Phillip Seymour Hoffman Dead

[Dom Heffner]

Breaking now...

[Reds Fanatic]

Sad news. It was a drug overdose. He apparently was found with a needle still in his arm.

[TSJ55]

I didn't read about the OD but did read they found him dead. One of my favorite actors.

[Tom Servo]

So bummed about this. A great actor, and way too young.

[Raisor]

****ing drugs

[Dom Heffner]

****ing drugs

Didn't hurt anyone but himself. ;)

[Joseph]

I realize today as I've read a bit more about him do I realize how little I've seen of his work. I need to see more clearly.

RIP

[Ohayou]

RIP

An extraordinary talent.

[marcshoe]

I realize today as I've read a bit more about him do I realize how little I've seen of his work. I need to see more clearly.

RIP

There's a lot of his work I haven't seen, but I did a quick scan on imdb earlier and found 12 of his movies I have seen. One I'd recommend that I don't think enough people have seen is 'State and Main'. He's the lead in a gentle comedy (directed by David Mamet) that also features William H. Macy, Alec Baldwin, Julia Stiles, S.J. Parker and a bunch of others. The movie deals with the general havoc caused when a movie production invades a small town.

Probably my favorite P.S. Hoffman movie is 'Doubt', largely because the underlying issue of how people react to change is one I've dealt with extensively.

[Dom Heffner]

I was amazed to hear the actual Lester Bangs speak...Hoffman was perfect.

[joshua]

I always felt Hoffman never got the credit he deserved as an actor. One of the few from this era that could could be considered as good as Deniro or Pacino were in their prim and should have gotten more leading roles. He was good in everything he ever did. ****, he even nailed his smaller roles like in Moneyball or Scent of a Woman.

[WMR]

The Master is his finest film, IMO. Truly one of the best actors of his generation.

[Degenerate39]

He was only 46? Goodness.

I always like him as an actor even if he wouldn't play Scott Hatteburg.

[Screwball]

Famous deaths invite hyperbole. The news that Philip Seymour Hoffman was discovered dead today in an apartment bathroom, with a syringe sticking out of his arm, seems like an occasion to overreact with some exaggerated summary of his career—something like "most talented and kaleidoscopic actor of his time."

Except, in this case, the compliment isn't hyperbolic at all. It's just an accurate description, as true yesterday as it is today. And the competition isn't even that close.




PS Hoffman Greatest Actor of His Generation (http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/02/philip-seymour-hoffman-the-greatest-actor-of-his-generation/283523/)

[bigredmechanism]

Sad. He had little kids. I read yesterday that he had stayed clean from drugs for quite some time before relapsing in the past couple of years.

He was a fantastic actor and performer. Even in small roles he nailed his part.

[WildcatFan]

Capote is one of the greatest acting performances of the past 50 years. I'm genuinely disappointed we won't see another film starring Hoffman. What a profound tragedy and waste of a career at its prime.

[*BaseClogger*]

:(

"Her" trailer plus Philip Seymour Hoffman (http://vimeo.com/84806438)

[RichRed]

What a sad and lonely way to go. Such a shame.

[Yachtzee]

Heroin is becoming a big problem. When I first started as an attorney, a lot of drug cases I saw involved prescription pain medication like Oxycontin. But then the government started cracking down on it and making it expensive to buy legally and difficult to get. From what I gather, quite a few people get hooked on the prescription meds and then end up switching to heroin when they can't get their meds anymore.

[NebraskaRed]

Heroin is becoming a big problem. When I first started as an attorney, a lot of drug cases I saw involved prescription pain medication like Oxycontin. But then the government started cracking down on it and making it expensive to buy legally and difficult to get. From what I gather, quite a few people get hooked on the prescription meds and then end up switching to heroin when they can't get their meds anymore.

Makes sense since Oxy is an opioid. I sometimes teach classes in prisons, and I've heard from them how much easier it is to get heroin than most prescription drugs.

[bucksfan2]

I have a hard time getting past the fact that Hoffman died with a needle in his arm and a house full of heroine. I feel sorry for his 3 young kids who will have to grow up without a father. Had he not been a movie star would he have been considered a junkie?

I never was a big fan of his. He was very talented and in may movies that I enjoyed. He was one of those guys who played a large variety of roles and most of the times did them very well.

[fearofpopvol1]

I am still troubled by this. Some of my favorite movies ever had him in them and he was always amazing in his roles...Almost Famous, Talented Mr. Ripley, 25th Hour, Capote. There may not be a better supporting actor of the last 15 years. RIP...just sad.

[*BaseClogger*]

Had he not been a movie star would he have been considered a junkie?

Well, he had been clean for over 20 years, so probably not?

[marcshoe]

It would be nice if this helped us think of drug users as more human rather than defining them by their addiction.

[Rojo]

I've heard that it's common for people to OD after rehab. They've reset their tolerance level and then relapse with the amount they did before, but there bodies can't handle it.

Of course you're not going to tell someone leaving rehab to start out small.

[westofyou]

I've heard that it's common for people to OD after rehab. They've reset their tolerance level and then relapse with the amount they did before, but there bodies can't handle it.

Of course you're not going to tell someone leaving rehab to start out small.

Yes it is common,guitarist Eddy Shaver died the same way, as did some real life people (some call them junkies, others call them friends) that folks I know have had in their lives.

[Razor Shines]

I have a hard time getting past the fact that Hoffman died with a needle in his arm and a house full of heroine. I feel sorry for his 3 young kids who will have to grow up without a father. Had he not been a movie star would he have been considered a junkie?
.

By some, sure. By those fortunate not to have dealt with addiction either personally or through a close friend or family member. The person isn't blameless, they've made choices that have led them to discover their addiction but junkie is a harsh word for a dead man. Certainly for someone who battled to beat his addictions. Perhaps "junkie" is a word you use for someone you're trying to reach, hoping, praying they'll realize where they are and hit their "bottom" before they're dead.

[vaticanplum]

By some, sure. By those fortunate not to have dealt with addiction either personally or through a close friend or family member. The person isn't blameless, they've made choices that have led them to discover their addiction but junkie is a harsh word for a dead man. Certainly for someone who battled to beat his addictions. Perhaps "junkie" is a word you use for someone you're trying to reach, hoping, praying they'll realize where they are and hit their "bottom" before they're dead.

How about, too, the fact that this was someone who had the presence of mind, the instincts of self-preservation, and the maturity to get sober at 22 (!), and proceed to stay sober for 23 more years. I know many people who worked with Hoffman. He never even took a drink. Straight as an arrrow, vigilantly, intentionally so.

How about a thought of how much a person must be suffering, what kind of demons he's beholden to, to fall back into that and descend so fast? Especially when everything else seemed to be pretty much in place? He was gifted, he was successful, he was busy with work he loved, he was loved. Yeah, the flip side of that is that it's a terrible waste, an act rightfully incurring anger. But it also means that there are some driving forces at play that not all people are burdened with. Extraordinary forces to drive someone to do this, and extraordinarily difficult to overcome.

If the definition of "junkie" is someone who takes drugs, sure, this guy was a junkie. If "junkie" means someone who takes drugs just for the hell of it, because they don't feel like overcoming it, because they don't want to be productive members of society, because they're worthless or totally alone, then there are just...probably far fewer "junkies" out there than a lot of people think.

[dougdirt]

I am just very confused by the whole situation. The kids mother, on two different occasions claimed she thought he was high, once seeing him and once talking to him on the phone. Uh, warning sign to intervene here. Then, she was surprised that he didn't show up to get the kids. Uh, someone you thought was high was going to be allowed to come get the kids? Just rubs me the wrong way.

[BuckeyeRed27]

I think he made every movie he was in better. Simmons had a podcast this week about him and they were talking about if there were any other actors that could disappear into a role and do as many things as Hoffman. I agreed with their take that their really isn't at the moment and I think that is why he was so well liked. He was talented and unique.

It is a silly role, but I love him in "Along Came Polly". I think that is a bit of an underrated comedy anyways and it is mostly because of him.

As for the addiction stuff, I have a really hard time commenting because I just can't relate at all. I can't imagine having those impluses and feelings and not being able or willing to control them. He must have been in a very painful place as most people in that situation are and I guess that makes me feel sad more than anything.

[kearns and dunn]

Here's a guy who had seemingly everything...money, fame, an extreme amount of talent in his profession and a family...and yet he was trying to fill an empty hole in his life with a needle.

Sad. So very sad indeed.

[Roy Tucker]

Addiction has never made sense. Our society is awash on it.

Separate the art created by the man from the man himself.

[vaticanplum]

The NYTimes is doing a really great job covering this, BTW. Both as directly relates to Hoffman's life and work (in a non-sensationalized way) and in terms of the booming heroin trade.