February 2, 2014

rest in peace

In my humble opinion, Philip Seymour Hoffman was one of the greatest actors of his generation. He was The Actor whose films I would see simply because his name was attached to them: The Big Lebowski, Magnolia, Along Came Polly, Mission Impossible III, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Almost Famous, 25th Hour, Owning Mahoney, Capote, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Doubt, The Savages, Moneyball, Charlie Wilson's War, The Ides of March - I don't think I've ever embraced an actor's body of work as much as Philip Seymour Hoffman's. There are several phenomenal actors in his class, like Sean Penn and Daniel Day Lewis, but for Philip, it was the range of characters he could portray. He could be riveting as a villain (Mission Impossible III), completely transformative (Capote), sympathetically oafish (the Savages) - I just know that when he was on screen, I was transfixed. Forty-six years old, he leaves behind his girlfriend Mimi, who he's been with for fifteen years and their three children. It's so sad that in the end, after 23 years of sobriety, his addiction re-surfaced and cut a brilliant life too short. Here's one of his greatest performances: 



Rest in Peace Philip. 

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

One of my favourite actors too and I have seen all of the movies you listed...my favourite of his though is one called Pirate Radio...not well-loved by the critics but a wonderful film. if ever you get a chance...

kelly said...

Thanks for the tip, I appreciate it!