Amy Adams Felt Pathetic Working Alongside Philip Seymour Hoffman
Actor Amy Adams felt very fortunate collaborating with late Capote star Philip Seymour Hoffman. But at one point Adams couldn’t get over being starstruck by her Doubt co-star.
Amy Adams once described what it was like to work with Philip Seymour Hoffman
Adams has worked with Hoffman a few times in her career. She first worked with the veteran actor in the movie Doubt, which saw her teaming up with several other established actors. Meryl Streep and Viola Davis were just two of the highly revered performers she’d end up sharing the screen with. Still, Adams took home an experience with Hoffman that she’s rarely had even with other longtime actors.
“I can’t speak for Phil’s experience with me, but this is how I felt with him,” she once told Vanity Fair. “And I felt it first on Doubt when we were doing a scene and it just felt real; it felt like it was actually happening. You almost stop acting, and it’s like you’re living this moment with another actor. It’s a very strange thing.”
But despite this rare intimacy that she created with Hoffman, the Man of Steel star admitted to feeling nervous around him.
“I was definitely intimidated by Phil, but I wanted his attention so badly. I don’t know why, to just validate my existence. So I became this kind of like puppy-dog presence around him,” she said. “I must have been very irritating on the set of Charlie Wilson’s War. I’m still probably a bit of a pleasing puppy dog. You know, ‘Can I get you anything? Are you comfortable? Can I get you a scarf? A drink?’ So pathetic.”
Amy Adams became emotional talking about Philip Seymour Hoffman
Hoffman’s death affected nearly everyone in the film industry, especially those the actor worked closely with. He succumbed to a drug overdose in February 2, 2014. Not too long after his death, Adams was seen on an episode of Inside the Actor’s Studio (via CBS News). When Hoffman was brought up during the interview, Adams couldn’t contain her emotions, and tearfully explained what Hoffman meant to her.
“Gosh, I wish you could all get a chance to work with him. He was beautiful, a beautiful spirit. And he has this unique ability to see people, really see them,” Adams said.
Years later, the Sharp Objects star would remember Hoffman again on the Queue Podcast. She’d also go into a little more detail about Hoffman’s ability to truly see people.
“He was so interested in other people and you always felt seen with him,” she said. “And my experience of working with him was not only being seen as Amy, but when I was playing the character, I felt that his character was seeing my character, and it made it feel so real.”
Amy Adams really enjoyed overpowering Philip Seymour Hoffman in ‘The Master’
Doubt and Charlie Wilson’s War weren’t the only movies Adams did with Hoffman. The Enchanted actor also worked with Hoffman on The Master. Adams plays Hoffman’s wife in the feature, who’s completely devoted to Hoffman’s character. Given Adams’ own admiration for Hoffman, she quipped that it wasn’t a difficult role to get into. But Adams’ role would also see her assert some level of dominance over Hoffman, which she admitted was a nice turn of events.
“It was fun to get to go toe-to-toe with him as a person of power,” she once told Digital Spy. “In some past roles I’ve been a bit more submissive, so it was great to get to overpower Philip in The Master – because that’s the only time that’s ever going to happen in my life.”
