William H. Macy (L); Philip Seymour Hoffman.Photo: Mat Hayward/Getty; Mark Mainz/Getty
William H. Macyis rememberingPhilip Seymour Hoffmanas “the best of us.”
In a recent interview withVulturepublished in honor of Monday’s 25th anniversary of the actors' filmBoogie Nights, Macy reflected on his perception of Hoffman as both an actor and a person.
“He was the best of us; he was never bad,” said theShamelessactor, 72. “And I don’t know if it’s just looking back, but I now see that he was in pain. I think the weight of living was heavier on Phil than it is on other people.”
Macy — who later starred with Hoffman again inMagnolia(1999) andState and Main(2000) — recalled being on a panel at theSundance Film Festivaltogether in support of the pair’s latter movie, where he said Hoffman “disagreed” with Macy’s opinion that “you don’t have to live the character. That’s not acting, it’smental illness.”
“He said, ‘No, I think there’s things you can do to get into the world. Whatever’s going on, you’ve got to find it in yourself, and I think you have to submerge yourself into the world of it,’ " Macy said of Hoffman, who diedfrom a drug overdoseat the age of 46 in February 2014.
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William H. Macy and Philip Seymour Hoffman inState and Main(2000).James Bridges/El Dorado/Ugc/Kobal/Shutterstock
Macy recalled telling Hoffman that whatever he does “‘is f—ing brilliant all the time,’ " to which the latter replied, “‘Thank you, and I think you do it too, regardless of what you say,’ " according to Macy.
“But it was a little window into how deeply he felt stuff,” Macy said.
The actor went on to note a specific “heartbreaking” moment inBoogie Nights, when Hoffman’s character Scotty J. “shows up in those clothes that are too small and he’s holding the clipboard close to his chest and he’s chewing on the pencil when he tries to flirt with Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg).”
“And I never saw him do that character again. From that point on, he played much stronger characters. And I don’t think there’s anything he couldn’t do,” Macy said.
RELATED VIDEO: Remembering Philip Seymour Hoffman
Hoffman earned praise throughout his 23-year career for his powerful portrayals of quirky, sometimes ruthless characters in films includingBoogie Nights,MagnoliaandBefore the Devil Knows You’re Dead.His title role in the 2005 filmCapote, as authorTruman Capote, earned him anAcademy Awardfor Best Actor.
Also among his accolades were three additional Oscar nominations in the Best Supporting Actor category for his role in filmsDoubt,Charlie Wilson’s WarandThe Master, as well as threeTony Awardnominations.
source: people.com
