Celebrity Death "Do I Care?" Index: Philip Seymour Hoffman

When I first did the Celebrity Death Index, I assumed that Paul Walker was the worst case scenario for a while. I figured this would be a lot of going after old celebrities who haven't mattered to pop culture in a while. As it turns out, I didn't get many of these under my belt before I got a biggie. The news of Philip Seymour Hoffman has been quite a surprise. Regardless, it's time to go to work.

Movies I Remembered Him InBoogie Nights (1997) - In such a large ensemble, he still stuck out.The Big Lebowski (1997) - A small but entertaining part. He had many of those kinds of roles.The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) - Only saw it recently. It got better when he showed up.Almost Famous (2000) - Fantastic movie. Another case of Hoffman being brought in to punch up a role.Along Came Polly (2004) - Easily my favorite character in the movie and a casting coup by the producers.Capote (2005) - His first Oscar nomination and only win. I feel even worse about not seeing this when it was still on Netflix Instant queue. Now I'm determined to see it.Charlie Wilson's War (2008) - His second Oscar nomination. I'm starting to wonder if there was ever a better supporting actor in Hollywood. He excelled at propping up those around him.The Master (2012) - His fourth and final Oscar nomination. He was robbed of an Oscar for what may be his finest performance. While I didn't prefer the film, it was filmed with powerhouse performances.The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) - It's so disappointing because he had such a small role in this movie but it was leading to a lot more in the next two movies.

Movies I Forgot He Was InTwister (1996) - I totally do not remember him in this.Magnolia (1999) - Still need to see it. Basically, every actor was in the movie, so it shouldn't surprise me that he was too.Punch Drunk Love (2002) - A very enjoyable movie and another that I completely forgot he was in.Cold Mountain (2003) - Perhaps it's for the best that I don't remember him here.Mission Impossible III (2006) - It's surprising he wasn't used as the villain in movies more often. He carried himself perfectly for it.Doubt (2008) - His third Oscar nomination. That's all I know about this.Pirate Radio (2009) - He went into slacker mode so well. This looked like a good role for him. Yet to see it.The Ides of March (2011) - He didn't have a lot to do, but another good role for him in a movie that was simply too dull to be remembered.Moneyball (2011) - No Oscar nomination for this one. It was clearly a role he had a lot of fun with.


Movies That He Was Still Working On
Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 & 2 (2014 & 15) - It wasn't quite like my Dark Knight concerns with Heath Leger in 2008, but my first thought upon hearing of his death was "I hope they finished filming The Hunger Games". My understanding is that Part 1 won't be affected at all and Part 2 will only be minimally affected. In short, we'll be getting some P.S.H. for a couple more years which will make it a lot easier to digest.

Any Other Reason I Should Care
I liked Hoffman as an actor. I don't remember him in interviews or anything that gave me a sense of the man. He was a real actor and brought it to all of his roles. He didn't have a music career on the side or something like that to be deprived of. His reach in pop culture wasn't wide.

Verdict: I'm pretty upset about this, in as far as I can  be upset for anyone dying who I didn't know personally know. He was a tremendously talented actor. At 46, he promised to have many fruitful years ahead. This is a loss of great potential. While I knew he had some drug problems, I never assumed they were this bad, which may be a credit to how cool and collected he was on screen. Yeah, this death is a bummer for movie fans everywhere.