Philip Seymour Hoffman
I work constantly but I work at a lot of different things. You know, I run a theater company in New York, I direct plays, act in plays, in movies, so I try to keep it eclectic.Collection: Movies
I have so much empathy for these young actors that are 19 and all of a sudden they're beautiful and famous and rich. I'm like, 'Oh my God, I'd be dead.'Collection: Famous
The film is made in the editing room. The shooting of the film is about shopping, almost. It's like going to get all the ingredients together, and you've got to make sure before you leave the store that you got all the ingredients. And then you take those ingredients and you can make a good cake - or not.Collection: Good
I think directors should be confident in their leadership capabilities. I think directors should be confident in what they want to do.Collection: Leadership
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.Collection: Thankful
One person's religion is another person's cult.Collection: Religion
Creating something is all about problem-solving.
I know I wasn't as handsome as some other guys, but I was OK with that.
My ideal weight is 205, actually.
I got sober when I was 22 years old.
Being unemployed is not good for an actor. No, it isn't, no matter how unsuccessful you are. Because you always remember getting fired from all the restaurants. You remember that stuff very, very strongly.
My soul is in good shape.
You can look at anything as a cult. Churches are cults in their own way.
Actors are responsible to the people we play.
I didn't have any idea that I would be able to have a career in film.
My love for the theater has always been a priority. That hasn't changed. I got into acting that way. The film work that came up was really a surprise.
People actually live with their id exposed. They're not good at concealing what's going on inside.
Sometimes I have a great day of filming and sometimes the theater strikes me better. It just depends.
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.
The foibles of my body are pretty much out there in the work I do.
The size of my head though is pretty abnormal.
There are a lot of things going on with my life right now that don't just have to do with career. So I have a hard time making decisions about work. That's really a luxury problem.
If I was a little bit younger I would worry more. I'd want to do one thing at a time but now I try to do a bunch of different things at a time if I can.
When you have a child, as anyone knows who has them, that's basically all you want to talk about.
It's important to say that actors can't act alone, it's impossible. What we have to do is support each other.
The drama nerd comes out in me when I'm in a theater.
I don't get nervous when I'm directing a play. It's not like acting.
Creating anything is hard.
In life, do you ever really know if you're missing an opportunity? No, you really don't.
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.
Films are always a fiction, not documentary. Even a documentary is a kind of fiction.
There are characters in movies who I call 'film characters.' They don't exist in real life. They exist to play out a scenario. They can be in fantastic films, but they are not real characters; what happens to them is not lifelike.
I didn't go out looking for negative characters; I went out looking for people who have a struggle and a fight to tackle. That's what interests me.
Life's pretty funny when you're objectively on the outside looking at it.
I don't have a specific thing I want anyone to get out of anything I do.
My girlfriend's a costume designer in the theater.
I like to come to the set with very strong ideas and strong opinions about how to do things. And I like also dealing with somebody who's like that.
You know the circus performer who spins the plates in the air you know, and he'll spin six or seven plates in the air? Acting sometimes is kind of that guy spinning all those plates in the air but in your head and in your body.
I like so many different kinds of music just because all I did was listen to the radio as a kid.
I didn't really buy LPs or go to concerts.
I've never been on a cruise.
Directing is a really kind of amazing thing, because you're helping others and, in the middle of that, you have to worry about yourself.
Film's hard when you don't have any relationship with the director at all and you just show up. Then you really are just a gun for hire.
The weight comes off, you know? If you stop with the bread and the pie, it really does. It really works.
I think I'm less anonymous than I was.
Well, in the theater, I think you're actually more responsible for what is going on onstage as a director than you are in film.
In film, you have to let go sometimes.
I know some really great actors who are pretty judgmental people, pretty critical people. But they're great actors. When they're acting, that's the craft.
Well, I think everyone struggles with self-love.
I had insecurities and fears like everybody does, and I got over it. But I was interested in the parts of me that struggled with those things.