Philip Seymour Hoffman Quotes

When you're trying to look pretty, it's a lot easier to compare you to other people. I always felt intimidated in pilot season trying to audition for 'the girlfriend.' Whereas when it's like, 'you're auditioning for the part of this meth addict, trailer park whatever,' it's like, 'Great!'

It gets monotonous for an actor to repeat roles.

For me, playing a mother was a point of resistance; the question of 'will I get typecast' was going on in my mind.

I don't want to play a superhero. Drogo may not be Superman, but it is a phenomenal role. I didn't want to get typecast. Drogo is an exceptional character. Conan is iconic. Whether it does good or not, you just try to elevate it to the next level.

I tend to land roles that are somewhat villainous for some reason. Usually, people blame it on the accent.

I want to make good films; I don't want to make films for the moment.

I don't want to make a half-assed film. It's not my area of expertise.

In other ways, you constantly have to change people's opinion of you as one thing, especially if you want to play different roles. You have to shatter that image sometimes. I've had to do it before with stage roles, to get roles. I'm drawn to kind of darker, misfit things. I would like to, especially in film, play against type and do some heavier stuff. I'm intrigued by projects that deal with problematic people and things.

In Yale they convinced me I had no talent, even though I was always working. They cast me mostly as prostitutes and old women, and I stayed because I loved the writers. I loved Chris Durang and Wendy Wasserstein. I was always doing their work in the Yale Cabaret.

For me, something dangerous would be playing thebabe in a huge studio film. That would be terrifying because I'dstink... I want to explore human beings on as deep a level as I can.

I wouldn't want to try to make a living as an actor. I think actors... I give them a lot of credit for what they go through, but putting myself on the line like that would make me crazy.

To me, more importantly, I want to make films that I believe in, that I find value in that I think folks will like.

I was often getting hired to play sociopaths and psychopaths and stuff, which is really funny.

In Bergman's world I represented a sort of intellectual, skeptical, ironic person, rather cold and frustrated. When I went abroad and made films in Italy and other places, I was used in different ways. I was rather often cast as crazy people, maniacs. It was very good for me and it was fun because it is nice to play crazy people if you are not in reality. And I think perhaps that changed how Ingmar saw me. Suddenly I was on the more magical side of his world, playing the people with fantasies, variety, the artists.

I'll always be figuring out what parts I want to play, because I want to play all parts. I'm a very hungry actress.

Once you don't smile on film, they say, 'Let's have that bloke who doesn't smile.'

Unfortunately, I think I'm going to be typecast in Hollywood as the kid who can cry. I don't like putting audiences through those emotional ups and downs. I don't want people to think Dana Hill is so depressing all she does is cry. But the parts are so good, I can't turn them down.

I don't really care about making a big movie - I just want to make good ones.

When you have people like Casey [Affleck] and Michelle Williams and they want to do more takes you don't say, "Sorry, that's it." And I also don't like to say, "It's fine, it's great." Unless it's clearly there.

This is not the 19th century, where actors are expected to play completely opposite roles. We're not typecast, but we're brought in because somebody thinks that it's a good fit, so you make it a better fit.

If everyone thinks you're bizarre and creepy, then you play bad guys. If everyone thinks you're beautiful and wants to kiss you, then you play the lead role.

When you play the young girl a lot, you can be in the movie a lot and have nothing to do.

I find that at almost every press junket I get that comment, "this character's different from what you generally play..." And that's OK! But I think "generally play" stems back to Mr Darcy. I'm fine with it but I tend to find that if it's a departure, which in other people's words it always is, it's always a departure from that.

I got to playing villains-I don't know how. I think it's like anything else, in the movies in particular that if you establish yourself as something and you're lucky enough to keep getting hired. You know, there are guys who play the guy who gets the girl, guys who are the best friend of that guy, there's the funny guy, the villain.

Historically, actors have been made very famous for roles that were something that was far - - Richard Widmark comes to mind (playing Tommy Udo in "Kiss of Death") or something like that, where you do some famous role and everybody imitates you for the rest of your life. But obviously it's much more fun to play something you're not than it is to play something you are.