RIP, Philip Seymour Hoffman

Thought I could wake up today and just shuffle around until it was time for the Super Bowl to kick off, but instead I got a gut-punch worth of stunning news this morning:

Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman has died.  He was 46 years old.

Damn.

Not even really sure what to say.  Hoffman was found in his Manhattan apartment this morning, discovered by a friend/colleague.  Most news outlets are reporting this as a drug overdose.

Double damn.

I just recently (about a year ago) found out that Hoffman had been struggling with drug addiction.  His addiction goes back almost 20 years, and while it seems he was clean for quite a long time, in recent years the habit appears to have retaken a hold on his life.  As recently as last year, Hoffman checked himself into rehab for heroin use.

Even after I found out these personal details of Hoffman's life, I still didn't think or consider that he would end up like this.  Didn't really seem possible, even though it was more than plausible.  Sad, sad, sad.

I'm sure as details in this case are confirmed, this story will continue to get sadder.  How could it not?  A man has died, a very talented man, who could not escape his own personal demons.  Sadness.

Thanks for all the memories, Phil.  You were a great one and you'll be missed.

Slated for release this year, Philip Seymour Hoffman's final performances can be seen in John Slattery's feature film debut God's Pocket and Anton Corbijn's A Most Wanted Man, as well as in the Hunger Games sequel two-parter, Mockingjay (the second part of which will be out in 2015).

Actors are responsible to the people we play. I don't label or judge. I just play them as honestly and expressively and creatively as I can, in the hope that people who ordinarily turn their heads in disgust instead think, 'What I thought I'd feel about that guy, I don't totally feel right now'.

--Philip Seymour Hoffman