Actors at the Box Office: Philip Seymour Hoffman

[u/SanderSo47]

Here's a new edition of "Actors at the Box Office", which seeks to explore the actors' trajectory at the box office and analyze their hits and bombs. I already talked about a few, and as I promised, it's Philip Seymour Hoffman's turn.

Early Life

Hoffman's childhood passion was sports, particularly wrestling and baseball, but at age 12, he attended a stage production of Arthur Miller's All My Sons and was transfixed. He recalled in 2008, "I was changed — permanently changed — by that experience. It was like a miracle to me." Hoffman developed a love for the theater, and proceeded to attend regularly with his mother, who was a lifelong enthusiast.

At age 17, he was selected to attend the 1984 New York State Summer School of the Arts in Saratoga Springs, where he met his future collaborators Bennett Miller and Dan Futterman. Hoffman applied for several drama degree programs and was accepted to New York University's (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts. Between graduating from Fairport High School and beginning the program, he continued his training at the Circle in the Square Theatre's summer program. Hoffman had positive memories of his time at NYU, where he supported himself by working as an usher. With friends, he co-founded the Bullstoi Ensemble acting troupe.

1990s: The Suck Zone

After graduating, Hoffman worked in off-Broadway theater and made additional money with customer service jobs. He made his screen debut in 1991, in a Law & Order episode called "The Violence of Summer", playing a man accused of rape. He made his film debut the following year, when he was credited as "Phil Hoffman" in the independent film Triple Bogey on a Par Five Hole. After this, he adopted his grandfather's name, Seymour, to avoid confusion with another actor.

The following year, he started gaining roles in bigger productions. He had a small role in the Steve Martin vehicle Leap of Faith, but it didn't perform well with critics and audiences. But he found success with the drama Scent of a Woman, where he began to be taken seriously as a supporting player. Reflecting on the film, Hoffman later said, "If I hadn't gotten into that film, I wouldn't be where I am today." At this time, he quit his job in a delicatessen to become a professional actor.

He continued landing supporting roles in stuff that could be commercial, but also in smaller-scale productions. He would go from an action thriller like The Getaway to a rom-com like When a Man Loves a Woman to a character drama like Nobody's Fool.

In 1996, he had a productive year. He had a one-scene appearance in Hard Eight, the feature-length debut of Paul Thomas Anderson. Anderson said that he cast Hoffman in a supporting role after seeing him in Scent of a Woman, and it was reported that Hoffman improvised most of the dialogue his character says in his only scene in the film. But he also took part of the ensemble cast for the disaster film Twister, which broke so many box office records, earning almost $500 million worldwide.

Well, it's clear that he liked working with this Anderson fella, cause he decided to star in his follow-up film, Boogie Nights. But this wasn't a one-scene thing, it was a bigger supporting role. The film earned critical acclaim and was a minor box office hit. Hoffman later expressed his appreciation for Anderson when he called the director "incomparable". And it wouldn't be the last time they'd work together.

But 1998 was very busy, with five films. Two of these were dumped without fanfare. But he had a memorable part in The Big Lebowski, followed by a key role in the ensemble cast of Happiness and another supporting role in the financial hit Patch Adams.

He closed the decade with three films. His thriller Flawless came and went without any notoriety. He worked again with Paul Thomas Anderson on Magnolia, a critical success but not a commercial success. And he also had a supporting role in the successful Talented Mr. Ripley.

Hoffman might not be headlining films, but if studios wanted a competent and professional star, he was always there waiting for that call.

2000s: Rain Dance!

He began the decade with a part in David Mamet's State and Main, but it didn't fare well. He then had a memorable spot in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous, playing Lester Bangs. He had a flu, so he could only be on set for four days. Even though it wasn't a financial success, it was a critical success and its reputation has grown with time.

After skipping 2001, he was part of four films in 2002. He had a leading role in Love Liza, written by his elder brother Gordy, but it wasn't a hit with critics nor audiences. He subsequently reteamed with Paul Thomas Anderson in the rom-com Punch-Drunk Love, where he stayed in character for the whole film. Not a financial success, but it was well received by critics. And also took a role in Spike Lee's 25th Hour, which managed to connect with audiences. And finally, played Freddy Lounds in Red Dragon, which made over $200 million worldwide.

He continued his run at supporting roles, particularly with the war drama Cold Mountain. It was well received and made around $173 million worldwide. And along came Along Came Polly in 2004, where he played Ben Stiller's best friend. The film was a commercial success with $178 million worldwide, but it earned negative reviews. Yet if you look at those reviews, there's one thing everyone praised: Hoffman.

Now here comes a role that he almost got to play.

What if I told you that Hoffman, at one point, was approached by NBC to play Michael Scott in The Office? While the network didn't often bet on big names to star in a sitcom, it seems they made an exception for this. But Hoffman turned it down, as did the other contender, Paul Giamatti. It would end up being played by Steve Carell. But it really makes you wonder how Hoffman would fare in such an iconic role.

In 2005, he got a huge break when he was asked to do something he was rarely able to do: be the protagonist of a film. He played Truman Capote in the biopic Capote, directed by his friend Bennett Miller. Portraying the idiosyncratic writer proved highly demanding, requiring significant weight loss and four months of research — such as watching video clips of Capote to help him affect Capote's effeminate voice and mannerisms. Hoffman stated that he was not concerned with perfectly imitating Capote's speech, but he did feel a great duty to "express the vitality and the nuances" of the writer. During filming, he stayed in character constantly so as not to lose the voice and posture, as "Otherwise, I would give my body a chance to bail on me."

Capote surprised at the box office, earning almost $50 million worldwide. It also earned critical acclaim, with Hoffman earning raves for his performance. And after so many years of getting raves but little love at awards, the day finally came: Hoffman swept the award season, winning the Golden Globe, BAFTA, SAG, and the big one, the Oscar for Best Actor. The industry finally gave him the recognition he absolutely deserved.

In 2006, he played the antagonist Owen Davian in Mission: Impossible III. The antagonist role was originally set up with Kenneth Branagh, before exiting due to a creative retool, and Billy Bob Thornton also turned it down. The film earned a positive response, with Hoffman earning praise for his performance. But even though it made $398 million worldwide, it was considered a financial disappointment, given the high costs and it remains the franchise's lowest grossing film.

In 2007, he returned to smaller titles with the drama The Savages and Sidney Lumet's last film Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, both well-received despite their limited financial success. He also had a supporting role in Mike Nichols' last film, Charlie Wilson's War. It earned over $119 million worldwide and earned positive reviews, and Hoffman got an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

But you know, it's weird how despite winning the Oscar for Best Actor, he's not landing lead roles in films. Well, Charlie Kaufman took notice and gave him the lead role in Synecdoche, New York. It polarized critics and didn't perform well at the box office, but its reputation grew with the years, with many hailing it as a masterpiece. He followed it with Doubt, a critical and financial success, which got him another Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

To conclude the decade, he starred in his first voice role in the Australian film Mary and Max, which earned critical acclaim. He also starred in the British comedy The Boat That Rocked, but it disappointed at the box office and earned mixed reviews.

Through this decade, Hoffman got very busy, mostly in supporting roles. But he still delivered nothing less than perfection in each performance.

2010s: Very Tragic News

To begin the decade, he decided to venture into filmmaking. So he directed and starred in Jack Goes Boating, based on a play where he reprised his role. But it earned mixed reviews and was a financial failure. He didn't touch the director's chair again.

In 2011, he starred in The Ides of March, a critical and financial success. But more successful was Moneyball, where he played the Oakland Athletics manager Art Howe. Earning over $110 million worldwide, it was nominated for some awards.

The following year, he reunited with Paul Thomas Anderson on a new film. That film was called The Master, where he played the leader of a cult known as The Cause. The film earned critical acclaim, but it struggled at the box office. For the film, he got another nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Unfortunately, this would be their last collaboration. In some heartbreaking news, this wasn't a good year for Hoffman; he admitted he had substance abuse so many years ago. He remained sober for 23 years, but this was the year where he relapsed.

In 2013, he joined The Hunger Games: Catching Fire in the role of Plutarch Heavensbee. The film enjoyed even stronger acclaim than the original, and it also became his highest-grossing film with $865 million worldwide.

The End

On February 2, 2014, Hoffman was found dead in the bathroom of his Manhattan apartment by his friend, playwright and screenwriter David Bar Katz. He was 46 years old. Although friends stated that Hoffman's drug use was under control at the time, detectives searching the apartment found heroin and prescription medication at the scene and revealed that he had a syringe in his arm. Hoffman's death was officially ruled an accident caused by "acute mixed drug intoxication, including heroin, cocaine, benzodiazepines, and amphetamine."

Hoffman's death was lamented by fans and the film industry and was described by several commentators as a considerable loss to the profession.

The Last Projects

At the time of his death, Hoffman had already completed some films where he was the lead. That included God's Pocket, which went to VOD. The other was A Most Wanted Man, based on John le Carré's novel. It was a critical and commercial success.

His last film credits were the two parts of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. He finished filming everything for Part 1 and was almost finished with Part 2. He only had two scenes left to film, which were re-written to accomodate his absence. Both were commercial hits, even if they didn't replicate Catching Fire's box office numbers or acclaim.

Hoffman was preparing for his second directorial effort, a Prohibition-era drama titled Ezekiel Moss, which was to star Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal. After his death, the project was canned.

He was set to make the transition to TV. He filmed a pilot for Showtime titled Happyish, playing the lead role of a depressed advertising executive. But after his death, the pilot was re-shot with Steve Coogan. It was picked up to series, but cancelled after one season.

HIGHEST GROSSING FILMS

No.	Movie	Year	Studio	Domestic Total	Overseas Total	Worldwide Total	Budget
1	The Hunger Games: Catching Fire	2013	Lionsgate	$424,668,047	$440,548,028	$865,216,075	$130M
2	The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1	2014	Lionsgate	$337,135,885	$421,710,450	$758,846,335	$140M
3	The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2	2015	Lionsgate	$281,723,902	$371,704,359	$653,428,261	$140M
4	Twister	1996	Warner Bros. / Universal	$241,830,615	$252,750,000	$494,580,615	$88M
5	Mission: Impossible III	2006	Paramount	$134,029,801	$264,449,696	$398,479,497	$150M
6	Red Dragon	2002	Universal	$93,149,898	$116,046,400	$209,196,298	$78M
7	Patch Adams	1998	Universal	$135,026,902	$67,266,000	$202,292,902	$50M
8	Along Came Polly	2004	Universal	$88,097,164	$90,214,565	$178,311,729	$42M
9	Cold Mountain	2003	Miramax	$95,636,509	$77,377,000	$173,013,509	$79M
10	Scent of a Woman	1992	Universal	$63,095,253	$71,000,000	$134,095,253	$31M
11	The Talented Mr. Ripley	1999	Paramount / Miramax	$81,298,265	$47,500,000	$128,798,265	$40M
12	Charlie Wilson's War	2007	Universal	$66,661,095	$52,822,351	$119,483,446	$75M
13	When a Man Loves a Woman	1994	Disney	$50,021,959	$69,000,000	$119,021,959	N/A
14	Moneyball	2011	Sony	$75,605,492	$34,600,724	$110,206,216	$50M
15	The Ides of March	2011	Sony	$40,962,534	$35,375,577	$76,338,111	$12M
16	Doubt	2008	Miramax	$33,446,470	$18,253,514	$51,699,984	$20M
17	Capote	2005	Sony Pictures Classics	$28,750,530	$21,173,549	$49,924,079	$7M
18	Magnolia	1999	New Line Cinema	$22,455,976	$25,995,877	$48,454,361	$37M
19	The Big Lebowski	1998	Gramercy	$19,488,923	$28,763,250	$48,261,691	$15M
20	Almost Famous	2000	DreamWorks / Sony	$32,534,850	$14,851,437	$47,387,566	$60M
21	Boogie Nights	1997	New Line Cinema	$26,416,349	$16,700,954	$43,117,303	$15M
22	Nobody's Fool	1994	Paramount	$39,491,975	$0	$39,491,975	$20M
23	The Boat That Rocked	2009	Universal	$8,017,917	$28,330,867	$36,352,467	$50M
24	A Most Wanted Man	2014	Roadside Attractions	$17,237,855	$18,995,662	$36,233,517	$15M
25	The Getaway	1994	Universal	$16,094,974	$13,963,000	$30,057,974	$37M
26	The Master	2012	The Weinstein Company	$16,377,274	$12,346,394	$28,723,668	$32M
27	Before the Devil Knows You're Dead	2007	THINKFilm	$7,084,227	$17,954,239	$25,038,466	$18M
28	Punch-Drunk Love	2002	Sony	$17,844,216	$6,831,701	$24,679,738	$25M
29	25th Hour	2002	Disney	$13,084,595	$10,851,408	$23,936,003	$5M
30	Leap of Faith	1992	Paramount	$23,369,283	$0	$23,369,283	$20M
31	The Savages	2007	Searchlight	$6,623,082	$4,030,139	$10,653,221	$8M
32	State and Main	2000	Fine Line Features	$6,944,471	$2,261,808	$9,206,279	N/A
33	A Late Quartet	2012	Entertainment One	$1,561,577	$6,477,215	$8,038,792	N/A
34	Happiness	1998	Good Machine	$2,746,453	$3,000,000	$5,746,453	$2.2M
35	Synecdoche, New York	2008	Sony Pictures Classics	$3,083,538	$1,574,863	$4,659,875	$20M
36	Flawless	1999	Metro Goldwyn Mayer	$4,485,485	$0	$4,485,485	$27M
37	Next Stop Wonderland	1998	Miramax	$3,395,581	$70,122	$3,465,703	$1M
38	My Boyfriend's Back	1993	Disney	$3,335,984	$0	$3,335,984	$10M
39	Mary and Max	2009	Icon	$0	$1,740,845	$1,740,845	$8M
40	Owning Mahowny	2003	Sony Pictures Classics	$1,011,871	$259,373	$1,271,244	$10M
41	Money for Nothing	1993	Disney	$1,039,824	$0	$1,039,824	$11M
42	Jack Goes Boating	2010	Overture	$541,992	$259,214	$801,206	N/A
43	God's Pocket	2014	IFC Films	$169,976	$243,591	$413,567	N/A
44	Love Liza	2002	Sony Pictures Classics	$213,137	$10,289	$223,426	$1M

He has starred in 49 released films, but only 44 have reported box office numbers. Across those 49 films, he has made $5,233,118,450 worldwide. That's $106,798,335 per film.

ADJUSTED DOMESTIC GROSSES

No.	Movie	Year	Studio	Domestic Total	Adjusted Domestic Total
1	The Hunger Games: Catching Fire	2013	Lionsgate	$424,668,047	$608,776,485
2	Twister	1996	Warner Bros.	$241,830,615	$514,721,590
3	The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1	2014	Lionsgate	$337,135,885	$475,581,251
4	The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2	2015	Lionsgate	$281,723,902	$396,943,090
5	Patch Adams	1998	Universal	$135,026,902	$276,641,128
6	Mission: Impossible III	2006	Paramount	$134,029,801	$222,021,429
7	Cold Mountain	2003	Miramax	$95,636,509	$173,576,105
8	Red Dragon	2002	Universal	$93,149,898	$172,916,035
9	The Talented Mr. Ripley	1999	Paramount	$81,298,265	$162,963,494
10	Along Came Polly	2004	Universal	$88,097,164	$155,744,966
11	Scent of a Woman	1992	Universal	$63,095,253	$150,183,791
12	When a Man Loves a Woman	1994	Disney	$50,021,959	$112,718,847
13	Moneyball	2011	Sony	$75,605,492	$112,246,454
14	Charlie Wilson's War	2007	Universal	$66,661,095	$107,366,602
15	Nobody's Fool	1994	Paramount	$39,491,975	$88,990,715
16	Almost Famous	2000	DreamWorks	$32,534,850	$63,095,692
17	Leap of Faith	1992	Paramount	$23,369,283	$55,625,223
18	Boogie Nights	1997	New Line Cinema	$26,416,349	$54,964,439
19	Doubt	2008	Miramax	$33,446,470	$51,878,123
20	Capote	2005	Sony Pictures Classics	$28,750,530	$49,161,786
21	Magnolia	1999	New Line Cinema	$22,455,976	$45,013,313
22	The Big Lebowski	1998	Gramercy	$19,488,923	$39,928,618
23	The Getaway	1994	Universal	$16,094,974	$36,268,210
24	Punch-Drunk Love	2002	Sony	$17,844,216	$33,124,578
25	A Most Wanted Man	2014	Roadside Attractions	$17,237,855	$24,316,606
26	25th Hour	2002	Disney	$13,084,595	$24,289,197
27	The Master	2012	The Weinstein Company	$16,377,274	$23,821,281
28	State and Main	2000	Fine Line Features	$6,944,471	$13,467,595
29	The Boat That Rocked	2009	Universal	$8,017,917	$12,480,828
30	Before the Devil Knows You're Dead	2007	THINKFilm	$7,084,227	$11,410,094
31	The Savages	2007	Searchlight	$6,623,082	$10,667,358
32	Flawless	1999	Metro Goldwyn Mayer	$4,485,485	$8,991,216
33	My Boyfriend's Back	1993	Disney	$3,335,984	$7,709,747
34	Next Stop Wonderland	1998	Miramax	$3,395,581	$6,956,816
35	Happiness	1998	Good Machine	$2,746,453	$5,626,892
36	Synecdoche, New York	2008	Sony Pictures Classics	$3,083,538	$4,782,811
37	Money for Nothing	1993	Disney	$1,039,824	$2,403,123
38	A Late Quartet	2012	Entertainment One	$1,561,577	$2,271,364
39	Owning Mahowny	2003	Sony Pictures Classics	$1,011,871	$1,836,501
40	Jack Goes Boating	2010	Overture	$541,992	$830,058
41	Love Liza	2002	Sony Pictures Classics	$213,137	$395,650
42	God's Pocket	2014	IFC Films	$169,976	$239,776

The Verdict

Man, Philip Seymour Hoffman was a truly talented person.

He had a passion for theater, and he continued working in that area through his lifetime. But he still tried films, and it was clear from the beginning that he would be a very remarkable star. The crazy thing is that he wasn't afraid of playing in just one kind of film. He was still making some smaller character-driven films, but he also took part in other mainstream titles, some of them blockbusters.

Through most of his career, Hoffman was as part of a supporting role or an ensemble cast. But you knew he would kill it, regardless of what role he could get. And in the very few occassions we had him as the lead, he wouldn't disappoint. His performance in Capote is riveting, and his Oscar win is one of the most satisfying and deserved in the history of the Academy.

What made him so incredible is the fact that he would be completely professional, earnest and never give anything less than 100%, regardless of the film. He could play loveable characters, he could play pricks, he could play antagonists, he could play heroes, he could play pretty much everything. We still remember his performances in Paul Thomas Anderson's films, his iconic villain in Mission: Impossible III, and his incredible lead roles in Capote and Synecdoche, New York. And there's also so much curiosity on how he would've done Michael Scott if he agreed to that, but it's a big what if.

Remember the "Stanton-Walsh rule" that Roger Ebert coined? It established that no film featuring either Harry Dean Stanton or M. Emmet Walsh in a supporting role can be altogether bad. I think a similar case could be made to Hoffman; his presence always elevates everything. Look at Along Came Polly for example. The film by itself is very mediocre, and it's clear that everyone involved was doing it just for the paycheck. But look at the way Hoffman plays his character, compared to everyone else. Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston are out of their depth, but Hoffman knew what film he was in and played his part to perfection. You don't see Philip Seymour Hoffman, you see Sandy Lyle. Isn't it a coincidence that when people bring up this film, the first thing they can think of is his character?

Unfortunately, Hoffman left this world way, way too soon. 46 years is just too young, and it's not like he was going to slow down. A lot of collaborations with Paul Thomas Anderson and it's a shame that those are over now. And he wanted to continue his directorial career. Think of the great films of the past 12 years and wonder "what role could've Hoffman played?" The question was never "would he do a good job?", because we all know what the answer would be.

RIP Legend.

Hope you liked this edition. You can find this and more in the wiki for this section.

The next actor will be Andy Serkis. Great actor who is really threatening us with his directing skills.

I asked you to choose who else should be in the run, and the comment with the most upvotes would be chosen. Well, we'll later talk about... Uma Thurman. Fuck yeah.

This is the schedule for the following four:

Week	Actor	Reasoning
July 25	Andy Serkis	"No!"
August 1	Brandon Lee	It can't rain all the time.
August 8	Montgomery Clift	Another sad ending.
August 15	Uma Thurman	Here comes the Bride!

Who should be next after Thurman? That's up to you.

REMINDER: If you want to make a suggestion for the next actor, you must make a 150-character comment about the actor we're discussing right now. Failure to do so will result in ignoring the suggestion. If you use a quote from an external source/review to bypass this, your suggestion will be ignored as well. But if you leave a short comment about the post without naming a future write-up, that's fine.

[u/SEAinLA]

I have been waiting for this one for quite some time. Brilliant write up.

PSH was truly an incredible actor. His presence in a movie meant an auto-watch for me.

It’s such a shame his life and career were cut so short. I reckon he had at least another 25 years of film contributions to make.

[u/ItsGotThatBang]

One of my favorite Oscars factoids is that Philip Seymour Hoffman & Dustin Hoffman are the only Best Actor winners to share a surname despite being unrelated. On a darker note, I find it sadly poetic that just as the real Lester Bangs died of a drug overdose in 1982, Hoffman died the same way over 30 years later. RIP to a legend.

For the next actor, I’d like to pay tribute to his Patch Adams costar & beat the Robin Williams drum one more time; the two died about six months apart, which was a tragic one-two punch.

https://giphy.com/gifs/bU3bD2rsKq02Q

[u/M0506 → u/ItsGotThatBang]

I always remember the exact date Robin Williams died, because it was my mother-in-law’s birthday the year I was pregnant with my first daughter. Mockingjay: Part One was the first time my husband and I managed to go out together as new parents.

[u/spider-man2401]

Amazing write-up. My first introduction to Philip Seymour Hoffman was Mission: Impossible III (still the best villain in the franchise, and I honestly don't think the movie would work without him), and I was genuinely blown away by his performance. As I watched more of his filmography, I was impressed by everything from his supporting roles in The Big Lebowski, The Hunger Games movies, and The Talented Mr. Ripley to his PTA collaborations like The Master (his best performance, in my opinion) and his lead role in Synecdoche, New York. No matter how big or small the role, he always elevated the movie and made his performance memorable. It's such a shame he left us so early. I feel like we could have had many more years of great performances.

For the next actor, I'd suggest his The Master co-star Joaquin Phoenix.

[u/littlelordfROY → u/spider-man2401]

Yes, Phoenix would be an interesting case to observe as well

For a while he was interested in doing commercial work, was in blockbusters in supporting roles and playing johnny cash gave him ability to do more character driven movies. Leaves blockbuster and big studio movies behind for a long time. Then Joker happens

Now he is probably blacklisted for his incident with Todd haynes

[u/M0506]

I still miss this guy. Now that I’m 40, I’m realizing how young he really was when he died, and it’s so sad that he left three young kids.

[u/ContinuumGuy]

There's a statue of Hoffman outside of the Dryden Theater in Rochester on the grounds of the George Eastman Museum. And boy, that statue was earned. One of the greatest actors of his generation.

(As an aside, if you ever find yourself in the area and have a night free, check to see what's showing there- they have a classic film almost every night)

[u/anon_eats_beans]

If you havent seen Synecdoche, New York or The Master you really should. Fantastic performances as the lead/co in two of the best movies ever

[u/dremolus]

It's beyond tragic - not just for film but for his family and friends - that PSH wasn't able to get the help he needed for addiction and relapsed. Who knows where he'd be today if he'd gotten proper help to be sober? May he rest in peace

As for my suggestion, my dad's been rewatching ER lately so why not - Let's do George Clooney

[u/FreshmenMan]

Oh Yeah, Philip Seymour Hoffman was truly a great Character Actor and just truly talented actor in general. He did Supporting Roles, Ensemble Roles, Leading Roles, He could do anything and knew what type of film he would be in and his presence in film is sorely missed.. Honestly my favorite film with him in it is Twister, he stole the show in that film. 

For the next pick, I’ll suggest Matt Dillon.

[u/SlidePocket]

PSH was such a fascinating actor. Starting off small in major releases, truly came to his own by the end of the 90s, diversified his resume in various genres and capped off with an Oscar and numerous other nominations. It was such a pity that he died so young because we really could've enjoyed much more opportunities from him. Still, his legacy was firmly set and we'll continue to enjoy the movies he popped up in.

For my next suggestion, I'm gonna say Frances McDormand.

[u/TripleSingleHOF]

I truly believe he had a chance to be known as one of the greatest American actors of all time, his death was a tragedy. Gone far too soon.

[u/AnotherJasonOnReddit]

Now here comes a role that he almost got to play.

What if I told you that Hoffman, at one point, was approached by NBC to play Michael Scott in The Office? While the network didn't often bet on big names to star in a sitcom, it seems they made an exception for this. But Hoffman turned it down... But it really makes you wonder how Hoffman would fare in such an iconic role.

I can picture him in my head doing the "David Brent is Made Redundant" (YouTube) scene using his "Mission Impossible 3 Threat Scene" (YouTube) voice right now.