Philip Seymour Hoffman on "God's Pocket" and "A Most Wanted Man"

Two weeks before his sudden death, the actor was excited about his two upcoming films

Published February 3, 2014 2:43PM (EST)

"God's Pocket" and "A Most Wanted Man" might be the last two films that the world will see Academy Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman in.

Hoffman was found dead in his New York City apartment on Sunday of an apparent drug overdose. He was 46.

The actor was last in the public eye two weeks ago, promoting the two films at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Speaking to Salon and other reporters on the red carpet at the premiere of "God's Pocket," a gritty drama based on Peter Dexter's novel of the same name, Hoffman said he was excited about the film and its colorful characters. In it, Hoffman plays a petty criminal from Philadelphia who attempts to cover up the death of his insane stepson. "It's a great story," Hoffman said. "It's a moving story and a really unique tale. It's pretty hard not to relate to."

“There’s something about he’s my age,” Hoffman told another media outlet, SuperPopAccess. “He’s dealing with issues that have to do with being middle-aged. He realizes that some choices he made along the way, you have to shift or change or you just kind of stay in the dark and go from there.”

In spy thriller "A Most Wanted Man," Hoffman's other film to appear at Sundance, the actor plays Gunther Bachmann, the head of a German spy unit. The Anton Corbijn movie is based on John le Carre's novel about a Chechen-Russian immigrant looking for his late father's fortune in Germany.

"They're similar," he said of the two movies. "There's something similar about them. They're completely different, but there's something similar about the tales...what happens to the two men...you'll see."

IFC picked up "God's Pocket" for U.S. distribution, while Lionsgate will distribute "A Most Wanted Man." Hoffman was also working on two other projects: “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay" movies and Showtime comedy pilot, “Happyish."


By Prachi Gupta

Prachi Gupta is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on pop culture. Follow her on Twitter at @prachigu or email her at pgupta@salon.com.

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A Most Wanted Man Death Drama Film Gods Pocket Movies Obituary Philip Seymour Hoffman Sundance Sundance 2014