MovieChat Forums > Moneyball (2011) Discussion > Hoffman

Hoffman

posted 10 years ago by hoyo-mont
7 replies | jump to latest

Saw this for the first time last night. Obviously not in a rush. Not a Brad Pitt or baseball fan. It was better than I expected.

The one thing I didn't understand is why did Phillip Seymour Hoffman have or chose to play such a crappy role?

[–] jd-267 10 years ago

I don't think it was a crappy role. It was a heated role in a very laid back movie. I just think he purposely underplayed it because the movie was about playing it cool and relaxed.

[–] binkpanther 8 years ago

I liked his way of playing the role also. He avoided the angry coach cliche, which was the right choice. It would have been stupid for him to totally lose it in a conversation with the GM or co-workers. Coaching is less about about yelling angrily to players and more about managing people and the mood of the team.
Baseball like acting, is a decision making game. One good decision at the time, though most of the decisions are automatic and subconscious.

[–] TheQuietHaleStorm 10 years ago

Apparently the real Art Howe wasn't too happy with Hoffman's portrayal of him either. Though it could be said that it was the screenwriters who villainized Howe, not PSH himself.

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/09/27/art-howe-is-angry-about-how-he-was-portrayed-in-moneyball/

(Sorry, I can't make that clickable from my phone)

[–] thaumielx72 8 years ago

I hear you. A bit more effort on the part of Android coders and I could almost do away with my old computer.

But it will still be a sad day. The old girl and I have seen a lot together.

Oskars problem with Eli is not her ambiguous gender, but her ambiguous humanity.

[–] NobodymournstheWicked 9 years ago

I am sure for the same reason any actor or actress would do a role for a paycheck

[–] hockeyhrs 8 years ago

Moneyball's director, Bennett Miller, also helmed "Capote" (2006), for which PSH won Best Actor Oscar.

Actors often become very loyal to director(s) who guide them to Oscar nominations/wins.

i.e., This is why Jennifer Lawrence & Brad Cooper do every David O. Russell movie they get invited to participate in.

[–] kicke_blueblack 7 years ago

Crappy role? That would make him a crappy actor.
The role is what you make it to be.

But why a such small role? Maybe because he felt some attachment to the story on a personal level.
Maybe he was a fan of the team who knows.