even when the ratings are good you don't really believe it because you're scarred and so used to being beaten down and told your show's being cancelled.
"It took until maybe the third season that I got confident that we were coming back again. You take it so personally. There's so many more failures than successes for actors. It's like a phobia, fear of cancellation."
Now, with season five about to launch - here on Lightbox and throughout the world - Hoffman is confident fans will love it.
"The writers, once again, have this take-no-prisoners attitude and just don't repeat themselves and find this wonderful groove of new story. I love where it's going this season and it's incredibly bold."
He can't say what's set to unfold but promises there will be more of the quirky characters who make Suits so different. "In the first season, they did this very smart thing and took their time," Hoffman says. The story was the romance between Mike and Harvey and then they began peppering other characters in very slowly and carefully."
"They've created a really nice group of characters that thread themselves through the main characters - Harold Gunderson, Catrina. There's more of that this year as well."
At the end of season four, the warring Harvey and Louis had reached a tentative peace deal but Hoffman says the relationship is still fragile, especially as Harvey's beloved secretary Donna announces she's leaving him to work for Louis. "There's just some really interesting storylines. That potential tension from Donna, plus some storylines no one knows about that could cause some serious damage," Hoffman teases.
But no matter what plays out on the screen, Hoffman says the cast are as thick as thieves in real life. "You would think maybe some of that would cross over. Maybe if the actors took themselves really seriously in this group of people - but we don't.
"Most of the time you hear stories about how it becomes nightmarish and actors get sick of each other when they're together for long periods of time. But not this group. We all have our shit but it's like family."
A family Louis Litt can only dream of.
Who: Rick Hoffman
What: Television series Suits
Where and when: Season five premieres on Lightbox this Monday at 4pm, with new episodes each week.
- TimeOut
