Mourning Philip Seymour Hoffman

Oscar-winning American actor Philip Seymour Hoffman has died at his home in New York at the age of 46. His body was found after a friend called emergency services. Police say he apparently died of a drug overdose. The actor was found dead in the bathroom of his Manhattan apartment shortly before 11:30 local time on Sunday, police say. Last year Hoffman told celebrity news website TMZ that he had sought treatment for drug abuse. He told the website he had used prescription drugs, and briefly heroin, before seeking help.

Hoffman has over 60 film credits to his name, including Magnolia and The Master with director Paul Thomas Anderson, for which he was nominated for best supporting actor, one of four Oscar nominations.  He worked in several films in the nineties before winning the best actor Oscar for his 2005 portrayal of writer Truman Capote. Throughout his career Hoffman featured in independent films as well as Hollywood blockbusters such as Mission Impossible III. His latest role was in the Hunger Games series . As well as films, he also starred in Broadway plays and was nominated for two Tony Awards. He made his debut as a film director in 2010 with the New York-set Jack Goes Boating, in which he also starred.

Philip Seymour Hoffman did not suffer fools lightly. He was prickly and mercurial and well known on the New York theater scene as a talented but troubled bear of a man.  He was always a rebel but he valued and respected talented actors and would go out of his way to show them his support.


Hoffman had demons, and even success couldn't bury them. He wanted to face the darkness straight on, even in the presence of so much light. And in the dark comedies of his that I loved – "The Savages," or the ironically titled "Happiness" -- he brooded his way to a laugh. He found life messy, weird, funny, beautiful and endlessly difficult. He stared down the long, dark hallway that most of us avoid. He did not live easily in the world. He tried. But he didn't.


Hoffman quotes:
"Normal is an odd word," Hoffman said a decade ago. "Living a somewhat healthy life that makes you happy at the end of the day is alright. But normal?  The movie world doesn't make you feel normal or at ease at the end of the day."
"I was talking to somebody the other day, after 9/11, about getting back to normal. What is normal? And why would I want to get back to it? Maybe we have to change. Sometimes we have to destroy what we had."


Hoffman's family called his death "tragic and sudden".
"We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Phil and appreciate the outpouring of love and support we have received from everyone," they said in a statement on Sunday. The flood of tributes from fellow actors, artists, producers and directors for this brilliant but humble man has been tremendous. The respect they show for his amazing talent is a credit to the work he has done. So, in reaction to Hoffman's premature passage, we need to go back to his work and try to see the wonderful legacy he has given us.

Too soon Philip. We wanted more from you. You had so much more to give us. My partner and I hope you have found peace and healing for the wounds life gave you. We send our deepest sympathy to family and those you left  grieving in this world.