Philip Seymour Hoffman Dead at 46 | Hacker News Reader

Philip Seymour Hoffman Dead at 46

mashable.com

19 pointsrhartsock12 comments

Oh, no way. Philip Seymour Hoffman was a genius actor, every role he's played he's been riveting in. He's consistently been one of the very best actors of his generation. One I'd hoped to see for many years to come. I think we may have lost his best years too. Very sad at this news.

EDIT: syringe stil in the arm? Ugh. So sad.

I know some people will always want a bigger high, but I really do wonder if the US legalized marijuana, if there would be a large drop of drug overdoses.. Obviously a millionaire like a major actor doesn't have the same financial limitations as a common man... but seriously, how many people need to die from drug overdoses if they can enjoy marijuana safely?.... RIP.

Capote and Magnolia cemented him, in my mind, as one of this generations leading acts who'd mature into a Mirran/Hofman/Freeman/etc.-class actor.

It's such a tragedy for film - which will outlast us all here now.

Why do people like him turn to drugs?

Not sure I understand what you mean. Rich, successful people?

In my experience, addiction crosses all social, economic and class boundaries. Being rich and famous probably plays an enabling role more than anything.

In any case, very sad to lose another talent too soon.

I can understand why celebrity caricatures like Justin Bieber do their shenanigans, but Hoffman was so respected and loved. Why would he start with drugs to begin with? (forgetting being trapped by an addiction)

> I can understand why celebrity caricatures like Justin Bieber do their shenanigans

Why?

> but Hoffman was so respected and loved. Why would he start with drugs to begin with? (forgetting being trapped by an addiction)

Well, first, you assume that he started drugs after he was "so respected and loved", which may well not be the case, and second, the fact that you cited that seems to imply that the reason that people start drugs is usually because they are lacking respect and love. Why would you assume that a person starting drugs necessarily has any influence from other people's opinions of that person?

I imagine that public ridicule and scrutiny can cause public figures to misbehave [1], but Hoffman seemed to have little of that. Sure he could have got his start before he became famous, but that contradicts that fame/fortune is an enabler.

[1]: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/01/23/265243793/rat...

Why does anyone? I'm not an expert on addiction, by any means, but I do know that addiction has a lot more to do with personality and mental health than any sort of outward (financial, political, artistic) mark of success. The fact that many addicts live in poverty does not prove that poverty causes (let alone being the sole cause of) addiction. It is likely a strong contributing factor but not the only one.

Anyone know if his parts in Mockingjay finished filming?

This is really terrible news, anyway. He was a great actor.

Part 1 has, Part 2 is still in progress. I dont know if he'd complete all his parts though.

:( :( this guy was such an amazing actor!

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