Justin Long Honors Philip Seymour Hoffman on 9-Year Anniversary of His Death

It’s been nine years since Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman tragically passed away at the age of 46 from a drug overdose, and his good friend Justin Long has honored the late star.

“Thinking about Phil Hoffman today. Can’t believe it’s been 9 years,” the Creepshow actor wrote on Instagram, where he shared a story of meeting Hoffman for the first time on the set of Galaxy Quest, which starred Hoffman’s close friend Sam Rockwell.

“One day Sam said “My friend Phil is gonna stop by a little later”. I tried to play it cool but it must’ve been obvious how excited I was at even the possibility that the “Phil” he was referring to was “Seymour Hoffman,” Long continued. “When he drove up to where we all were, I was immediately struck by how boisterous and jokey he was with Sam and our other friend, Leif – definitely not a “Philip” but a “Phil”.”

 

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Long also spoke of how much Hoffman influenced him as an actor, referring to him as “an acting god” and his equivalent to “Meryl Streep or Marlon Brando.”

“Whenever I’m stuck in a scene I often find myself thinking ‘What would Phil do?’ — it always grounds me in the truth,” he shared.

“When I think of him now I can also still hear his laugh,” Long continued. “He’d laugh so hard he’d get a little wheezy and his eyes glistened with emerging tears — full and bold and lacking even a hint of self-consciousness. He laughed the way he acted. Today I’m missing both.”

Other stars also shared memories of Hoffman, including New Girl actor Josh Gad, who wrote, “Not an anniversary I ever want to remember. I hate that this man is gone. He is indisputably in the top bracket of greatest Actors of all time. And what’s more, one of the sweetest humans I have ever met. His last words to me were “we need to play brothers.” If only…”

 

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Hawkeye star Jeremy Renner commented on Long’s post, writing, “He’s the best,” while Pivoting actress Maggie Q added, “Love you Phil, always. All true.”

Outer Range star Josh Brolin commented on Gad’s post, writing, “Miss him dearly. Knew him since he first became an actor. I watched the whole trajectory. Amazing human being.”