Philip Seymour Hoffman

I think I would have drank myself to death, literally, if I didn't just stop, once and for all when I did. I am not ever going to preach to anyone about drugs or drinking. But, for me, when they were around, I had no self control.

Study, find all the good teachers and study with them, get involved in acting to act, not to be famous or for the money. Do plays. It's not worth it if you are just in it for the money. You have to love it.

Well, in the theater, I think you're actually more responsible for what is going on onstage as a director than you are in film.

I've had to make the transition from sweeping in for 15 minutes, doing my stuff and clearing out, to carrying a movie for the duration - in a dress.

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.

I didn't have any idea that I would be able to have a career in film.

There’s a period of time in your life when I kind of look back, and I’m like, was I happy, or was I just not aware?

I don't want to repeat myself. I'm not going to play a guy like Allen in Happiness again any time soon because I did that and I don't want to tarnish or dilute that film by doing it again, maybe less well.

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.

The film is made in the editing room. The shooting of the film is about shopping, almost. It's like going to get all the ingredients together, and you've got to make sure before you leave the store that you got all the ingredients. And then you take those ingredients and you can make a good cake - or not.

You must be really bad, because it is a puzzle. Creating anything is hard. It’s a cliché thing to say, but every time you start a job, you just don’t know anything. I mean, I can break something down, but ultimately I don’t know anything when I start work on a new movie. You start stabbing out, and you make a mistake, and it’s not right, and then you try again and again. The key is you have to commit. And that’s hard because you have to find what it is you are committing to.

I have so much empathy for these young actors that are 19 and all of a sudden they're beautiful and famous and rich. I'm like, 'Oh my God, I'd be dead.'

In film, you have to let go sometimes.

The film is made in the editing room.

I always thought I'd be a New York theater actor, riding my bicycle to rehearsal. That was all I ever wanted.

Great talent admits shortcomings.

The drama nerd comes out in me when I'm in a theater.

I think you should be serious about what you do because this is it. This is the only life you've got.

I think you ultimately have to love who you're playing. You have to have that kind of feeling. You have to have passion for the person.

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.

Actors are responsible to the people we play.