TORONTO—He’s small in stature and he speaks softly, his sentences often gliding into one another and then taking off in another direction. Yet, even at the age of 77, Dustin Hoffman still has the presence of a bona fide movie star. One of the last giants of a great era of cinema, Hoffman met with the media at a Toronto hotel during last year’s Toronto International Film Festival to promote Boychoir (opening Friday [March 27]). The veteran actor held court, tackling the industry issues of the day and reminiscing about the good times while those in attendance hung on his every word.

Directed by Quebec’s François Girard, Boychoir is about Stet (Garrett Wareing), a young orphan from Texas who’s shipped off to an eastern school once his incredible singing voice is discovered. The boy battles with the other students and Master Carvelle (Hoffman) for his place in the institution’s choir.

“This character was extremely hard because he’s, by definition, two-dimensional,” said the actor. “If it wasn’t a star playing the part, it’d be a supporting role. The story’s about the kid. I think I’m in the first two scenes and then I’m not in it for half an hour or so, but they sell it so…” Reminded of something a rather famous co­star once said, Hoffman abruptly changed tack. “And he should be two-dimensional,” he continued. “You try to act three-dimensional with a two-dimensional part, but whoever you are outside the story, the audience doesn’t know, they don’t have a clue. Have I ever been married? Do I have anybody I’m living with? Redford said that after All the President’s Men. Because we’d go home and we had girlfriends and wives, and he said, ‘It should all be cut out of the movie. We should be two-dimensional characters so the audience has no clue who we are outside of being reporters.’ ”

Gone are the days when Hoffman’s characters carried the film. Instead, his roles have noticeably declined over the years, with an appearance here and a cameo there. One need only look at two of his former roommates, Gene Hackman and Robert Duvall, to see where Hoffman could be headed. Hackman’s given up acting, and while Duvall earned an Oscar nomination this year for a supporting role in The Judge, his character had a mishap involving a toilet that was played for drama but felt more like sad humour.

“The longer you’re around, the harder it is to get away with murder,” Hoffman said, referring to his preference for playing an assortment of characters. “You’re trying to get past that so-called persona. Not all actors. Many actors, many stars, have a signature. They give the audience what they want, they give them that person. I remember I saw John Wayne in one of his first movies. And it’s not John Wayne. It’s just some guy. And suddenly, he started learning that this was the John Wayne that they wanted, and he became that. So I’m trying to get away from that, because I don’t have a signature. I wish I did.”

As Hoffman continued to hold forth on a variety of subjects—like the directors he enjoyed working with (Mike Nichols, Barry Levinson, Steven Spielberg) and the ones he wished he hadn’t declined (Woody Allen)—a sense of wonder entered his voice. It was almost as if he was in awe of what’s happened to the world in his 77 years on the planet.

“When I started out, if there had been something released, even one still photograph of somebody giving someone else a blowjob—end of career,” he said, waving his hand to make a point. “And now it makes someone a star. That’s extraordinary. Blowjobs are finally getting the credit they deserve, I guess.”