Phillip Seymour Hoffman

To say that Phillip Seymour Hoffman was the sole catalyst for my love of the movies might be an exaggeration, but not a very big one. Sure, I always watched and enjoyed movies growing up, but I viewed them the way that most folks probably do- entertainment, a cure for boredom, something to do on a first date, etc. It wasn’t until I saw Doubt that I realized that films were art, perhaps even art in one of its purest forms. For those of you that haven’ seen Doubt, Phil plays the principal at a Catholic school in Brooklyn during the 1960’s accused of having an inappropriate relationship with one of the students at the school,  and has to square-off with a fellow teacher at the school (played by Meryl Streep) who is convinced of his guilt. This wasn’t the first Hoffman film I had seen, but this film absolutely and unequivocally changed the way that I watch movies. His performance was so real, authentic, and engrossing. I wasn’t watching Phil playing a torn catholic priest, I was watching that priest. It’s not his most well-known film (nor his Oscar-winning film), but I’m still convinced that it exemplifies his gift and his brilliance more than all the rest of his work.  

Phillip never once did a movie for a paycheck. Nearly every actor-no matter how famous or iconic- has put out at least one piece of drivel; one film that reminds us that even movie stars have to bring home the bacon. Even worse, every actor and actress seems to make at least one terrible decision during their career, agreeing to do a film that seems to have potential, but ends up being a crapshoot, both artistically and financially. Not Phil. He meticulously selected his films, studied the script, and became the character. Even on the rare occasion that he agreed to do a big-budget blockbuster film (like Mission: Impossible III) his characters were still authentic and pure. It’s often said that you can be an actor or you can be a movie star, but not both. Phil perfectly exemplified that sentiment. He wasn’t interested in fame or stature, nor did he concern himself with tabloids or public opinion as the rest of Hollywood does. He was an artist, plain and simple, and maybe even the defining actor of this generation. For one generation it was Marlon Brando, for another generation it was Jack Nicholson. Phillip Seymour Hoffman was that actor for me and for us.

I’ve always named PSH as my favorite actor without hesitation or a second thought, and as I previously mentioned it would hardly be a stretch to call him the driving force behind my cinematic passion. For these reasons, I was hit especially hard by the news of his passing.  I was a bit late in hearing about it (I just moved into a new apartment that is still lacking internet connection), but I woke up yesterday to text messages from 5 or 6 different friends and relatives all alerting me of the news. Many of them even expressed their condolences to me, as if I knew PHIL personally. In a weird way, I felt like I did. When Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson passed, I remember observing others who seemed so devastated by it and smugly wondering to myself how someone could be so affected by the death of a person they never even met. For me, Whitney Houston and MJ were just names; not to say they weren’t incredibly gifted or worthy of admiration, they just didn’t happen to be artists with whom I ever really connected. But when I heard the news about PSH, my very first thought was “what now?” In retrospect I’m not really sure what was meant by that. I think he was such a beacon in cinema for me that I can’t imagine the art form continuing without him. I know it will, but I’m not sure how.

Rest in Peace Phil, and thank you.