Celebrities come and go all the time but sometimes, someone will die and it will be a gut-punch for me. Today, it was Phillip Seymour Hoffman. He was more or less my age (46) and apparently died of a drug overdose. Such a waste, but he left behind an amazing body of work. Shawn and I have been watching him act since near the beginning of our relationship; we always looked forward to what he’d do next. That he’d been cast in the Hunger Games trilogy made the films much more watchable — they were seven days from completing his scenes for the second part of the third installment, close enough they should be able to salvage things.
Hoffman seldom chose (or was chosen for) the simple role. His acting range covered everything from the most vulnerable and sensitive to the most powerful and influential, but he really excelled at roles where he could embrace, for lack of a better word, “creepy.”
As Scotty, the awkward slightly lovesick member of the porn film crew in Boogie Nights (1997), he broke my heart:
He creeped me out as Allen in Happiness (1998) — a warning about this clip, it contains some triggers (discussing rape) and NSFW language.
Then he played Phil Parma, a very caring palliative care aide, looking after the miserable Earl Partridge (Jason Robards) in Magnolia (1999). After a string of awkward, creepy characters and small roles where he had little room to shine, he easily matched the big names on the bill in this ensemble.
The same year, he played Freddie Highmore, the one person who was suspicious of Tom Ripley from the beginning in The Talented Mr. Ripley. He delivers lines like, “Hows the peeping, Tommy?” with menace that drips from the screen, making it clear to Tom and the audience that he has Tom’s number. His last scene gets me every time.
Next, he portrayed Joseph Turner White, the author of a screenplay in the excellent film about filmmaking, State and Main (2000). Another epic ensemble cast and a script by David Mamet, and Hoffman absolutely shines as an everyman trying to navigate the insanity of a Hollywood production.
Really, I think there was only one film he’s been in that didn’t sit well with me: The Master. He played Lancaster Dodd, and while his performance was in fine form, the subject and pace of the film just didn’t work; I found myself bored more than entertained.
In between he played Truman Capote in Capote, for which he won an Oscar, a CIA agent in Charlie Wilson’s War, various broken men in Owning Mahoney, The Savages and Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, and had smaller roles in Almost Famous, Moneyball and Pirate Radio among others.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman was a peer. He was a father, a working actor, and a damned fine one at that. I’m happy to say we own many of his films; we’ll watch some today in his memory.
A nice tribute. His character also broke my heart in Boogie Nights. I have to agree with you on The Master although this was writing and directing of course and not much to do with him. It was seeing him in Magnolia that first made me fall in love with his work and The Savages and Jack Goes Boating are some of my all time favourite films. Such a waste and such a sad loss but I’m grateful for what he left behind.