Philip Seymour Hoffman (1967 -2014)
Philip Seymour Hoffman, one of the finest actors of his or any generation, was found dead in his Manhattan apartment this morning of a suspected drug overdose. He was 46.
Hoffman was the actor’s actor, holding his own with some of cinema’s greatest talents: Streep. DeNiro. Newman. Robards. He also worked with the finest directors of our time: Sidney Lumet, The Coen Bros, Mike Nichols, Bennett Miller, Charlie Kaufman, Todd Solondz and a now legendary four film collaboration with Paul Thomas Anderson. Hoffman was a chameleon, fully able to absorb, if not totally consume a role. How else can he go from Scotty J, the overweight gay boom operator in “Boogie Nights” to the absolute bad ass arms dealer Owen Davien in “Mission Impossible 3”? Flamboyant drag queen Rusty in “Flawless” to the compassionate Father Flynn in “Doubt”? When he was tabbed to play the title role in the film Capote, Hoffman didn’t just portray Truman Capote. He was Truman Capote, keeping audiences completely absorbed in what is easily his best peformance. It was no wonder that he won the Academy Award for Best Actor.
The hallmark in all of Hoffman’s performances was his ability to find each of his character’s humanity, despite having character flaws. In “Happiness”, Hoffman is Allen, who uses obscene phone calls to the town girl next door to mask his own insecurities and fears of rejection. On the surface, Hoffman’s role as Andy in “Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead”, is one of a ruthless finance executive who talks his younger brother into robbing their parents jewelry store to solve their respective money problems. But in two crushing scenes – one with Albert Finney, the other with Marisa Tomei – we see Andy fall apart, reduced to a boy, not a man, only trying to get his father’s acceptance. In “Charlie Wilson’s War”, Hoffman gives his role of maverick CIA operative Gust Avrakotos a big fat chip on his shoulder, wanting to prove his superiors wrong regarding his value to the company as he is for making Wilson’s military operations a success. He also delivered warmth and humor to the title role in Jack Goes Boating (which also marks his directorial debut), and moral complexity as Lancaster Dodd, the driven leader of ‘The Cause” in “The Master”.
Sadly, Hoffman’s passing comes at a time where the next wave of movie fans were discovering his talents. He was a featured character in the second installment of the highly successful “Hunger Games” series and just completed filming his scenes for part 3.
Loved by family, fellow actors, friends and fans, Philip Seymour Hoffman leaves behind an incredible body of work that will rank among the all-time great stars of the screen. A tremendous talent that will be sorely missed.
Rest in peace.
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