Dear Jodie!
We lost Philip Seymour Hoffman yesterday, and I am sad. What a special actor he was. He was what I strived to be, a gifted character
actor capable of leading roles.
This was not easy for him to accomplish in the Hollywood
world of, not just beauty, but perfect, flawless beauty.
Mr. Hoffman helped break that mold with brilliant
performances with such directors as the Coen Brothers, Spike Lee, Cameron
Crowe, and David Mamet.
For me his best of all of his wonderful performances was "Capote."
I'll discuss this more in depth at another time, but one of
the most difficult roles an actor can play is a person within living
memory. For me, Truman Capote is well
within living memory being a brilliant writer and character in his own right,
yet fifteen seconds after Hoffman appeared on-screen, I forgot about any
semblance of a performance. I stayed
with him the entire way through his research and writing of the amazing
"In Cold Blood." I couldn't
take my eyes away from his brilliance.
He pulled me in.
I voted for Hoffman for Outstanding Performance by a Male
Actor in a Leading Role in the Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2005. He won.
I so rooted for him in the Academy Awards. He won that, too, and I applauded so hard my
hands hurt.
Marvelous.
The entertainment community lost a wonderful actor from whom
I wanted to see so much more, not the least of which was the continuation of
"The Hunger Games" in the two-part telling of "Mockingjay."
And, Jodie, what were we discussing in our comments on
"The Wolf of Wall Street" and how these people could have ingested so
many drugs and walk out on the other side?
Philip Seymour Hoffman wasn't fortunate enough to walk out
on the other side.
We may have sadly found the cautionary tale that Jordan Belfort
wanted for himself.
Philip Seymour Hoffman was 46 years old, and on his way to
the top of his profession. He had not
hit his peak.
Tonight I am sad, and my heart goes out to all of his family
and friends and those who knew and loved him.
Yet he has left behind a wonderful body of work, and was, in
the best sense of the word, unique.
I too adored Philip Seymour Hoffman. He was that familiar yet believable face that popped up in so many movies. He brought such "trueness" to his roles and I loved the fact that he wasn't your typical Hollywood pretty boy. Like you Rocky I was also looking forward to watching him develop his character further in The Hunger Games episodes, as well as anything else he may have had coming along. A sad time indeed and definitely a unique actor lost too soon.
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