Victim of His Own Excesses

Hello Everyone:

By now you've all heard the news about actor Philip Seymour Hoffman's death.  So sad, a man of such immense talent found dead in his bathroom with a syringe in his vein, apparent heroin overdose.  It's weird because yesterday evening, I saw him in the film Moneyball and I recently watched The Master.  He was absolutely brilliant in Capote and Doubt.  He won a well deserved Oscalr for his role in Capote.  Philip Seymour Hoffman was the kind of actor who really went deep into his chacters, getting into their heads, cutting through the noise, becoming the person.  Very few actors have that ability to go that deep.  What's even sadder about the whole situation was the fact that he used.  Why do people with such great talent compromise themselves with drugs and alcohol?  The fame thing is a vicious master.  It demands so much of so many.  I don't think anyone will ever understand what makes some people addict-alcoholics.  One would think that a successful entertainment career would be enough, but there's always more.  The same can be said for anything.  There's always this need to compete and come out on top, keep up, make up for the loneliness, whatever.  Some learn it channel all that insecurity into more constructive ways, other fall prey to addictions.  It's strange, when you watch a performer on stage, you think "wow, that person is living out all my fantasties."  You don't think the performer is using or drinking before, during, and after the show.  I suppose I shouldn't be shocked at the fact that Philip Seymour Hoffmanndied of a drug overdose, not because I suspected he was using but because it's not so surprising anymore.  There was a time when he revelation of alcoholism and addiction was a source of shame.  In this age of therapy and self-confessionals, the revelation of a substance abuse problem is not so shocking anymore.  In a way that's a could thing because hopefully someone reading about will be able to relate and maybe get help.  Regardless, another person of great talent was taken too soon, victim of his own excesses.