Philip Seymour Hoffman (46) was found dead in his apartment in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York. The cause of death is not official but it has been determined as an overdose. The actor was found with a needle in his arm. A screenwriter found him dead in his bathroom around 11:15 a.m. who then called 911.
Hoffman was shooting the “Hunger Games” follow-ups “Mockingjay Part 1 and 2” in Atlanta, Georgia, for his role as Plutarch Heavensbee. He is also known for winning best actor Oscar for “Capote” in 2005. His last appearance was at the Sundance Film Festival where he was promoting his new films “God’s Pocket” and Anton Corbin’s “A Most Wanted Man.”
I’m sad that he has passed away, but I’m disappointed on the way it happened. Should we feel sad for another actor that passes away from an overdose? Maybe it was from the pressure of Big Hollywood or personal problems that lead him to drugs, but should that make us feel sorry for him? Most people think overdosing is something bad and look down on it when it involves random people, but when an actor dies from it we feel sorry for them. Maybe we don’t feel sad about the passing, but our greediness of not being able to see that person perform on screen again?
I will always remember Hoffman by the great films he worked on: “Boogie Nights”, “The Big Lebowski”, “Magnolia”, “The Talented Mr. Ripley”, “25th Hour”, “Capote”, “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” and “Moneyball”. I don’t know what demons Hoffman was running away from, but I hope he found peace at the end.