Quotes from Philip Seymour Hoffman

I don't get nervous when I'm directing a play. It's not like acting.

Women are the life force we look at for their beauty.

I think part of being an actor is staying private.

Being unemployed is not good for an actor. No, it isn't, no matter how unsuccessful you are. Because you always remember getting fired from all the restaurants. You remember that stuff very, very strongly.

I work constantly but I work at a lot of different things. You know, I run a theater company in New York, I direct plays, act in plays, in movies, so I try to keep it eclectic.

My love for the theater has always been a priority. That hasn't changed. I got into acting that way. The film work that came up was really a surprise.

It's important to say that actors can't act alone, it's impossible. What we have to do is support each other.

Vanity is something that will only get in the way of doing your best work, and ultimately if you're truly vain you care more about your work than how you look in your work. I actually consider myself a pretty vain guy when it comes to that.

Good work is the only thing that would make me feel jealous or envious.

I try to live my life in such a way that I don't have any regrets. That's probably why I work so much. I don't want to feel I missed something important.

There are a lot of things going on with my life right now that don't just have to do with career. So I have a hard time making decisions about work. That's really a luxury problem.

I like to come to the set with very strong ideas and strong opinions about how to do things. And I like also dealing with somebody who's like that.

The foibles of my body are pretty much out there in the work I do.

I would never not work on the part without it playing. That's what being an actor is. You use everything that's influenced you to help you get out of yourself or be more creative.

It's really hard to watch things and then not think about anything afterwards.

I think I'm less anonymous than I was.

If you get a chance to act in a room that somebody else has paid rent for, then you're given a free chance to practice your craft.

Films are always a fiction, not documentary. Even a documentary is a kind of fiction.

You have all the influence you choose to have.

In film, you have to let go sometimes.

I had a father who was a traveling salesman.

I had insecurities and fears like everybody does, and I got over it. But I was interested in the parts of me that struggled with those things.

People used to be funny about approaching me, but now they seem to think I'm as sane as anyone who's done what I've done in movies can be.