That same year, Hoskins offered one of his best onscreen portrayals as a recent con who lands a job driving a beautiful call girl (Cathy Tyson) in Neil Jordan's "Mona Lisa". His nuanced performance and emergence as an unlikely romantic lead earned him numerous critical prizes as well as a Best Actor Academy Award nomination. Further trading on his newfound status as a romantic lead, he appeared as the love interest for Maggie Smith in "The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne" (1987). Hoskins was cast in the biggest hit film of his career (to date), "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (1988). As private eye Eddie Valiant, the actor carried the movie, a unique blend of animation and live action, with his amazing interaction with a goofy talking rabbit and a sultry cartoon sex symbol. Piling on the unpolished but irresistible charm, he was again an offbeat lover for Cher in "Mermaids" (1990) and provided humorous support as the henchman Smee in "Hook" (1991), Steven Spielberg's retelling of the Peter Pan story.

In 1988, Hoskins moved behind the camera as co-writer and director of "The Raggedy Rawney". Focusing on a WWI soldier (Dexter Fletcher) who encounters a band of gypsies (led by Hoskins), the film received a mixed reception critically with some complaining of the shift in tones from whimsical to serious while others praised the acting and camerawork. His second feature, "Rainbow" (1996), was aimed at children and was greeted with less enthusiasm. Hoskins continued to act, although many of his early 90s vehicles were decidedly unworthy of his talents (i.e., "Passed Away" 1992, "Super Mario Bros." 1993). Rebounding, Hoskins offered a wicked turn as a decidedly gay J Edgar Hoover in Oliver Stone's sprawling "Nixon" (1995) and was amusing as a tabloid editor sending reporters in search of an angel in "Michael" (1996). Teaming with British director Shane Meadows ("another cube" as Hoskins describes the short, stocky helmer), he had one of his best screen roles of the decade as a scrappy owner of a local boxing club who tries to make a difference in the lives of disaffected youth in "TwentyFourSeven" (1997). Continuing to surprise with his choice of roles, he co-starred as a pornographer in "Live Virgin" and rejoined Meadows in a cameo as a teacher in "A Room for Romeo Brass" (both 1999).

1999's "Felicia's Journey" cast Hoskins as a strangely genial serial killer opposite newcomer Elaine Cassidy as a young Irish woman new in town marked to be his next victim. Director Atom Egoyan made the most of his star's versatility and Hoskins turned in a remarkable performance, full of the complex emotional veracity that he generally brings to his work. The actor followed up with a role as Sancho Panza, the right hand man of John Lithgow's "Don Quixote" in the TNT 2000 production, and an inspired turn as the notorious Panamanian dictator in "Noriega: God's Favorite" for Showtime. Continuing to bring onscreen life to famed historical figures with appropriately charismatic performances, Hoskins played Nikita Khruschev in the war drama "Enemy at the Gates" (2001).

In 2002 Hoskins had a nice character turn as a precise yet paternal butler in the otherwise lightweight romantic comedy "Maid in Manhattan." Later he co-starred with Brenda Blethyn in the 1920s-set romance "The Sleeping Dictionary" and the espionage thriller "Den of Lions" (both 2003) before executing an amusing turn as the idiosyncratic Sir Pitt Crawley opposite Reese Witherspoon in the big screen adaptation of Thackeray's "Vanity Fair" (2004). Hoskins costarred with Blethyn again in actor Kevin Spacey’s directorial debut, “Beyond the Sea” (2004), playing the brother-in-law of ailing jazz star, Bobby Darin, who acted as a father figure for the boy growing up and continued in that capacity throughout the singer’s career. Unfortunately, Spacey’s labor of love failed to spark an interest with critics and audiences.

Hoskins returned to lighter fair in “Son of the Mask” (2005), the sequel to the blockbuster Jim Carrey vehicle from 1994. He donned a large helmet with three-foot wings to play Odin, King of the Norse Gods, who demands that his son, Loki, retrieve the magical mask—a role that the actor said “nearly killed [him].” Reviews for the film went from bad to abysmal, with the L.A. Times saying that Hoskins looked like he’d rather be anywhere but in the movie. He then did a turn as cruel Uncle Bart, a man who keeps a trained fighter (Jet Li) in a dank basement wearing rags and a metal collar, in “Unleashed” (2005). The combination of martial arts and blunt sentimentality earned plenty of critical kudos, especially for Li. After playing a blind psychiatrist in the supernatural thriller “Stay” (2005), Hoskins earned himself a Golden Globe nomination for his supporting role in “Mrs. Henderson Presents” (2005), Stephen Frears’ story of the famed Windmill Theatre in London, a 1930s’ establishment known for its seminude reviews. Meanwhile, Hoskins was set to be seen in “On a Clear Day” (2006), an underdog dramedy about a hard-working Englander (Peter Mullen) whose sudden lack of direction after losing his job prompts him to swim across the English Channel.