Entertainment

Philip Seymour Hoffman's Wisest Words

by Anna Klassen

It is truly a tragic day for Hollywood, as the entertainment community has lost one of its best and brightest stars early Sunday morning. Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in his Manhattan apartment with a heroin needle in his arm. While he left this earth by tragic means, his life was filled with huge talent, and what seemed to be joy. To celebrate the life of the actor gone too soon, here's some of his most inspiring quotes about life.

On being humble

"I have a fine level of recognition in the business and among the acting community now, so I consider myself one of the lucky ones. If I didn't think that, there would be something wrong with me. I'm grateful and thankful for what I've got."

"Sometimes I'm uncomfortable with the level of fame I've got! It all depends on the day and what's going on. I don't desire any more fame. I don't need it."

"Vanity is something that will only get in the way of doing your best work, and ultimately if you're truly vain you care more about your work than how you look in your work. I actually consider myself a pretty vain guy when it comes to that."

On an Actor's Burden

"When you're playing someone who really lived, you carry a burden, a burden to be accurate. But it's one that you have to let go of ultimately."

On parenting

"When you become a parent, you look at your parents differently. You look at being a child differently. It's an awakening, a revelation that you have."

"When you have a child, as anyone knows who has them, that's basically all you want to talk about."

On body image

"A lot of people describe me as chubby, which seems so easy, so first-choice. Or stocky. Fair-skinned. Tow-headed. There are so many other choices. How about dense? I mean, I'm a thick kind of guy. But I'm never described in attractive ways. I'm waiting for somebody to say I'm at least cute. But nobody has."

On circumstance

"Other people disagree with me, but Scent of a Woman really was my breakthrough. I was working in the prepared foods section of a deli when I was cast in that movie, and I've never had a non-acting job since. That's amazing."

On not bullshitting

"Sometimes I'm working on a film and someone will ask me if I'm having fun. And I'm tempted to tell them the truth: No, absolutely not. Having no fun here at all. You know what's going to be fun? When it's done, and I've done a fuckin' good job, and I know people are getting something out of that. I'll have a lot of fun then. A ton of it."

On his favorite movie

"I think Magnolia is one of the best films I've ever seen and I can say that straight and out and anybody that disagrees with me I'll fight you to the death. I just think it is one of the greatest films I've ever been in and ever seen."

Images: massivnews