Philip Seymour Hoffman, who you could easily make a case was our best living actor, was found dead in his apartment today, according to the Wall Street Journal. Of all the actors to die, we had to lose the best one? This sucks.
The New York Police Department is investigating, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to determine exact cause of death. The official said Mr. Hoffman, 46 years old, was found dead at his apartment at 35 Bethune St. in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan. [WallStreetJournal]
The New York Post (I know, I know) is calling it a drug overdose, noting that Hoffman had been in rehab for heroin abuse last year. The WSJ writer adds some detail:
Law enforcement official: Actor wa found in the bathroom of 4th floor apartment with a needle in his arm. @wsj
— Pervaiz Shallwani (@Pervaizistan) February 2, 2014
Hoffman had one son and two daughters.
We tend to slip into easy hyperbole and overblown praise after a person dies, which is almost unfair to Philip Seymour Hoffman, because he really was the absolute best of the best. He could play pretty much anything, from super-awkward weirdos in Happiness and Boogie Nights, to confident charmers. I can’t think of anything he wasn’t great in, not even Along Came Polly. He was one of those actors who was so good that once he played someone, you couldn’t see that character as anyone else. I read a book about Scientology recently, and after The Master it was absolutely impossible for me to get a mental image of L. Ron Hubbard that didn’t look and sound like Philip Seymour Hoffman. He could’ve easily won five more Oscars. I honestly think they just got tired of nominating him every year, like Philip Seymour Hoffman being great was such a given that it ceased to be noteworthy.
Bummed about this one.