Dustin Hoffman and Bob Hoskins played Peter Pan villains CAPTAIN HOOK and SMEE as "a couple of old queens," because they felt JM BARRIE created them gay.

Hoffman admits he and his British co-star had a hoot while filming STEVEN SPIELBERG's 1991 blockbuster HOOK - once they realised their characters were supposed to be homosexuals.

The movie veteran tells Playboy magazine, "Bob Hoskins and I were rehearsing and suddenly we looked at each other and realised it at the same time. We said, 'These guys are gay....' and it was fun.

"Suddenly we rehearsed it that way: 'Get over here, Smee. Give me a foot massage.'

"We went to Spielberg... and he said, 'This is a kids' movie.'

"Suddenly it made all the sense in the world. They were really good friends. They lived on a ship. They were devoted to each other."