By Grim Shea 02/03/2014
The untimely passing of acting heavyweight Philip Seymour Hoffman at the age of 46 yesterday came as a shock to all movie lovers. Aside from his impressive acting chops, he was legitimately a star following his Oscar for 2005’s Capote, and was most recently seen in the superubermegablockbuster Catching Fire this past summer. But his career was a long one, and many of his performances helped influence the geek pop culture landscape.
Long a darling of the indie film movement, Hoffman gained a lot of attention for his touchingly self-loathing turn as Scotty in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights. Anderson would later go back to Hoffman for Magnolia, but not before the Coen brothers recruited him as the straight man in another seminal 90’s movie, The Big Lebowski. My personal favorite role, however, came later, after Capote deservedly won him an Oscar, in J.J. Abrams’ Mission: Impossible 3. He put away his “Everyman” charm and affability to become the cold blooded villain, and he absolutely owned the movie, which is easily the best of the entire MI series. He showcased a slow burn style that smoldered with danger without ever needing to flex a muscle or airbrush on a tattoo or wear a creepy breathing mask, and he did it so well that I actually found myself caring about what happened to Tom Cruise for the first time ever. Since then I have waited eagerly for the 007 people to announce that he would be the next Bond villain. Sadly, that is a pairing which will never happen. Sadly, we will never know what else we’ll miss out on. We at Matty P will certainly miss you, Mr. Hoffman, and we thank you for your art and everything it gave us.
