William H. Macy Remembers Late Costar Philip Seymour Hoffman: 'I Now See That He Was in Pain'

Mat Hayward/Getty; Mark Mainz/Getty William H. Macy (L); Philip Seymour Hoffman

William H. Macy is remembering Philip Seymour Hoffman as "the best of us."

In a recent interview with Vulture published in honor of Monday's 25th anniversary of the actors' film Boogie Nights, Macy reflected on his perception of Hoffman as both an actor and a person.

"He was the best of us; he was never bad," said the Shameless actor, 72. "And I don't know if it's just looking back, but I now see that he was in pain. I think the weight of living was heavier on Phil than it is on other people."

Macy — who later starred with Hoffman again in Magnolia (1999) and State and Main (2000) — recalled being on a panel at the Sundance Film Festival together in support of the pair's latter movie, where he said Hoffman "disagreed" with Macy's opinion that "you don't have to live the character. That's not acting, it's mental illness."

"He said, 'No, I think there's things you can do to get into the world. Whatever's going on, you've got to find it in yourself, and I think you have to submerge yourself into the world of it,' " Macy said of Hoffman, who died from a drug overdose at the age of 46 in February 2014.

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James Bridges/El Dorado/Ugc/Kobal/Shutterstock William H. Macy and Philip Seymour Hoffman in State and Main (2000)

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Macy recalled telling Hoffman that whatever he does "'is f---ing brilliant all the time,' " to which the latter replied, "'Thank you, and I think you do it too, regardless of what you say,' " according to Macy.

"But it was a little window into how deeply he felt stuff," Macy said.

The actor went on to note a specific "heartbreaking" moment in Boogie Nights, when Hoffman's character Scotty J. "shows up in those clothes that are too small and he's holding the clipboard close to his chest and he's chewing on the pencil when he tries to flirt with Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg)."

"And I never saw him do that character again. From that point on, he played much stronger characters. And I don't think there's anything he couldn't do," Macy said.

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Hoffman earned praise throughout his 23-year career for his powerful portrayals of quirky, sometimes ruthless characters in films including Boogie Nights, Magnolia and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. His title role in the 2005 film Capote, as author Truman Capote, earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor.

Also among his accolades were three additional Oscar nominations in the Best Supporting Actor category for his role in films Doubt, Charlie Wilson's War and The Master, as well as three Tony Award nominations.

Hoffman's son Cooper Hoffman made his acting debut in last year's Licorice Pizza, helmed by Boogie Nights writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson.