Hoptman attended Wayne State University before moving to the Twin Cities to attend graduate school at the University of Minnesota. He studied Germanic philology with Fritz Juengling under Anatoly Liberman, eventually earning his doctoral degree in 2002.
At the University of Minnesota, Hoptman teaches classes in the German, Scandinavian & Dutch department. Hoptman has appeared in dozens of theatre productions, plays and solo shows, mostly in comedic roles. Minnesota Public Radio called Hoptman a "great local actor", and one reviewer said he takes a dry pleasure in unusual couplings in his humor.
Portraying Ira F. Stone four different times, Hoptman has described the journalist as obnoxious, loud, rude, and late on arrival, but "a brilliant writer”.
