RIP Philip Seymour Hoffman

Shit. I loved Phil Seymour Hoffman in Boogie Nights and Happiness, two of the bravest roles undertaken by an American actor since Ned Beatty bent over the log in Deliverance. He's also amazing in Sidney Lumet's last film, Before The Devil Knows Your Dead; speaking as a fat guy, it was nice to see a performance by an overweight actor in a highly sexually charged role, where he broke stereotypes by being aggressive, lusty, and domineering. (On the other hand, I positively cringed when I discovered his character in Happiness shared my first name). I *had* thought he seemed kind of haggard lately - apparently, after a couple of decades of being clean, he fell off the wagon in 2012, was in rehab as recently as May, and was discovered dead in his bathroom surrounded by bags of heroin, with a needle in his arm.  It's a terrible waste; this was a talented, talented man, with a lot yet to do in life. A very sad, shocking bit of news...