Philip Seymour Hoffman in February 2013.Photo:Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic
Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic
Friday marks 10 years since the sudden death ofPhilip Seymour Hoffmanat age 46 on Feb. 2, 2014. In honor of the late actor, below is PEOPLE’s cover story from the archive about his shocking death.
He was an Oscar-winning star with scene-stealing roles in more than 50 films, but in the downtown Manhattan neighborhood he had called home for years, Philip Seymour Hoffman was simply one of the locals: the rumpled cyclist pedaling through the West Village; thedad walking his three children to school; the actor poring over scripts or having a drink at one of his favorite low-key bars.
Still, as expert as he was at blending in, he did draw attention when he turned up at the Barrow Street Alehouse after returning from a 10-day detox for heroin addiction last spring.
“This is a tragic and sudden loss,” his family said in a statement. “We are devastated.”
PEOPLE’s Feb. 17, 2014 cover.
He was also troubled. Locals in his West Village neighborhood observed the actor during both happy and seemingly darker private moments.
“He’d go over to Oliver’s restaurant with his son Cooper. They’d have lunch, and you’d see them talking and laughing for hours at a time,” says the neighborhood source. “Then, come nightfall, you’d see Phil back at Oliver’s, hunched over the bar, alone, looking like an entirely different man. He looked very dark and depressed.” A second source says he witnessed Hoffman stumble into his apartment after late nights out, “needing to be helped into the building.”
But in the days leading up to his death, friends and locals saw little signs of distress. Attending Sundance last month to promote his filmA Most Wanted Man, he was reluctant to do interviews, and some industry insiders said he appeared disheveled. But others saw only a consummate pro.
“He seemed great. He was just a regular guy, which is what I’ve always loved about him,” says photographer Victoria Will, who shot what would become one of his last portraits. “I saw him last week, and he was clean and sober, his old self,” David Katz, the friend who found Hoffman’s body, toldThe New York Times.
Philip Seymour Hoffman on Jan. 27, 2013.Michael Kovac/WireImage
Michael Kovac/WireImage
Just the night before his body was found, he was spotted at a neighborhood restaurant, Automatic Slim’s, where he and two friends dined on guacamole and burgers. His friend had a beer; Hoffman drank only a cranberry soda. According to the bartender, “He seemed fine.”
While his death came as a shock, Hoffman had long been blunt about his struggle with addiction, acknowledging that he had first undergone rehab as a 22-year-old New York University grad.
Philip Seymour Hoffman on Oct. 2, 2013.Michael Stewart/Getty
Michael Stewart/Getty
By his 30s he was beginning to rack up Tony, Emmy and Oscar nominations in a wide range of performances (including an Oscar win for 2005’sCapote), but he remained deeply self-critical. When people praised his work, he said in 2006, “I’ll be, like, ‘Thank you,’ but I won’t say the second part, which is, ‘You’re wrong.’ It’s not always healthy.” Adds Matthew Warchus, who directed his Tony-nominated turn in 2000’sTrue West: “I think the tortured part comes from him not settling. The audience benefits. But the artist himself, it’s a mixed blessing to have those standards. Nothing is easy.”
One constant throughout was his affection for his kids. “They’re all he ever talked about on set,” says Hayes.
Deeply committed to his children — who inherited his famous red hair — Hoffman was a fixture at the Chelsea Piers athletic complex in New York City, where he turned up every Saturday for his son Cooper’s basketball practices. “He was not a drop-off parent,” says Ryan Berger, a fellow dad who had seen him just 24 hours before his death. “He was committed to what his son was doing.”
Philip Seymour Hoffman on Nov. 18, 2013.ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty
ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty
Adds Michael Ohoven, producer ofCapote: “For somebody so intelligent and with enormous willpower to succumb to such a terrible disease, I can’t even grasp it. All I can think about is that he’s sitting up there and giving one of his dark, big chuckles.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
source: people.com
