(Credits: Far Out / YouTube Still)
Tue 3 February 2026 21:30, UK
Philip Seymour Hoffman knew how to pick a good role, and ever since he started his film career in the early 1990s, he soon became known for his impeccable character work, often taking on the kinds of roles that would, quite frankly, intimidate another star.
Whether he was appearing in movies with controversial subject matter like Doubt or Happiness, challenging projects like the postmodern Synecdoche, New York, or more accessible projects like Almost Famous and The Hunger Games series, Hoffman always turned in a flawless performance, yet there’s one movie of his that stood out as his favourite, and rather unsurprisingly, it came from his frequent collaborator Paul Thomas Anderson.
Hoffman starred in Anderson’s directorial debut Hard Eight in 1996, and subsequently appeared in four other movies by the American auteur, including Boogie Nights as the insecure Scotty, who stumbles his way through conversations with Mark Wahlberg’s Dirk Diggler. He appeared in Punch-Drunk Love and The Master, too, but it was Magnolia that stuck out as his favourite, offering up a fight to the death for anyone who couldn’t see its brilliance.
The film marked Anderson out as an unignorable star, with his large cast of characters searching for a sense of fulfilment and meaning in their lives in spite of various challenges. And then it rains frogs. While Boogie Nights was incredible, many critics saw Magnolia as a step up, with over three hours of intertwining stories, somehow retaining a strong sense of pacing.
Hoffman played Phil Parma, a nurse caring for the dying Earl Patridge, portrayed by Jason Robards, asking his carer to search out his estranged son, Tom Cruise’s Frank. Anderson, who was a close friend of Hoffman’s, wrote the part with the actor in mind, knowing that he had exactly what it took to bring this empathetic and warm character to life.
Discussing his decision to write the part for him, Anderson once said, “When Phil played Scotty in Boogie Nights, that’s an actor playing a part. But Phil’s been called upon to play so many weird parts by now, I wanted to see what would happen if I just wrote Phil: the way he talks, the way he is.”
He added, “And the emotions Phil Parma goes to, this nurse who cries way too much, that’s just the way I could see Phil Hoffman reacting to those moments in real life”.
With the actor perfectly embodying the role, he helped to lead the film to greatness, coming to consider it not just one of his favourite movies he has ever starred in but one of his favourite movies, full stop. He was once quoted as saying, “I think Magnolia is one of the best films I’ve ever seen, and I can say that straight and out and anybody that disagrees with me, I’ll fight you to the death. I just think it is one of the greatest films I’ve ever been in and ever seen.”
It must be a pretty special feeling getting to work on a project that you come to appreciate so dearly, made even more special by the fact that he got to be directed by such a close friend in a role made just for him.
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