I’ve been thinking a lot about Philip Seymour Hoffman lately.
Most people would probably recognize him as Plutarch Heavensbee in “The Hunger Games” or Owen Davian in “Mission: Impossible III.” But he’s become one of my favorite actors because of roles like Lancaster Dodd in “The Master” or Art Howe in “Moneyball.”
He also passed away before I ever saw him in a movie.
As I dove further into his filmography and his story, I saw so many praising him and his unparalleled ability to make even the smallest role feel important after he passed away. And I always came away with the same thought.
I hope he knew.
I’m guessing he did. He won an Oscar and was nominated for three more, but watching him act, that feels like not nearly enough commendation. His role in “Doubt” changed the way I think about acting and performance art. So, even though I didn’t know he existed until after he was gone, I wish he knew how much he impacted me.
I wish I could say thank you.
Philip Seymour Hoffman got more than some. Heath Ledger died before his “The Dark Knight” performance could be appreciated. I wish he got to see how iconic and transformative he made the character. I wish the world had gotten to say thank you.
It’s not just actors. Some musicians have genuinely changed my life. I want to say thank you to Conor Oberst for writing “Poison Oak.” I want to ask everyone in the band Black Country, New Road how the hell they made “Ants From Up There.”
I want Pat Hughes to know what it means to me to hear him call Cubs games on the radio. I want Bill Russell to know that I think he’s the greatest center to ever play basketball, even if nobody else does. I want people like Frederick Douglass or Thurgood Marshall to know how much their work meant to the world.
These people have shaped my childhood and adulthood. They’ve changed how I perceive the world. So I hope the universe can somehow, selfishly, make these people feel celebrated.
In a few weeks, Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” will be released. Anderson worked with Philip Seymour Hoffman quite a bit. I wonder if there were times when Anderson wished he could get one more legendary performance from Hoffman.
I wonder if, instead, he would rather just say thank you.
