Philip Seymour Hoffman: The Greatest Actor of His Generation | via The Atlantic
For me, acting is torturous, and it’s torturous because you know it’s a beautiful thing. I was young once, and I said, “That’s beautiful and I want that.” Wanting it is easy, but trying to be great—well, that’s absolutely torturous. In the end, I’m grateful to feel something so deeply, and I’m also grateful that it’s over. And that’s my life.
There are few actors whose movies I see simply to see them act. Hoffman was one of them. Sorry I won’t get to see more…
UPDATE:
The quote above was not from The Atlantic, it was only quoted there. The original came from this article in the NY Times Magazine from December 2008. Quite good.