Philip Seymour Hoffman - A Tribute

“Sometimes, acting is a really private thing that you do for the world.”

-       P. S. Hoffman

On February 2, 2014, world lost a profound and prolific actor. Philip Seymour Hoffman was an American actor and director, who appeared in nearly 50 films during his career spanning more than two decades. He directed and acted in numerous stage productions throughout his career. He received an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ‘Capote (2005)’ and was nominated three times for Best Supporting Actor for ‘Charlie Wilson’s War (2007)’, ‘Doubt (2008)’ and ‘The Master (2012)’. He received three Tony Award nominations for his Broadway performances, two for Best Leading Actor in ‘True West (2000)’ and ‘Death of a Salesman (2012)’, and one for Best Featured Actor in ‘Long Day’s Journey into Night (2003)’. His only film as a director has been ‘Jack Goes Boating (2010)’ which was a romantic-comedy and starred him in the title role.

He was a highly versatile actor who brought profoundness and humanity to his roles. He scarcely ever appeared in leading roles in his movies and mostly did supporting work. Initially, he appeared in minor, but seminal roles and but gained recognition through his invigorating and gaping performances. However, short his role was, he would always leave an indelible print on the spectator’s mind. He had a riveting screen presence that would make you jump and espy. The characters that he portrayed were not customary. He would choose roles that were flawed and would accomplish them with utter flawlessness. Be it an egotistical student in Scent of a Woman (1992), a pornographic film hustler in Boogie Nights (1997), a smug assistant in The Big Lebowski (1998), a phone-sex rogue in Punch-Drunk Love (2002), an immoral priest in Cold Mountain (2003), a disgusting friend in Along Came Polly (2004), a psychotic dealer in Mission: Impossible III (2006), a committed manager in Moneyball (2011) and The Ides of March (2011) or a nascent cult leader in The Master (2012), he portrayed all of them and more resplendently. He was highly engaged in theatre work throughout his career. He would keep himself grounded as an actor by appearing on stage almost annually as a break from the big screen. His last film is yet to be released which is The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and 2 where he portrays a judge of the games Plutarch Heavensbee, is produced posthumously and some of his scenes have been generated using live-action computer animation. He has worked very closely with wunderkind director Paul Thomas Anderson starring in five of his six features and all of them are noteworthy, enticing and exquisite.

Among a few movies of Hoffman which I have seen, I would like to share some funny and memorable moments which are still embed in my mind as I am writing this tribute:

In the light hearted romance, Along Came Polly (2004), in the art gallery, Hoffman walks up to Ben Stiller and says to him, “I think I just sharted”. Stiller asks him, “What is sharted?” To which he replies, “I tried to fart and shit came out”. I laughed so hard that I think I did the same.

In P.T. Anderson’s Punch Drunk Love (2002), there is an amazingly aggressive phone conversation between Adam Sandler and Hoffman which was outstanding. Also, in Anderson’s The Master (2012), there is a similar vigorous scene in the jail cell between Joaquin Phoenix and Hoffman.

The following are some notable quotes from his various interviews:

“Ultimately, my main goal is to do good work. If it doesn't pay well, so be it.” 

"I think deep down inside, people understand how flawed they are. I think the more benign you make somebody, the less truthful it is."

"It's hard. The job isn't difficult. Doing it well is difficult... just because you like to do something doesn't mean you have fun doing it; and I think that's true about acting"

Hoffman rarely talked about his personal life in interviews, stating in 2012 that he would "rather not because my family doesn't have any choice. If I talk about them in the press, I'm giving them no choice. So I choose not to."

David Fear of Rolling Stone remarkably said about Hoffman –

"No modern actor was better at making you feel sympathy for fucking idiots, failures, degenerates, sad sacks and hangdogs dealt a bum hand by life, even as — no, especially when — he played them with all of their worst qualities front and center. But Philip Seymour Hoffman had a range that seemed all-encompassing, and he could breathe life into any role he took on: a famous author, a globetrotting party-boy aristocrat, a German counterintelligence agent, a charismatic cult leader, a genius who planned games of death in dystopic futures. He added heft to low-budget art films, and nuance and unpredictability to blockbuster franchises. He was a transformative performer who worked from the inside out, blessed with an emotional transparency that could be overwhelming, invigorating, compelling, devastating."

Lastly, I would urge all of you to see the following epic video tribute by filmmaker Caleb Slain who says, “A post-script journey through Philip Seymour Hoffman's lifetime in cinema. 200 hours of work went into breaking down 47 of Hoffman's films. Compiling his legacy has been one of the most challenging experiences I've ever faced as an editor, and yet indescribably rewarding. I can assure you that after 22 years on screen and nearly fifty films, we now look at the work of an actor who never had a single dishonest moment on camera. I know because I've seen them all. Please take a breather and raise your glasses to one of our greatest."

P.S. Hoffman - A Tribute

P.S. Hoffman was one of the most widely admired actor and his passing is a syncope to the world of cinema for which there exist no panacea. His position can never be filled and satiated. His work will always remain classic and eternal, leaving indelible impressions throughout.