Gaby Hoffmann left Hollywood after a stint as a child actor. Now, she's starring in a Netflix drama opposite Benedict Cumberbatch.

Gaby Hoffmann wants to be clear: She was a child actor — not a child star.

The distinction is important. Yes, Hoffmann had an unusual childhood — the daughter of Warhol muse Viva and soap opera actor Anthony Herrera, she famously grew up in the Chelsea Hotel and made her film debut at age 6 playing Kevin Costner's daughter in "Field of Dreams." But she still got to have a childhood outside the demands of show business.

"I lived a very bizarre life for many reasons, not just because I was an actress. But I was really a kid when I wasn't on set," Hoffmann tells Business Insider.

Unlike her "Uncle Buck" costar Macaulay Culkin, "I walked down the street, and nobody knew who I was," Hoffmann recalls. And she liked it that way.

Despite continuing to work off and on through her teens, including memorable roles in millennial classics like "Now and Then," Hoffmann never really considered herself an actor. It wasn't until she gradually returned to acting after stepping away for college that she began to build her career more intentionally, appearing in indie films like the buzzy 2013 Sundance film "Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus," in which she starred opposite Michael Cera.

Since then, Hoffmann, 42, has plumbed the depths of many complex characters, earning Emmy nominations for starring in the critically acclaimed Amazon series "Transparent" and her breakout guest role as Adam Driver's sister in Lena Dunham's HBO hit "Girls."

Her role in the Netflix miniseries "Eric" is the latest to stretch her dramatic muscles. The series follows Vincent (Benedict Cumberbatch), a puppeteer struggling with substance abuse and untreated mental illness, whose marriage to Cassie (Hoffmann) is pushed to the point of no return after their 9-year-old son Edgar disappears. Struggling to cope, Vincent begins imagining a 7-foot-tall puppet named Eric whom he's convinced can help bring Edgar home.

The surreal premise is grounded by the raw intimacy on display between Hoffmann and Cumberbatch in many of their tense scenes, and Hoffmann's powerful performance opposite a two-time Oscar nominee further clarified her reasons for loving what she does.

"Arriving on set with an actor as talented and dedicated as he is, who is as interested in finding something authentic and real, is the most fun," Hoffmann says. "I mean, that's all I'm after, right? To have a partner in crime, saying, 'We don't really know what we're doing. Let's hold hands and dive into the deep end together.'"

For the latest interview in BI's Role Play series, Hoffmann looks back at her early years in Hollywood, crushing on Ray Liotta on "Field of Dreams," and having a "best friend love affair" with Christina Ricci.

On the paternal energy on the 'Field of Dreams' set and working with child actors as an adult

You made your acting debut when you were 6. As an adult now working in the industry, has your own background impacted the way you look out for your young costars, like Ivan Morris Howe, who plays your son Edgar on "Eric"?

In the case of Ivan — which isn't always the case, unfortunately — one, he 100% was there because he wanted to be there and has a real passion and interest in acting, and two, he has an incredible mother who was just there to support him and protect him. So that makes everybody, I think, breathe a sigh of relief that you know you're dealing with a real actor who's there because they're called to be there.

Second to that, I treat an actor on set, regardless of their age, with respect, love, consideration, and compassion. I approach Ivan the same way I would approach Benedict. Of course, you take extra special care and consideration for anybody that is younger and needs, perhaps, a little bit of explanation or protection from certain ideas.

But Ivan is such a professional, and he's so interested and curious that it was really just having another great actor on set who was a wonderful person that I treated like a colleague. And tried not to curse in front of.

"Field of Dreams" was your film debut. You once said you had a big crush on Ray Liotta when you were making that movie. What's your favorite memory of working with him?

All, every day. I just absolutely loved Ray. I was convinced he was in love with me, too, which, of course, he wasn't, but he was just such a sweetheart.

I didn't have a dad growing up, and there were just so many wonderful men on that set. And Amy Madigan, who played my mother, who I loved so much. But I just remember there was a lot of paternal energy. Ray Liotta and, actually, all the baseball players, I would sit around and play cards with them and play catch with them.

I sort of jokingly said I had a big crush on him, but I think I was really drawn to a kind of fatherly, protective energy that he had in spades. What a beautiful actor he was, too.

Did you guys stay in touch at all after "Field of Dreams"?

No. No. I never saw him again.

You mentioned the paternal energy on set. What about Kevin Costner, who played your actual dad in the movie?

I didn't feel paternal energy from Kevin Costner. We'll leave it at that.

On having a 'best friend love affair' with Christina Ricci filming 'Now and Then'

You were a bit older on "Now and Then," which is a millennial classic. You've talked about how you and Christina Ricci really bonded on the set of that movie. Do you have any particular memories of being on that set, given that it had such a stacked cast, both the child actors and the adult stars?

Oh, so many memories. I really have a lot of vivid memories. I was 12, so I was significantly older by that time than I was with some of those other films. We had so much fun. Christina and I met and we became really, really, really close. We were going to the mall every weekend to see "Pulp Fiction," and we played this ridiculous game in the mall.

It was a love affair, you know? That kind of best friend love affair when you first meet at that age somebody who you feel like opens you up in a way nobody else ever has.

So it was really exciting. It was a lovely set. I just finished working with Lesli Linka Glatter again for the first time in 30 years, who directed that movie, who I loved so much. Demi Moore produced it, and she was there the whole time. She was really like a mother figure to me. She really took really good care of us, and I felt very bonded to her.

It was a fantastic experience. I loved making that movie.

On the flip side, you've been pretty candid about some less-fantastic experiences with male directors early in your career.

Bad behavior on sets shuts you down, especially as an actor. I didn't even consider myself an actor as a kid; I was just on movie sets doing whatever I was told. But it's scary to be yelled at by a grown man in any situation.

But I don't hold it against anyone. It happens. I've certainly yelled at people, not on sets, but on the street many times. Making movies shouldn't be stressful, but it is. Things happen, and we all fuck up all the time. It's OK.

On returning to acting as an adult and finding her calling

When you were first ramping up your return to acting and you had a bunch of films on your slate, they were mostly indies. Was that a purposeful choice?

I was just looking for opportunities that would help me to explore myself as an actress. That, first and foremost, was what was important to me. I had figured out how to live without making much money years before then. Also, nothing much more was being offered to me, I mean, nothing of any significance.

When I was a child, I had those bigger set experiences, but I didn't relate to them. Independent film was what I'd always known. Those were the films I loved. Those were the filmmakers I loved.

With Sebastián Silva, who made "Crystal Fairy," I had seen his film a couple years before at Sundance, "The Maid," and I thought, "Wow. If people are making movies like this, I might want to try to be a part of this Hollywood thing." It only made sense that I would sort of test out the waters in the independent film world.

Also, television was a very exciting place at the time, so those two worlds felt like the proper stomping grounds for me to go and get my feet dirty.

With your re-entry into Hollywood around 2013, there was a lot of media coverage of your return — the New York Times profile of you, and then press for "Crystal Fairy" with Michael Cera at Sundance. What did it feel like to have your return to acting be met with so much coverage and interest?

Well, I didn't realize it was. I don't know. I wasn't paying attention to that, I guess. I was just relieved to be having an experience, an internal experience with myself that felt good, because I had, for many years, 15 maybe, not been acting in any significant way.

I did a couple of things here and there, but I left acting to go to college when I was 17, and I never thought I would return. I spent a decade-plus after college really confused, and really lost, and really struggling with anxiety and depression. I really thought that acting was not what I wanted to do, not what I had any interest in. It wasn't something I had decided for myself as a kid, though I was grateful for all that I'd experienced. But it seemed like I wasn't able to try anything else or embrace anything else with any seriousness.

So, at the behest of my partner, who is now the father of my children, I turned back toward acting because it seemed like it had its hold on me still. Even though I thought I had wholeheartedly rejected it, I thought, "Well, for some reason, this question is still here. So I'm going to turn back toward it with an open heart, and with curiosity, and with a fresh start, and see if there's something here."

It was an incredibly surprising and wonderful experience. So that's where I was internally, just like, "Oh my God. I might actually know what I want to do and be doing it." And after a decade of feeling like I didn't know what the hell I was doing, that was such a profound relief. I didn't know what was going on out there. It was just sort of the beginning of a new discovery for me, which felt really good.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

"Eric" is now streaming on Netflix.