Breaking into Hollywood is never simple and, for Cooper Hoffman, the climb to the top comes with an extra layer of legacy. The son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, Cooper is carving his own path, with a major release on the 2025 movie schedule. At the same time, the younger Cooper is candid about finding his way without his dad by his side. Before every shoot, he has a simple reset: he cues up one of his father’s performances, and his choice is inspired.

22-year-old Cooper Hoffman shared the ritual on TODAY while promoting his new Stephen King adaptation, the upcoming The Long Walk, and talking about following in his father’s footsteps. On the subject of his "favorite" entry from his dad's filmography, Hoffman said:

It’s hard to argue with the choice. The Master is and will probably always be my favorite PTA flick. Without a doubt, it's one of Paul Thomas Anderson’s best movies. However, pairing Philip Seymour Hoffman’s magnetic performance as a cult leader and Joaquin Phoenix’s combustible drifter, this drama film is a stellar two-hander. It also earned the elder Hoffman an Oscar nomination and remains a modern acting showcase.

Legacy isn’t a small thing to shoulder, and Cooper doesn’t pretend it is. He told the morning show that following a giant can be daunting, especially with an Academy Award literally within sight. However, the work itself clarified his path: do the job, learn by doing, keep going until it no longer feels right. “I’ll do it until I don’t want to anymore,” he added, a reminder that his career is something he’s choosing day by day, not something he’s trapped by.

For the young star, the rewatch functions as both a study and a touchstone reminder of scale and subtlety but also a way to carry a piece of his dad onto each new set, as he builds his own legacy.

Cooper Hoffman made his debut with Anderson’s Licorice Pizza and has been choosing projects that stretch him, from comedy-drama to dystopian thriller. Now, he continues to build out his filmography with The Long Walk. In the flick, Hoffman plays Raymond Garraty, a teenager thrust into a deadly state-sanctioned endurance contest. The production demanded real miles, and Hoffman has said the cast walked long stretches in triple-digit heat, tallying close to 400 miles over the shoot, which is a grind that forged a tight, on-set brotherhood.

There’s a small grace in Hoffman’s selection. The Master isn’t just one of “his dad’s best,” but it’s also a study in connection and control. The film is an example of how people save or break each other, and how belief can comfort or consume. For a young actor stepping into roles that ask for stamina and steadiness, that’s a practical syllabus. The fact that it also keeps him close to his dad is a bonus he seems to embrace.

Cooper Hoffman’s upcoming horror movie, The Long Walk, hits theaters on September 12.

Carving out a career in Hollywood is rarely easy but, for Cooper Hoffman, the challenge comes with a unique weight. The son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, one of the most revered actors of his generation, Cooper has begun building his own path in the industry, with a major 2025 movie schedule release on the horizon, Now, he's opening up about the bittersweet journey of doing so without his father by his side.

In a recent chat with GQ, Cooper Hoffman, along with his co-star David Jonsson, opened up about their new movie, The Long Walk, which is an upcoming Stephen King adaptation. Hoffman talked about the tough times he faced growing up with a dad who was not only a great parent but also someone he looked up to creatively. Reflecting on his journey so far, the rising star said:

For the Saturday Night star, that dual relationship, father and artistic icon makes his journey uniquely complicated. While most young actors struggle with building confidence, he’s also had to reckon with the weight of carrying on a legacy so closely tied to art that he admires. As he put it in the same interview:

Cooper Hoffman's feature film debut in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza immediately garnered him attention, not only because of his famous surname but because of the raw, unpolished quality he brought to the screen. Since then, he’s taken on a mix of roles from Wildcat to the highly anticipated adaptation of The Long Walk that challenge him to stretch beyond expectation.

The Long Walk, directed by Francis Lawrence, is all about young men dealing with identity and grief while pushing through in a messed-up world. Hoffman plays Raymond Garraty, a teenager who's struggling with the loss of his dad, and that hit pretty close to home for the actor. He shared with GQ that he was a bit unsure about taking on the role since the character's trauma felt similar to his own. But, in the end, he figured that diving into that discomfort could make his performance feel more real.

A number of fans still feel the absence of Philip Seymour Hoffman, whose performances in Capote, The Master and Almost Famous remain touchstones. For Cooper, the absence is both personal and professional, and how could it not be? Of course, he has a longing for advice, encouragement, or just the chance to share the stage of life with his dad, and I wish he had that.

Cooper Hoffman isn’t letting that longing define him. As his career expands, the young actor is making choices that honor his father’s memory while also asserting his own identity. Hoffman’s upcoming horror movie, The Long Walk, hits theaters on September 12.

While actor Sam Rockwell has seen most of his recent notoriety coming from TV, the man’s spot on the 2025 movie schedule with The Bad Guys 2 could expose him to a new audience. It’s also a polar opposite from his televised gig as part of The White Lotus’ Season 3 cast for reasons only the parents can explain to their children while waiting in line for that upcoming kids movie. But for as much as the 2018 Academy Award-winner has done in his varied career, his greatest regret is connected to a good friend: the dearly-departed Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

Chatting with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Rockwell shared that this upset comes from something that could have truly been magical. And it’s not just one missed opportunity for the well-regarded thespians to collaborate in their craft; as you’ll read below:

Seeing Sam Rockwell and Phillip Seymour Hoffman in any sort of pairing would have been an event for the ages. And the fun part is, it wouldn’t matter what the opportunity was, as both men are known for skillsets that could tackle anything.

Whether it was a rom-com, an espionage adjacent thriller or even a real life potboiler like Moneyball, you can practically see them matching each other’s energy and really going for it. The Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri performer reflected on what he missed most about his friend, part of which came out of this memory from Hoffman’s untimely death in 2014:

As an admirer of Phillip Seymour Hoffman myself, there have been no lies reported in any of the remarks provided; especially when putting the man's name in such esteemed company as you saw directly above. While most people may remember him from bigger movies like The Hunger Games franchise or even his iconically chilling turn as Mission: Impossible III’s villain, there are tons of movies people may have forgotten he was in - or overlooked outright.

Off the top of my head, two examples of the latter are Before the Devil Knows Your Dead and A Most Wanted Man. But no matter what true cinephile you talk to, they’ll probably have their own handful of Hoffman favorites that need some more love. Which leads us to the ultimate remembrance Sam Rockwell shares in this moment; a factor that could also be applied to his own eclectic resume:

It’s easy for fans to say that the world is all the poorer for not having Phillip Seymour Hoffman in it. But as you can see with Mr. Rockwell’s trip down memory lane, that loss is still very much felt by the friends and admirers he made merely through his work.

While we’ll never get that Rockwell/Hoffman dream teaming we’re all probably wishing we could see, perhaps now’s a good time to revisit the man’s work and discover a new favorite. As for fans of Sam Rockwell, you can hear him at play in The Bad Guys 2, which opens in theaters on August 1st.

Fair or no, Cooper Hoffman has one hell of a legacy to live up to as he works to make a name for himself as an actor in Hollywood. His talent will hopefully be judged on its own merits, but nobody will ever forget that he is the son of Philip Seymour Hoffman – one of the most phenomenal talents of his generation. That's a difficult thing to grapple with, but as an example of performing as a kind of therapy, the young Hoffman had the chance to confront his feelings in the making of the upcoming Stephen King adaptation The Long Walk.

Vanity Fair has published a preview of the new Francis Lawrence-directed dystopian film, and the piece provides early insight into the story's protagonist Ray Garraty, played by Hoffman. The character's motivation for joining the titular competition is a tribute to his deceased father (who is described as being "resistance-minded"). The actor processed this by thinking about his own personal relationship with his dad, who died in 2014. Hoffman explained,

There is a spotlight on the father-son relationship between Philip Seymour Hoffman and Cooper Hoffman, but what he is saying here is universally relatable. Our relationships with our parents/guardians is foundational for obvious reasons, and how we view them often sculps how we view ourselves. But perspectives and those relationships change through maturity and experience. The Licorice Pizza star grew to understood that about himself as Ray Garraty presumably understands it in The Long Walk.

Based on the book of the same name (originally published under Stephen King's pseudonym Richard Bachman), the story is set in a not-too-distant future that sees a dystopian America host a grim but incredibly popular competition. Essentially a death march, a collection of teenage boys start walking along a highway, and with no established finish line, the last kid standing is the winner of a grand prize. If any of them slow down or stop, they get a warning, and if three warnings are collected within an hour – or there is any attempt at escape – the punishment is death by gunshot.

Given these rules, the stakes are incredibly high for all of the competitors, but the personalities are fleshed out with conflicts of their own – and Ray Garraty is driven by his desire to honor the legacy of his father. He is filled with rage directed at the world that echoes his dad's, but Cooper Hoffman recognizes that there is something beneath it (quoting co-star David Jonsson's character):

And adding a whole extra dimension into the mix is the noteworthy fact that Philip Seymour Hoffman died shortly before completing his work on the blockbuster two-parter The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, directed by Francis Lawrence.

In addition to Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson, the impressive ensemble cast of The Long Walk also includes Mark Hamill, Judy Greer, Roman Griffin Davis, Charlie Plummer, Garrett Wareing, Tut Nyuot, Ben Wang, Jordan Gonzalez, and Joshua Odjick. The first trailer for the movie will be arriving online tomorrow, May 6, in advance of the film's scheduled release on September 12 – and to keep up to date with all of the latest goings on in the world of Stephen King, my column The King Beat publishes here on CinemaBlend every Thursday.

It's absolutely impossible to forget the mark Philip Seymour Hoffman left on The Hunger Games movies when he played Plutarch Heavensbee. He brought so much to the role of Head Gamemaker for the 75th Hunger Games when Jennifer Lawrence starred as Katniss Everdeen. As fans of the series know, Plutarch is back for the latest of upcoming book adaptations from the franchise, Sunrise on the Reaping. But we've been curious about who could follow Hoffman's performance. Well, the new Plutarch actor has just been announced, and it just might be perfect.

This week, it's been announced that newcomer Joseph Zada will play a young Haymitch, Gossip Girl's Whitney Peak will play his girl Lenore Dove Baird, and Ghostbusters' McKenna Grace will play one of the other District 12 tributes. Now, Jesse Plemons of Breaking Bad, Fargo and Black Mirror fame has officially been cast. Check out the official Instagram announcement below:

The next Hunger Games movie, titled Sunrise on the Reaping, takes place 24 years before the events of the first film, when Plutarch is a younger man and not yet Head Gamemaker or leader of the rebellion. Erin Westerman, co-president of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, commented on the exciting casting announcement (per Deadline) with these words:

Plemons actually worked with Philip Seymour Hoffman back in 2012 for The Master, where he played the son of Hoffman's cult leader character. How special of a connection is that as he gets ready to portray a character that became Hoffman's last film role?

When we meet Plutarch during the second Quarter Quell, he's a cameraman who is part of the crew who records the reaping of District 12, where a young Haymitch Abernathy (previously played by Woody Harrelson) is chosen as one of four tributes, and has a significant role throughout the prequel.

The new Hunger Games movie will once again be helmed by Francis Lawrence, who also worked with Philip Seymour Hoffman when he made Catching Fire and the Mockingjay movies. Lawrence previously said Sunrise on the Reaping is his "favorite" of the Hunger Games books, and this movie will be a "return to form" from the original films. Lawrence was also behind 2023's prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which took place during the 10th Hunger Games.

We can look forward to seeing Jesse Plemons in the prequel when it hits theaters on November 20, 2026.

The Academy Award for Best Actor has been handed out every year since 1929 — fun fact, it was awarded to German actor Emil Jannings for not one but two acclaimed roles, in The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh — and in the near-century since, it's been presented 97 times to 86 actors. But while taking home that coveted statuette is definitely a career highlight for any performer, the honor does add a little extra pressure on the actor's next project. Will it be as beloved and acclaimed as the role that won them the gold? Here are 32 films that Oscar-winning actors did after taking home the Academy Award, and how they were received.

Cillian Murphy

After the enormity of portraying famed physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan's billion-dollar blockbuster Oppenheimer, and taking home the 2024 Oscar for Best Actor in the process, Cillian Murphy went small for his next film — literally. In the 2024 adaptation of Claire Keegan's Small Things Like These, Murphy returned to his native Ireland to play Bill, a quiet coal merchant and father of five internally struggling with the harsh realities of the infamous Magdalene Laundries. While Murphy didn't replicate the awards dominance of Oppenheimer with SMTLT, his internal and affecting performance was widely praised by critics.

Joaquin Phoenix

After four nominations throughout his decades-spanning career, Joaquin Phoenix finally took home that Best Actor statue in 2020 for his engrossing portrayal of the nihilistic clown Arthur Fleck in Todd Phillips' Joker. Following that iconic role, Phoenix next appeared in the 2021 Mike Mills dramedy C'mon C'mon, an improv-heavy performance that saw the actor play a middle-aged radio journalist tasked with babysitting his nephew (Woody Norman) while on the road for work. Phoenix was nominated for Outstanding Lead Performance at the Gotham Awards, and the film was chosen by the National Board of Review as one of the Top 10 Independent Films of the year.

Will Smith

Will Smith had quite an, um, eventful evening when he took home the Oscar for Best Actor in 2022 for King Richard after two prior nominations (Ali, The Pursuit of Happyness). Winning an Oscar means that a spotlight is already bright on an actor, but the added publicity from the ceremony means his post-slap comeback would be even more scrutinized than usual. His follow-up was 2022's Emancipation, in which he played a runaway slave in 1860s Louisiana. Though the drama received mixed reviews overall, Smith won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture for his performance.

Anthony Hopkins

Though he's garnered six Oscar nominations across his illustrious acting career — with his most recent win being for 2021's The Father — Anthony Hopkins' first Academy Award was for that scene-stealing villain, psychiatrist turned serial killer Hannibal Lector in 1991's The Silence of the Lambs. Following up such an iconic performance is no small task and unfortunately, Hopkins' next film, 1992's Freejack opposite Emilio Estevez and Mick Jagger, was a sci-fi dud, bombing both with critics and audiences. During an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman, Hopkins himself called the film "terrible."

Leonardo DiCaprio

Five-time nominee Leonardo DiCaprio had a bit of "always the bridesmaid" syndrome where the Academy Awards were concerned, until he finally took home the Best Actor Oscar for his emotionally raw and physically punishing performance in Alejandro G. Iñárritu's 2019 Western epic The Revenant. His next big-screen role was, graciously, a bit less cold and blustery, trading the frosty American Midwest for starry Los Angeles in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The latter received 10 Oscar nominations at the 92nd Academy Awards, including a nod for DiCaprio's individual work.

Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington had already taken home a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for playing a Civil War soldier in the 1989 war drama Glory, but he got his first big Best Actor win for portraying corrupt LAPD officer Alonzo Harris in the 2001 crime thriller Training Day. His next performance was another memorable Denzel role: as the title character in the 2002 Nick Cassavetes-directed drama John Q, which saw Washington play a desperate father who takes a hospital emergency room hostage in order for his son to receive a heart transplant. Alas, despite some praise for Denzel's performance, the film itself boasts only a 26% critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Robert De Niro

Six years after taking home the Best Supporting Actor statue for The Godfather Part II, Robert De Niro got his Best Actor win for his iconic and intense work as boxing champion Jake LaMotta in Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull. A year later, De Niro put away the boxing gloves and picked up the Bible to play a Roman Catholic monsignor in 1981's True Confessions, opposite fellow The Godfather great Robert Duvall. Though reviews for the neo-noir were largely positive, the National Review's William F. Buckley, Jr. panned it: "Robert De Niro is badly miscast. He is never entirely convincing."

Matthew McConaughey

After acclaimed turns in 2011's Lincoln Lawyer and 2012's Magic Mike, the so-called "McConaissance" was officially solidified a year later with Matthew McConaughey's Oscar-winning portrayal of Ron Woodroof, a cowboy diagnosed with AIDS, in the biopic Dallas Buyers Club. Despite not having nearly as much screentime, the actor's next performance was just as memorable: a chest-thumping, meme-inducing extended cameo as Mark Hanna in Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street.

Tom Hanks

Beyond being one of the most beloved actors of all time, Tom Hanks also holds a piece of cinema history: he's one of only two actors to win back-to-back Academy Awards for acting. Yes, that means after taking home the Best Actor Oscar for his heart-wrenching performance as HIV-positive lawyer Andrew Beckett in 1994's Philadelphia, Hanks struck Oscar gold yet again with his very next performance, as the titular lead of 1995's Forrest Gump.

Rami Malek

Rami Malek belted his way to an Oscar as legendary Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in the glossy 2019 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. His first post-award performance also revolved around his voice — voice acting, that is, as Malek portrayed a mountain gorilla named Chee-Chee in the 2020 fantasy-adventure film Dolittle, with his future Oppenheimer co-star Robert Downey Jr. as the titular doc. The family-friendly flick received abysmal reviews from critics, with Courtney Howard of Variety writing: "What should have been an awe-filled adventure quickly curdles into an awful one, thanks to a pedestrian formula and the filmmakers' fixation on fart jokes."

Adrien Brody

In 2003, Adrien Brody made Oscar history when he won the Academy Award for Best Actor at age 29 for his portrayal of Władysław Szpilman in Roman Polanski's war drama The Pianist, becoming the youngest actor ever to win in that category. Later that year, he followed up his historic win with the musical crime comedy The Singing Detective, about a mystery writer (Robert Downey Jr.) who relives his detective stories through his imagination and hallucinations. The film scored a 39% "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Jamie Foxx

Jamie Foxx had one hell of a 2004, serving up not one but two award-worthy performances: He took home the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as soul great Ray Charles in the 2004 biopic Ray and also received a Best Supporting Actor nod that same year for his work in the crime film Collateral. It would be near-impossible for any performer to hit that kind of stratospheric high again, especially with Foxx's follow-up Stealth — the 2005 military action flick co-starring Josh Lucas and Jessica Biel was dubbed a "stink-bomb" by Roger Ebert.

Daniel Day-Lewis

Acting legend Daniel Day-Lewis deservedly holds the record for the most Best Actor awards ever, with three wins out of six nominations, but his first was for playing Christy Brown, a writer-artist born with cerebral palsy, in the 1989 drama My Left Foot. And though he would later follow that iconic role up by playing famous figures such as Abraham Lincoln and Bill the Butcher, his immediate next performance was as an Irish-American dentist traveling around Argentina in the forgettable 1989 dramedy Eversmile, New Jersey.

Jack Nicholson

The first of three Academy Awards for the legendary movie star, Jack Nicholson's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest performance as Randle McMurphy nabbed him the Oscar in 1976. Later that year, he would star as cattle rustler Tom Logan opposite Marlon Brandon in the Arthur Penn-helmed Western The Missouri Breaks. Coming hot on the heels of not only his own Oscar win but also Brando's for The Godfather, the film was highly anticipated — however, it failed to live up to those expectations and became a notorious critical and commercial flop.

Marlon Brando

One of the most iconic cinema stars of all time, Marlon Brando was nominated for eight Oscars across his decades-spanning career. He won two, the first being for his electrifying role as prizefighter turned longshoreman Terry Malloy in the 1954 crime drama On the Waterfront, widely considered one of the greatest acting performances of all time. His next role as Napoleon Bonaparte in the historical romance Désirée didn't win him any awards, but Variety reportedly called his performance "a masterful exhibition of thesping" at the time.

Philip Seymour Hoffman

The late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman had already solidified himself as a vibrant and vital supporting actor with films like The Talented Mr. Ripley, Almost Famous, Magnolia and 25th Hour, but his Oscar-winning portrayal of author Truman Capote in 2005's Capote officially upped him to leading man status. He would receive another three Oscar nominations in the years to follow, but his very next role was more of a crowd-pleaser than an awards grab: as arms dealer Owen Davian in Mission: Impossible III.

Russell Crowe

Audiences and critics alike were very much entertained by Russell Crowe's performance as Maximus Decimus Meridius in the 2000 Rome-set epic Gladiator, which earned the New Zealand-born star the Best Actor Oscar at the 73rd Academy Awards. Crowe would go up for the same award only a year later, for his portrayal of American mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr. in the biographical drama A Beautiful Mind, but he lost to Training Day lead Denzel Washington.

Jean Dujardin

Jean Dujardin rose to international fame with his performance as George Valentin in the 2011 silent movie The Artist — his Oscar win was a historic one, as he was the first French performer to ever take home the Best Actor statue. Despite his newfound Hollywood status, however, the actor-comedian returned to his native France for his next film credit: The Players, a 2012 comedy anthology co-starring Gilles Lellouche, with each man also directing and writing a segment.

Nicolas Cage

Nicolas Cage's filmography is a wild ride, from critically acclaimed fare like Raising Arizona, Moonstruck and Adaptation to straight-to-video shlock. Thankfully, his 1995 drama Leaving Las Vegas falls into the former category, winning Cage the Best Actor Oscar for his role as alcoholic screenwriter Ben Sanderson. (Funnily enough, it's not one of Nic Cage's favorite Nic Cage movies.) His next movie was the 1996 action thriller The Rock, which also won Cage an award: the Best On-Screen Duo statue at the MTV Movie Awards alongside co-star Sean Connery.

Eddie Redmayne

British star Eddie Redmayne won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of famed theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking in the 2014 biographical drama The Theory of Everything. But that career high was immediately followed by a career-low: a Golden Raspberry Award — a parody award honoring cinematic failures — for Worst Supporting Actor for his work in the galactically goofy 2015 space opera Jupiter Ascending. Even he admitted his performance was bad!

Sidney Poitier

A movie icon through and through, Bahamian-American actor Sidney Poitier made history in 1964 as the first Black performer to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Lilies of the Field. A year later, he moved on from that seminal role with the 1965 Cold War thriller The Bedford Incident, as a civilian photojournalist aboard a U.S. Navy ship that gets into some messy business with a Soviet submarine. Though Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote that "the whole thing transcends plausibility," other critics clearly disagreed — the movie has an 86% Certified Fresh rating.

Sean Penn

After a trio of Best Actor nominations, Sean Penn's haunting performance as a grieving, vengeful father of a murdered Boston girl in the Clint Eastwood-directed neo-noir Mystic River finally got him the Academy Award in 2004. Later that year, Penn starred in yet another crime thriller, The Assassination of Richard Nixon, based on the story of the POTUS's would-be assassin Samuel Byck in the mid-1970s. The latter film didn't share the award-worthy gravitas of Mystic River, though, per Rotten Tomatoes, critical consensus said: "A fascinating true story and compelling Sean Penn performance are worthy compensations."

Roberto Benigni

Few Oscar wins were as memorable as Roberto Benigni's, what with presenter Sofia Loren's passionate declaration of "Roberto!" to Benigni's literal victory lap up to the stage. The Italian actor-director took the Best Actor trophy in 1998 for the Holocaust tragicomedy Life is Beautiful, making him the first honoree for a non-English language performance. A year later, he would appear in a very different movie: French-Italian-German comedy adventure flick Asterix and Obelix vs. Caesar opposite Gérard Depardieu and Christian Clavier, which was a box office success.

Al Pacino

One of the most influential actors in modern cinema, Al Pacino was nominated for eight Academy Awards — including for The Godfather films, Serpico and the crime drama classic Dog Day Afternoon — before finally taking home the Best Actor statue for playing Frank Slade in 1992's Scent of a Woman. That Oscar win gave viewers an extra critical eye on his next role, as Nuyorican criminal Carlito Brigante in the De Palma crime drama Carlito's Way, however, reviews were largely positive.

Ben Kingsley

It's a daunting thing playing any famous figure in movies based on true stories, especially when the subject is so famous, that they need only one name. Case in point: Gandhi, the 1982 bio epic about the Indian political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi, directed by Richard Attenborough and performed by English actor Sir Ben Kingsley. Luckily for them, the film won Best Picture and Kingsley took home the Best Actor award. Though his next project, the 1983 film adaptation of Harold Pinter's play Betrayal, didn't get Oscar acclaim, it was well-received by critics.

Humphrey Bogart

It seems surprising that Humphrey Bogart didn't win the Oscar for a role as iconic as Rick Blaine in the 1942 classic Casablanca. No, it would actually be another eight years until ol' Bogie won Best Actor for The African Queen, starring as Canadian mechanic Charlie Allnut opposite Katharine Hepburn's Methodist missionary Rose Sayer. His post-Oscar follow-up was the 1952 noir Deadline – U.S.A.: Variety said "Bogart gives a convincing performance all the way" as a big-city newspaper editor who exposes a gangster's crimes.

Forest Whitaker

Forest Whitaker was ferocious and formidable as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the 2006 historical drama The Last King of Scotland, one of his best performances that got the performer a Best Actor Oscar in '07. Later that year, the actor appeared in the ensemble crime drama The Air I Breathe alongside Kevin Bacon, Julie Delpy and Brendan Fraser. Though reviews for the film were overwhelmingly negative, several singled out Whitaker's performance. Annabelle Robertson at Crosswalk wrote: "Whitaker, in particular, is extremely sympathetic in his role—a feat that is all the more outstanding after his turn as the evil dictator in The Last King of Scotland."

Dustin Hoffman

After three Best Actor nods, New Hollywood icon Dustin Hoffman received his first Academy Award for playing half of a couple going through a devastating divorce (alongside an equally great Meryl Streep) in Kramer vs. Kramer in 1980. His next movie role is just as much of a classic: as Michael Dorsey-slash-Dorothy Michaels in the beloved 1982 comedy Tootsie, which nabbed the star yet another Best Actor nomination.

Gary Oldman

Gary Oldman was nearly unrecognizable in his prosthetics-heavy performance as British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the 2017 historical drama Darkest Hour. The Academy Awards honored the quintessential Oldman role with a Best Actor award, his second nomination after Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. His next role was just as transformative, if not nearly as acclaimed: Oldman voiced an artificial intelligence in the 2018 sci-fi thriller Tau, which holds a woeful critical rating of 27% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Laurence Olivier

One of the most celebrated Shakespearean actors in film history, cinema icon Laurence Olivier starred in and directed adaptations of three of the Bard's best-known words, Henry V (1944), Hamlet (1948) and Richard III (1955), and earned a Best Actor Oscar for playing the Prince of Denmark. After portraying one of the most famous characters of all time, Olivier switched it up by cameoing as a no-name policeman in the 1951 drama The Magic Box, a "distinguished" bit of stunt casting that The New York Times praised as a delightful "extravagance."

Casey Affleck

Casey Affleck's devastating performance as a father grieving the loss of his three children in Kenneth Lonergan's gut-wrenching Manchester by the Sea clearly broke the collective hearts of the Academy, which voted to give the Boston-bred performer the Best Actor award in 2017. That year, he would tackle another exploration of love and loss with the supernatural drama A Ghost Story, which was a hit with critics — Richard Brody of The New Yorker included the title on his list of the decade's best films.

Brendan Fraser

Brendan Fraser experienced quite the career comeback when he took the Best Actor Oscar for his acclaimed performance as a morbidly obese, housebound English teacher in the 2022 Darren Aronofsky-directed melodrama The Whale. He kept those high-profile projects going with his next film credit, as attorney W. S. Hamilton in Martin Scorsese's stunning American crime drama Killers of the Flower Moon, which was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Billy Bob Thornton has been in a lot of big movies and TV shows over the years, but apparently the actor could have played two iconic movie villains. The actor shared why he turned down being in one of the best Spider-Man movies and being an adversary to Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt for rather practical personal reasons.

Thornton recently found himself at the forefront of one new series on the 2024 TV schedule when the Landman premiere date arrived last month. Amidst starring in Taylor Sheridan’s latest Paramount+ series, he spoke about why he chose to pass on two iconic movie roles. In his words:

While speaking to The Playlist, Thornton bluntly shared why he decided not to be the villain in the first Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movie or Mission: Impossible III. In terms of Spider-Man, he just wasn’t up for all the prep work to get into costume as Norman Osborn’s alter ego, The Green Goblin. Though from our standpoint, Osborn more so had to wear a mask and a clunky suit rather than having a lot of time in the makeup chair. Obviously Willem Dafoe would go on to play the character not only in the original Spider-Man movie, but also through cameos in the two sequels, and then fully reprising the role in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

When it comes to Mission: Impossible III, we have to imagine Billy Bob Thornton was initially up for the role of Owen Davian, who famously was played by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Thornton had an awareness that the villain in the Mission: Impossible movie would forever be recognized and remembered as such, and it sounds like he wasn’t interested in being perceived as such. And hey, in his defense, I do still vividly remember Hoffman in that role nearly 20 years later.

So Billy Bob Thornton drew the line at some seriously great roles. It doesn’t sound like he regrets the decision one bit. The actor has instead kept us guessing, between becoming a great director and spending the early 2000s in some of his best movies like Monster’s Ball, Bad Santa, Friday Night Lights and The Astronaut Farmer.

In his new series, Landman, Billy Bob Thornton plays Tommy Norris, a Texan who works on the oilfields and has to deal with an investigation of his business. You can catch up with a Paramount+ subscription, and look forward to new episodes on Sundays.

We see it all the time, serious actors with some major dramatic skills tearing it up in lighter, more comedic roles. Actors who’ve made us cry in Best Picture winners have gone on to make us fall over with side-splitting laughs, which can sometimes be harder than you’d think.

In the past, we’ve talked about some of the great dramatic performances by comedians, but today we’re going to turn our attention to the other side of that coin and highlight 32 serious actors who crushed in in comedic roles.

Robert De Niro (Meet The Parents)

Robert De Niro, an Oscar-winning actor known for serious parts in some of Martin Scorsese’s best movies, including Raging Bull and Goodfellas, as well as his turn as a young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II, showed the world that he was also one of the funniest stars in Hollywood with his portrayal of the iron-fisted Jack Byrnes in Meet the Parents. The deadpan expressions, the playing on his gangster roles, and his chemistry with Ben Stiller make this an all-time classic.

George C. Scott (Dr. Stranglelove)

George C. Scott will always be remembered for his portrayal of U.S. General George S. Patton in Franklin J. Schaffner’s Patton, but the acclaimed actor also crushed it in a more comedic role a few years earlier. His take on General Buck Turgidson in Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove is nothing short of magnificent and hilarious as it gets. The satirical tone of this iconic anti-war film is biting, as is Scott’s legendary performance.

Philip Seymour Hoffman (Along Came Polly)

Though we could have included Rusty from Twister or Brandt from The Big Lebowski, Philip Seymour Hoffman’s performance in Along Came Polly is just too good to overlook. Though he’s atrocious at basketball (and in most social situations), Sandy Lyle is a force of comedic nature. It’s crazy that Hoffman went from Cold Mountain to this 2004 rom-com to Capote in the span of three years.

Tom Cruise (Tropic Thunder)

Tom Cruise steals the show in Tropic Thunder, which is no easy feat considering Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr. sit atop the cast of this outrageous 2008 action comedy. But hey, Les Grossman, Cruise’s over-the-top and ill-tempered Hollywood exec is unforgettable in every single one of his scenes, especially whenever he dances.

Meryl Streep (Death Becomes Her)

Though not a slapstick or “laugh-a-minute” comedy, Death Becomes Her does feature some wild and hilariously comedic performances from the likes of Bruce Willis, Goldie Hawn, and Meryl Streep, who kills it with her portrayal of Madeline Ashton. The Oscar winner does get to show off her serious skills in the movie, but her character’s darkly humorous personality is worth a watch.

Leslie Nielsen (Airplane!)

It’s wild to think that Leslie Nielsen, an actor mostly remembered for spoof films, started out as a very serious dramatic actor. But that all changed with landmark comedies like Airplane!, where his deadpan humor and signature charm truly shined.

Kate Winslet (The Holiday)

Kate Winslet is known for dramatic movies like Titanic, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Revolutionary Road, but the talented dramatic actress was able to show off her comedy chops in The Holiday. This 2006 Nancy Meyers romantic comedy showed off a different side of Winslet, one we haven’t forgotten nearly 20 years later.

James Caan (Elf)

James Caan wasn’t really known for his comedy. Sure, his characters had some humorous lines in The Godfather and Thief, but drama was always his bag. And that’s what makes his performance in Elf so great. We weren’t used to seeing Caan share the screen with someone like Will Ferrell, and that juxtaposition of personalities made it so much fun to watch.

Morgan Freeman (Bruce Almighty)

Morgan Freeman will go down as one of the best dramatic actors of all time, and for good reason. His work in The Shawshank Redemption, Glory, and countless other movies is the stuff of legend. However, let’s not forget that he also put on one of the funniest performances when he played God in Bruce Almighty.

Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel)

A little more than two decades after playing the vile Amon Goeth in Schindler’s List (and only a few years after portraying Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter movies), Ralph Fiennes proved he was a great comedic actor with his take on M. Gustave in The Grand Budapest Hotel. Equal parts hilarious and charming, this performance was a breath of fresh air.

Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon)

After playing more serious roles in films like The Color Purple, Witness, and Silverado, Danny Glover showed off his comedy skills in Richard Donner’s iconic buddy cop action film, Lethal Weapon. Though he was more straight-laced compared to Mel Gibson’s Martin Riggs, Roger Murtaugh gave us some laughs.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (Kidergarten Cop)

Kindergarten cop isn’t just one of the funniest Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, it’s also one of his best. Featuring some of the actor’s most memorable one-liners, this 1990 action comedy showed that the Austrian bodybuilder-turned-actor was more than an ice-cold robot or trained killer.

Jeff Daniels (Dumb & Dumber)

Two years after playing Colonel Joshua Chamberlain in Gettysburg, one of the best Civil War movies ever made, Jeff Daniels played a vastly different type of character in Dumb and Dumber. The obnoxious and absurdly dim-witted Harry Dunne would end up becoming one of the more dramatic actor’s most famous roles.

Jack Nicholson (As Good As It Gets)

Jack Nicholson, one of the most well-known dramatic actors of the 20th century, has popped up in comedies over the years. Perhaps the best of the bunch, As Good as It Gets earned the One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Terms of Endearment star his third Oscar.

Jeff Bridges (The Big Lebowski)

Whenever the topic of the best Jeff Bridges movies comes up, it doesn’t take long for the conversation to turn to The Big Lebowski. Still considered to be one of his most iconic roles, the performance also showed that the largely dramatic actor could pull off an incredibly funny and beloved character.

Liam Neeson (Extras)

Liam Neeson is best known for his work in dramas like Schindler’s List and the Taken action movie franchise, but the decorated actor with that ice-cold delivery has shown off his funny side over the years. His attempt at improv on Extras is the stuff of legend, as is work in The Lego Movie.

George Clooney (O Brother, Where Art Thou?)

George Clooney often rides the line between comedy and drama in the likes of the Ocean’s movies and several Coen Brothers projects, and one of the best examples of that is found in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, a 2000 loose adaptation of The Odyssey. The scheming and conniving Ulysses Everett McGill is one of the all-time great movie characters.

Dustin Hoffman (Tootsie)

The Graduate, Kramer vs. Kramer, Midnight Cowboy, and All the President’s Men were just a few of the movies that showed off Dustin Hoffman’s incredible dramatic acting skills. It’s a similar story with Tootsie, the beloved 1982 comedy in which Hoffman plays an unlikeable and hirable actor who decides to dress like a woman to land a gig on a daytime soap opera.

Cuba Gooding Jr. (Jerry Maguire)

Cuba Gooding Jr. was out of this world in early 1990s dramas like Boyz n the Hood and A Few Good Men, but he was even better in Jerry Maguire as Tom Cruise’s titular character’s temperamental and needy client Rod Tidwell. The over-the-top performance was hilarious beyond belief.

Timothy Dalton (Hot Fuzz)

Timothy Dalton, an actor best known for playing James Bond and showing up in adaptations of Jane Eyre, got to show off his comedy chops in Hot Fuzz, Edgar Wright’s satirical action comedy. His take on Simon Skinner is just as great all these years later.

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Wolf of Wall Street)

Leonardo DiCaprio teamed up with Martin Scorsese for the fifth time in 2013 to make The Wolf of Wall Street. While previous collaborations like Gangs of New York and The Departed were far more dramatic, this hopped-up and raucous biopic allowed the actor to be outrageously funny on screen, and it paid off.

Billy Bob Thornton (Bad Santa)

Up until starring in Bad Santa, Billy Bob Thornton was mostly known for dramatic roles in films like Monster’s Ball and Sling Blade, but this 2003 R-rated comedy changed all of that. Over the line, vulgar, and one of the funniest performances of the 2000s, Thornton’s take on a mall Santa was an instant classic.

Brad Pitt (Burn After Reading)

Burn After Reading isn’t the best Coen Brothers movie, but it does feature one of Brad Pitt’s funniest performances. Chad Feldheimer, Linda Litzke’s (Frances McDormand) lovable yet moronic coworker is just so silly, so memorable, and so dumb. You just can’t help but love him.

Michael Caine (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels)

On top of being an actor who’s appeared in the most Christopher Nolan movies, Michael Caine is also one of the all-time greats of screen and stage, with dozens of iconic films to his name. And while he’s mostly known for his dramatic work, his portrayal of the dastardly Lawrence Jamieson in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is so dang good.

Matt Damon (Dogma)

Long before he showed up as an actor playing Loki in Thor: Ragnarok, Matt Damon did it for real in Kevin Smith’s 1999 comedy, Dogma. Sandwiched between Rounders and The Talented Mr. Ripley, the actor’s portrayal of a fallen angel banished to Wisconsin was great and showed a funnier side.

Samuel L. Jackson (The Other Guys)

Samuel L. Jackson in The Other Guys is on a whole other level and is funnier than anything else the actor has done over the years. Sure, Pulp Fiction and Jurassic Park are better movies, but his short yet memorable performance as a gung-ho cop who throws caution (and himself) into the win is comedy cold.

Alan Rickman (Galaxy Quest)

Alan Rickman’s portrayal of Alexander Dane, a Shakespearean actor fed up with life and his career direction in Galaxy Quest, is so funny yet so heartbreaking. The way the Die Hard actor (who was also classically trained) finds the balance between comedy and tragedy is perfection.

Russell Crowe (The Nice Guys)

Russell Crowe made a career out of giving commanding, and largely dramatic, performances in everything from Romper Stomper to Gladiator, so it was great to see him play a more comedic role in The Nice Guys. This 2016 Shane Black film also starring Ryan Gosling, felt like a throwback to buddy action movies of yesteryear, and allowed Crowe to try a different approach to character-driven stories.

Mandy Patinkin (The Princess Bride)

Tony and Primetime Emmy Award-winning actor Mandy Patinkin has given incredible dramatic performances in movies like Yentl and shows like Homeland, but he’s probably best known for his portrayal of Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride. The skill with a sword, the dashing good looks, and a killer backstory make this not only a great cinematic character but also a hilarious icon of the fantasy genre.

Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wanda)

Kevin Kline is great in just about everything (especially The Big Chill and Dave), and that includes some great comedies. One of the best featuring a serious and dramatic actor’s work is A Fish Called Wanda. The despicable and charismatic Otto West steals the show whenever on screen.

Christian Bale (The Big Short)

Though not the most standard comedy of the past few years, The Big Short is funny in a frightening and thrilling kind of way. Adam McKay’s biographical crime dramedy about the events that led to the 2007 housing market crash and subsequent economic crisis does feature one of Christian Bale’s most interesting and hilarious performances with his take on hedge fund manager Michael Burry. Not a totally likable guy, but a great character without a doubt.

Chris Hemsworth (Thor: Ragnarok)

Thor: Ragnarok is still considered one of the best Marvel movies years after its release, and that’s mostly because of Chris Hemsworth’s new and improved portrayal of the “God of Thunder.” While the character was more serious in the first two movies (and two Avengers films), the more light-hearted and silly superhero was a comedy tour de force.

Whenever we talk about the best ‘90s movies, it doesn’t take long before the conversation turns to the most iconic actors of the final decade of the 20th century and their most beloved performances. But what are Will Smith’s, Julia Roberts’, or Keanu Reeves’ best movies for the unforgettable and transformative 10-year stretch? 

We’re being totally subjective here (Because why not?), but here are the best ‘90s movies for these 32 actors. Best Picture winners, a handful of the best action movies of all time, and other films that turned up-and-comers into overnight megastars can all be found below.

Will Smith (Independence Day)

Will Smith was already a household name by the time Independence Day was released and became the biggest movie of 1996, but this massive sci-fi flick took him to new heights. Electric, magnetic, and charismatic beyond belief, the Fresh Prince became the King of the summer blockbuster with his portrayal of Captain Steven Hiller.

Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic)

Is there a bigger ‘90s movie than Titanic, both in terms of financial returns and cultural prominence? Yeah, James Cameron’s story of the ill-fated ship, his special effects, and the rest of the cast made this 1997 disaster movie a must-see, but Leonardo DiCaprio, with his “King of the World” moment, made this an all-timer. 

Tom Cruise (Jerry Maguire)

Picking the best ‘90s movie for Tom Cruise is no easy task, considering some of the actor’s best performances took place that decade. However, despite Magnolia and Mission: Impossible being great in their own ways, this has to go to Cruise’s dynamic portrayal of the struggling sports agent in Jerry Maguire. “Show me the money,” is a quote we keep in our repertoire nearly 30 years later. 

Sandra Bullock (Speed)

Sandra Bullock put herself on the map with her performance in Speed, one of the most iconic 1994 movies. Though she was great in Demolition Man the year before, Bullock’s take on Annie Porter made her an overnight sensation and quickly became one of her best roles to date, even outside the ‘90s.

Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption)

How Morgan Freeman didn’t win an Oscar for his performance in The Shawshank Redemption is one of the biggest mysteries, and travesties, in Hollywood history. His portrayal of Ellis "Red" Redding in this spectacular Stephen King adaptation is so strong and so believable that you don’t see him as an actor playing an inmate, but more like an aging prisoner trying to “get busy living or get busy dying.”

Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction)

As much as we would have loved to argue for Jurassic Park being Samuel L. Jackson’s best ‘90s movie, Ray Arnold has nothing on the bad mother [redacted] that was Jules Winnfield from Pulp Fiction. Easily Quentin Tarantino’s best movie, this 1994 classic is essentially a master class in dialogue and non-linear storytelling.

Meg Ryan (Sleepless In Seattle)

A few years after leading the best romantic comedy of all time with When Harry Met Sally, Meg Ryan teamed up with Nora Ephron (who was directing this time around) for Sleepless in Seattle in 1993. The chemistry between Ryan and Tom Hanks as Annie Reed and Sam Baldwin, is incredible, even if they only share a couple minutes of screentime.

Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman)

It’s hard to imagine what Julia Roberts’ career and Hollywood in general would be like if the actress didn’t play Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman. Sure, Roberts already had some hits and would have gone on to land big roles, but this 1990 rom-com instantly made her one of the brightest stars on the planet and showed off her dynamic range and impeccable comedic timing.

Angela Bassett (What's Love Got To Do With It)

Angela Bassett’s best movie, What’s Love Got to Do with It saw the celebrated actress take on the role of the legendary Tina Turner in this 1993 biopic about the late singer’s life, career, and toxic relationship with husband and music partner Ike Turner. Bassett had some pretty iconic ‘90s roles throughout the decade, but this is at the tippy top of the mountain.

Keanu Reeves (The Matrix)

Picking Keanu Reeves’ best movie of the 1990s is more difficult than you’d think. Point Break, My Private Idaho, and Speed are all contenders, but none come close to the heights of The Matrix and his performance as Neo, aka, the One. Watching Reeves’ character develop throughout this great ‘90s sci-fi film never gets old.

Robin Williams (Good Will Hunting)

Robin Williams had SO many good movies in the ‘90s, but Good Will Hunting was in a league of its own, at least in terms of performances by the late comedian. The richness, range, and emotion found in his portrayal of Sean Maguire is something to behold. No wonder he took home an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

Bruce Willis (The Sixth Sense)

The ‘90s saw Bruce Willis play everything from his most iconic character in the second and third Die Hard movies to the leads in multiple blockbusters. However, none of those compare to his work in The Sixth Sense. There is just something so warm and refreshing about his portrayal of a child psychiatrist trying to help a young boy make sense of life and his strange gift.

Harrison Ford (The Fugitive)

Have you gone back and watched The Fugitive lately? If not, do so now. If you have, you’re all too familiar with Harrison Ford’s performance as Richard Kimble, the Chicago doctor trying to clear his name after being wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife. Air Force One and Clear and Present Danger are great, but this 1993 thriller is one of Ford’s career-best.

Frances McDormand (Fargo)

Frances McDormand’s portrayal of Marge Gunderson in the Coen Brothers' Fargo earned the actress the first of her three Academy Awards, and for good reason: she’s the heart and soul of the 1996 crime comedy.  

Gary Oldman (The Fifth Element)

Gary Oldman played some of the meanest ‘90s villains in movies like Air Force One, Leon: The Professional, and The Fifth Element, the latter of which features his best work of the decade. Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg is one of those characters that you love to hate and enjoy watching as much as the 1997 sci-fi film’s hero, which is saying something.

Wesley Snipes (White Men Can't Jump)

In the years following his breakout performance in Major League, Wesley Snipes became one of the dependable faces in Hollywood thanks to unforgettable turns in New Jack City, Demolition Man, and Jungle Fever. But let’s be real, Snipes’ take on Syd Deane is one of the most iconic ‘90s characters and essentially carries this all-time great basketball movie.

Tom Hanks (Saving Private Ryan)

Tom Hanks dominated the ‘90s with Oscar-winning performances in Philadelphia and Forrest Gump as well as other decade-defining films like Toy Story and A League of Their Own. But in terms of the BEST movie, that has to go to Saving Private Ryan, Steven Spielberg’s harrowing World War II epic about heroism, survival, and the hope of a better tomorrow.

Robert De Niro (Cape Fear)

We could have listed Goodfellas, Heat, or even A Bronx Tale as Robert De Niro’s best movie from the ‘90s, but his performance as Max Cady in Cape Fear is on a whole other level. Easily one of the Oscar winner’s most menacing characters, the psychopathic ex-con with a bone to pick is a force of pure evil here.

Al Pacino (Heat)

After playing all-time great gangsters in the ‘70s and ‘80s, Al Pacino was on the other side of the law in Michael Mann’s 1995 crime epic, Heat. Sure, Scent of a Woman earned him that elusive Oscar for Best Actor, but his take on Lieutenant Vincent Hanna is the stuff of legend. Plus, we also got to see Pacino and Robert De Niro share a scene for the first time.

Anthony Hopkins (The Silence Of The Lambs)

Anthony Hopkins' portrayal of Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs is one of the greatest performances of all time. That said, it should be no surprise that this great horror film gets the call here. Though there was some stiff competition.

Philip Seymour Hoffman (Boogie Nights)

As much as we would love to break down all the awesome ways Philip Seymour Hoffman stole the show in Twister and My Boyfriend’s Back, the late actor really came into his own in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1997 drama, Boogie Nights. Hoffman’s sympathetic take on Scotty J. was nothing short of brilliant and showed what was to come.

Jodie Foster (The Silence Of The Lambs)

If you were to break down Jodie Foster’s best performances, her portrayal of Clarice Starling would be at or near the top of that list. A movie that has been quoted or referenced countless times over the years, this 1991 thriller remains one of the best ever made.

Brad Pitt (Seven)

David Fincher’s Seven is Brad Pitt’s best movie from the ‘90s for a variety of reasons: 1) the movie about a serial killer taking lives based on the seven deadly sins is violently unique, 2) it was the start of a partnership between actor and director, and 3) Pitt showed he was more than a pretty face and really had what it took.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (T2: Judgment Day)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day is not only a decade-defining action movie or a landmark achievement in visual effects, it’s also Arnold Schwarzenegger’s best movie of the ‘90s and perhaps all time. James Cameron’s sequel is bigger and louder than its predecessor and epic beyond compare.

Whoopi Goldberg (Sister Act)

Whoopi Goldberg won her first Academy Award for her role as Oda Mae Brown in Ghost, a film that kicked off an impressive decade for the comedian and actor. Her spiritual guide for Patrick Swayze’s ghostly Sam Wheat in this supernatural thriller helped anchor the film and turn it into the biggest movie of 1990.

Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting)

Matt Damon went from a relatively unknown actor to one of the brightest faces (and voices) in Hollywood thanks to Good Will Hunting. His tortured performance as a young math prodigy in South Boston is still captivating more than 25 years later.

Eddie Murphy (The Nutty Professor)

Eddie Murphy did a little bit of everything in the ‘90s, but The Nutty Professor shows off some of the comedian’s best work. Playing multiple characters (heroes, villains, and in between) really showed off Murphy’s dynamic range and varied comedic styles.

Adam Sandler (Happy Gilmore)

Though Big Daddy proved that Adam Sandler could handle slightly more dramatic roles, there’s no denying the fact that Happy Gilmore is the former SNL star’s best ‘90s movie. His take on a failed hockey player finding new purpose (and fortune) in the world of golf was a game-changer and created one of the best sports characters of all time.

Denzel Washington (Malcolm X)

Denzel Washington is another actor who had more great roles in the ‘90s than we can count, but at the top of his “best” list is Spike Lee’s 1992 biopic, Malcolm X. The movie about the controversial civil rights icon was eye-opening, enchanting, and epic.

Joe Pesci (Goodfellas)

We could have talked about My Cousin Vinny, we could have talked about Home Alone, and we could have even made a case for Casino, but none of that is possible without Goodfellas. The movie, which introduced the world to Joe Pesci’s Tommy DeVito, is one of the greatest gangster movies of all time and an influential piece of cinema we still rave about 30-plus years later.

Susan Sarandon (Thelma & Louise)

Ridley Scott’s Thelma & Louise, a movie featuring one of the best female friendships with Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis’ titular characters, helped kickstart the decade back in 1990. Easily Sarandon’s best movie of the ‘90s, this crime drama about two friends on the run from the law is just so dang great.

Jim Carrey (Dumb & Dumber)

Jim Carrey absolutely dominated the ‘90s comedy scene, and the box office in general back in 1994. While Ace Ventura Pet Detective and The Mask both have their moments, we have to be real for a second and admit that Dumb and Dumber is some of Carrey’s best work.

Movie fans had lots to love in the '90s and these actors and their best movies of the decade will never be forgotten.

Whether it's in biopics or in other historical movies, playing an important person often leads to some of the most amazing performances put on film. There are far too many to count, much less list here, but we do think you'll agree that this list of 32 actors playing famous people rank among the best. 

Ben Kingsley - Gandhi

The 1982 epic Gandhi starring Ben Kingsley as the revered leader of India and icon to peaceful protestors all over the world is an amazing movie. At the heart is Kingsley's amazing, transformative performance. He looks and sounds just like Gandhi, it's almost uncanny. 

Margot Robbie - Tonya Harding

When the news first broke that Australian Margot Robbie was cast to play controversial US Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding in I, Tonya, it's safe to say that many were skeptical. It took the actor all of about 30 seconds of screen time in the movie to prove those skeptics very wrong. Robbie is fantastic as the troubled skater with a family life that you wouldn't wish on anyone. 

Paul Dano - Brian Wilson

The Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy seems to have been overlooked by many, but if you're a fan of The Beach Boys, you need to see it. John Cusack plays the older Wilson in the 1980s and it is fantastic. Paul Dano, who plays the Pet Sounds-era Wilson, is simply amazing. He completely disappears into the role. 

Reese Witherspoon - June Carter Cash

Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix are both amazing in Walk the Line as June and Johnny Cash. Really both deserve to be on this list, but we've the honor to Witherspoon if only because she won Best Actress at the Oscars in 2006. 

Robert Downey, Jr - Charlie Chaplin

It took a long time for Robert Downey to win an Oscar, which he finally did for Oppenheimer. More than 30 years before that win, he earned his first nomination for 1992's Chaplin for playing the legendary actor and Hollywood trailblazer. It's a movie that doesn't get talked about much these days, but it's still great. Especially Downey's performance. 

Natalie Portman - Jackie Kennedy

Jackie Kennedy has to be a tricky person to play. She is so iconic and so well known to so many people that the scrutiny would be stressful. Luckily for all of us, Natalie Portman hit it out of the park when she played the former First Lady in Jackie. 

Meryl Streep - Margaret Thatcher

It's hardly surprising to see Meryl Streep's name on any list of great performances. She has been arguably the best actor in Hollywood for 50 years. One of her finest performances came in 2011's The Iron Lady where she played the first female prime minister of the United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher. 

Rami Malek - Freddy Mercury

You knew we couldn't have this list without including Rami Malek's incredible performance as Freddie Mercury in the biopic about the late Queen singer, Bohemian Rhapsody. It's not all about the prosthetic teeth, as Malek nailed so many nuances and mannerisms of the icon rock star. Just as in real life, the performance at Live Aid at the end of the movie brings down the house. 

Val Kilmer - Jim Morrison

If you grew up in the '90s, The Doors was probably a seminal film for you. Val Kilmer blew audiences away as the late Jim Morrison. It was so good you'd swear you were watching the real Morrison as he rose to fame and then burned out quickly before tragically becoming a member of the "27 Club" in 1971.

Denzel Washington - Malcolm X

A powerful personality takes an actor with equal strength to pull off and in Malcolm X, Denzel Washington is more than up for the task. Playing the combative, controversial civil rights leader could not have been easy, yet Washington brings him back to life in every way. It's the reason everyone should see this biopic. 

Faye Dunaway - Joan Crawford

Faye Dunaway gives the performance of a lifetime in Mommie Dearest. It's scary and mesmerizing. Joan Crawford was one of the most beloved actors in Hollywood in the Golden Age in Hollywood, but this movie changed the public's opinion of her forever - and not for the better. 

Jennifer Lopez - Selena

Before played the murdered superstar Selena in the movie of the same name, Jennifer Lopez had had a few roles in movies, but after Selena, she was the legend we all know today. It's a groundbreaking performance. 

David Oyelowo - Dr, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Everyone in America has heard the powerful voice of Martin Luther King, Jr. hundreds of times. His speeches are part of everyone's education. That makes David Oyelowo's turn as the civil rights leader that much harder - and that much more impressive. It's just fantastic. 

Cate Blanchett - Bob Dylan

Okay, we admit, technically Cate Blanchett is playing a character named "Jude Quinn" in I'm Not There, but c'mon, let's be real, she's playing Bob Dylan. It's an uncanny performance as well. There is actual footage of Dylan from that time in his career in the excellent D.A. Pennebaker-directed Dont Look Back. Compare that to Blanchett and you'll realize just how great she was. 

Daniel Day-Lewis - Abraham Lincoln

Of all the amazing performances on this list, Daniel Day-Lewis as Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln just may be the best. It frankly could be the greatest acting performance of all time. There's an argument for it, at least. He's simply incredible and brings the tragic president to life like no one else has before or since, and likely never will. 

Cillian Murphy - J. Robert Oppenheimer

Cillian Murphy won a well-deserved Best Actor Award for playing J. Robert Oppenheimer in Oppenheimer. It's a subtle, smoldering performance, just like the personality of the real Oppenheimer. Playing the scientist in his greatest moments in life and his lowest, it's a fantastic showing by the Irish actor. 

Cynthia Erivo - Harriet Tubman

Harriet Tubman is one of the most important people in US history, but one that hasn't been explored on film nearly as much as you might expect. Luckily, when someone did decide to finally tell her full story on the big screen in 2019's Harriet, they had the good sense to cast Cynthia Erivo as the former slave-turned-freedom fighter. She's amazing. 

Forest Whitaker - Idi Amin

Forest Whitaker is pretty great in everything he's in. He cranks his talent up to another level in The Last King Of Scotland as the brutal dictator of Uganda, Idi Amin. He's so good there are even moments where viewers might feel compassion for the man, despite his worst tendencies as the leader of the country. 

Jessica Chastain - Tammy Faye Bakker

If you were around in the 1980s, you remember all the insanity around Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker. Jim Bakker crying on TV with Tammy Faye right next to him is something no one will forget. Jessica Chastain's turn as the evangelical preacher's wife is just as memorable. 

Philip Seymour Hoffman - Truman Capote

it's hard to imagine anyone will ever play Truman Capote as well as the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in Capote. The role completely takes control of the actor in the best way. It might as well been the writer himself. You completely forget there is even an actor behind the role. 

Daniel Kaluuya - Fred Hampton

Fred Hampton was a controversial and complicated leader in the Black Panther Party in the 1960s. Casting a Brit like Daniel Kaluuya in the role was a daring choice by the filmmakers of Judas and the Black Messiah, but it paid off brilliantly as Kaluuya nails the role. 

Gary Oldman - Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill has been played on the big and small screen by plenty of great actors. John Lithgow (The Crown), Brendan Gleeson (Into the Storm), and Albert Finney (The Gathering Storm) have all garnered praise for playing the legendary prime minister. Gary Oldman, who won an Oscar for playing Churchill in 2017's The Darkest Hour may just be the best. His reading of those famous speeches is just mesmerizing. 

Angela Bassett - Tina Tuner

Tina Turner was a fierce woman, who deserved a fierce performance and she got one with Angela Bassett in What's Love Got To Do With It. Bassett's performance is transcendent and certainly deserved the Oscar nomination she received. She should've won it! 

Austin Butler - Elvis Presley

Austin Butler got so caught up in his performance as Elvis Presley in Elvis that critics of the actor complained that even months later he was still talking like the King of Rock and Roll. he wasn't, but that does say something about how good he was in the Baz Luhrmann-directed bio flick. 

Jesse Eisenberg - Mark Zuckerberg

When The Social Network was first announced, many were confused as to how someone could make an interesting movie about the founding of Facebook. It turns out, that if you get a great writer like Aaron Sorkin, a great director like David Fincher, and someone like Jesse Eisenberg to play the Mark Zuckerberg, you can make it look easy. The movie is great, and Eisenberg's performance is pitch-perfect. 

Leonardo DiCaprio - Howard Hughes

Howard Hughes is one of the most mercurial and odd celebrities in US history. In The Aviator, Leonardo DiCaprio fully embodies everything about the director and businessman. He takes on his greatest triumphs and sinks to the depths of Hughes' despair in the lowest points of his mental illness with the same gusto. 

Charlize Theron - Aileen Wuornos

Serial killer Aileen Wuornos was a terrifying person. A true monster, as the name of the movie about her is called. That's not to say a viewer can't have some sympathy for the circumstances that brought her to the point of murder, but you can't excuse her. Charlize Theron does an incredible job bringing all of that to the role in Monster. 

Sean Penn - Harvey Milk

Milk is one of the great political movies of the last few decades and the biggest reason why, besides the inspiring story, is Sean Penn's performance as Harvey Milk. Like Penn has done so often in his career, he completely disappears into the character. It is Harvey Milk.  

George C. Scott - George Patton

George S. Patton was a great, and complicated leader in World War II. He was responsible for some of the greatest military gains in the war, and he couldn't keep himself out of trouble with his controversy. George C. Scott's portrayal of the general in Patton is amazing. Even though the opening scene of him making a speech in front of the flag is fictional, it sets the tone perfectly and the movie never lets up. 

Cate Blanchett - Katharine Hepburn

Leonardo DiCaprio is fantastic in The Aviator as Howard Hughes, but he's not the only great performance in the movie. Cate Blanchett as the iconic Katharine Hepburn is, well, iconic. There's just no better word for either. It's not only a spot-on impression, the portrayal nails everything that was great about Hepburn. 

Robert De Niro - Jake LaMotta

Jake LaMotta was one of the toughest prizefighters of all time. His incredible story and Robert De Niro's performance are the two things that make Raging Bull legendary. Scorsese's direction is pretty great too. 

Helen Mirren - Queen Elizabeth II

it's really hard to play a person who has been on television screens all over the world for decades. Helen Mirren takes on that difficult task in Queen Elizabeth II. The late Queen was an icon in every sense of the word and playing her could not have been easy, yet, when you have the talent of Helen Mirren, it looks easy. It surely wasn't. 

Ever since it was announced that another Hunger Games prequel was on the way, fans have been wondering who could play a young Haymitch as he becomes a tribute in the 50th Hunger Games. As an exciting casting rumor currently circulates about Sunrise on the Reaping, fans are wondering if another fan-favorite character could be showing up in the 2026 release.

New Rumor Claims Mike Faist Has Been Cast In The Hunger Games Prequel 

On the Hunger Games Reddit, one fan took to the franchise’s board to share a viral piece of information from Production Weekly about Sunrise on the Reaping. The source is a production resource that offers updates on projects in development. In a screenshot from the subscriber-based site, Challengers’ actor Mike Faist is “mentioned for the male lead.”

Mike Faist is a 32-year-old actor who was one-third of the trio of Challengers alongside Zendaya and Josh O’Connor as Art Donaldson. Faist has actually been in two 2024 movies already, starring in The Bikeriders as well. You may have also seen him in West Side Story as Riff, or on stage in the Dear Evan Hansen musical or the West End production of Brokeback Mountain.

Faist’s Casting Rumors Is Inspiring Ideas For The Return Of Another Great Hunger Games Character

When one thinks about Sunrise on the Reaping's male lead, of course the first thought goes to the role of Haymitch, who has yet to be cast. Fans have been putting up their thoughts left and right though, with House of the Dragon’s Tom Glynn-Carney perhaps taking up the role being the current most popular pick. Now, Faist does look like an actor who could play Haymitch. He shares a certain likeness to Harrelson and would be amazing in the part. However, the actor is also in his 30s, and Haymitch will be 16 for the Games.

Due to this, some fans are throwing out another name as the male lead of Sunrise on the Reaping Faist could play: Plutarch Heavensbee. Yes, Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Plutarch Heavensbee. In the original Hunger Games movies, Plutarch is the head gamemaker after Seneca Crane before being revealed as a member of a rebel group that plans to overthrow the Capitol. In the Mockingjay movies, Plutarch works with Katniss to do that, and during the ending of the Hunger Games movie, they are victorious.

We don’t know if Plutarch Heavensbee will actually even be in Sunrise on the Reaping at all, but between Mike Faist’s rumored casting and the fact that the character would be alive and around the Capitol, fans are suggesting he could be a mentor in the Capitol. Faist could also look like a young Hoffman as well!.

This is all rumors and guesswork for now, but it has us thinking about what’s in store for Sunrise on the Reaping. Suzanne Collins’ novel will hit bookshelves on March 18, 2025, and the movie is set for release on November 20, 2026.

Most actors don't just come out of the woodwork and immediately get awards attention, box office success and global stardom. Many start out taking bit parts in big movies or supporting character gigs opposite more successful performers. From Academy Award winners like Charlize Theron and Viola Davis to superhero stars like Tom Holland and Ben Affleck, here are 32 now-famous faces you might not remember popped up in famous movies before they were big. 

Matt Damon

In his movie debut, a very young Matt Damon can briefly be seen in 1988's Mystic Pizza as Steamer Windsor, the younger brother of Adam Storke's Charles, the clean-cut, country-club love interest of fun-loving pizzeria waitress Daisy (Julia Roberts). Steamer is present at an awkward dinner where Charles brings Daisy home to meet the family. 

Viola Davis

In the 1998 crime comedy Out of Sight, which is undoubtedly one of Steven Soderbergh's best movies, Viola Davis has a small role playing Moselle Miller, the wife of boxer Maurice "Snoopy" Miller (Don Cheadle). She would later go on to act alongside her Out of Sight co-star Jennifer Lopez in another crime flick, 2015's Lila & Eve.

Philip Seymour Hoffman

The 1992 Martin Brest melodrama Scent of a Woman memorably stars Al Pacino as a blind retired colonel and Chris O'Donnell as the prep-school student hired to watch over him, but it also features Philip Seymour Hoffman in one of his earliest performances as a fellow student named George Willis, Jr.

Carey Mulligan

The Bennet household is a bustling one in Joe Wright's 2005 adaptation of the Jane Austen classic Pride and Prejudice, so much so that you might have overlooked that — along with the likes of Keira Knightley, Rosamund Pike and Jena Malone — a teenaged Carey Mulligan is one of the Bennet sisters. (It's just one of many movies that prove Mulligan should be a much bigger star.) 

Elijah Wood

Long before he embarked on a quest to destroy the One Ring as Frodo in The Lord of the Rings, Elijah Wood was a successful child actor in films like The Adventures of Huck Finn, The Good Son, North and Flipper. However, before those starring roles, the pint-sized performer showed up as "Video Game Boy #2" in Back to the Future Part II.

Octavia Spencer

The 1999 Drew Barrymore comedy Never Been Kissed is jam-packed with unexpected actor appearances, from Jessica Alba to James Franco — together they play a dopey but popular high school couple — to Octavia Spencer. The latter plays a coworker of the main character Josie Geller (Barrymore) at the Chicago Sun-Times. 

Timothée Chalamet

With everything that goes on in Christopher Nolan's Interstellar — you know, that whole part about the astronauts who have to travel through a wormhole near Saturn in search of a new home for humankind — viewers may have forgotten that a fresh-faced Timothée Chalamet as Tim, the teen son of Matthew McConaughey's Cooper. 

Brie Larson

Well before she received an Oscar or donned a superhero cape, Captain Marvel star Brie Larson was a tween actress who had a main role in the short-lived WB sitcom Raising Dad. One of her first big-screen gigs, however, was as a popular Six Chick in the 2004 Jennifer Garner favorite 13 Going on 30. (Don't feel too bad, Mark Ruffalo didn't remember her either.) 

Charlize Theron

If you're a fan of The Wonders, you no doubt remember band members Guy (Tom Everett Scott), Lenny (Steve Zahn), Jimmy (Johnathon Schaech) and the bass player (Ethan Embry). However, you may not so readily remember that Charlize Theron is also in That Thing You Do!, as Guy's ex-girlfriend Tina, who leaves him for her dentist. 

Joe Manganiello 

Before making the ladies sweat in the Magic Mike franchise, Joe Manganiello was making Peter Parker sweat for an entirely different reason in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man film series, playing the high-school bully Flash Thompson. His character dated Kirsten Dunst's Mary Jane before she ended up with Spidey himself (Tobey Maguire). 

Seth Rogen

The titular teen protagonist of Donnie Darko (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) doesn't just have to deal with those disturbing visions of a rabbit-costumed man named Frank. He also has to deal with a pair of high school bullies, one of whom is played by Seth Rogen in his first ever movie appearance. 

Amy Adams

The Steven Spielberg-directed crime comedy Catch Me If You Can featured several now-well-known actresses before they were household names, including Ellen Pompeo, Elizabeth Banks and Amy Adams. The latter acted opposite Leonardo DiCaprio (played teenage con artist Frank Abagnale Jr.) as Brenda Strong, a young hospital worker who falls for Frank and his fraud. 

Keira Knightley

Given her uncanny resemblance to Natalie Portman, it's only fitting that a teenage Keira Knightley appeared as Sabé, a handmaiden and royal decoy for Portman's Padmé Amidala in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Even Knightley herself could use a reminder about who she played in the space trilogy!

Michael Fassbender

Years before memorable film roles in Inglourious Basterds, Jane Eyre, the X-Men movies and his Oscar-nominated turn in Shame, Michael Fassbender made his film debut in the 2006 action epic 300. He played the character of Stelios, a young, spirited and highly skilled Spartan soldier fighting under Gerard Butler's King Leonidas.

Sandra Oh

"Gupta? Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. The queen is coming!" It's one of the most memorable lines uttered in The Princess Diaries and it's said by none other than a pre-Grey's Anatomy Sandra Oh. Joining Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews in the beloved cast, Oh plays the humorous vice principal at Mia Thermopolis's school. 

Margot Robbie

Before her big breakout in The Wolf of Wall Street — and even longer before she painted the world pink with the phenomenon that is Barbie — rom-com fans got their first introduction to Margot in the 2013 romantic dramedy About Time. Robbie plays Charlotte, a woman that the main character Tim Lake (Domhnall Gleeson) is crushing on before he meets his true love, Mary (played by Rachel McAdams).

Joaquin Phoenix

The 1989 Ron Howard-directed comedy Parenthood already has a stacked cast — Steve Martin, Rick Moranis, Keanu Reeves, Mary Steenburgen and Dianne Wiest, to name a few — before you even remember that one of the youngins in the movie is played by a teenage Joaquin Phoenix, then going by his birth name Leaf.

Samuel L. Jackson

It's hard to remember a time when Samuel L. Jackson wasn't a major movie star, but in the 1970s and '80s, the iconic actor was racking up bit parts in big titles, including Eddie Murphy's Coming to America. In the 1988 rom-com, Jackson plays a character known as "Hold-Up Man," an armed robber who has held up the local fast-food restaurant called McDowell's five times. 

Kristen Stewart

Though she has been acting professionally since grade school, Kristen Stewart didn't become a global star until she played moody teen Bella Swan in 2008's vampire romance Twilight. But years before that, she played a memorable part in the 2002 David Fincher thriller Panic Room, appearing opposite Jodie Foster as her character's daughter. 

Dakota Johnson

\Dakota Johnson had her big Hollywood breakthrough leading a beloved book-to-film adaptation, as Anastasia Steele in the erotic Fifty Shades film series. But she actually showed up in another huge movie five years earlier: 2010's The Social Network, as a college coed who spends the night with Sean Parker, played by Justin Timberlake. 

Gabrielle Union

Before she led the Clovers to cheer competition victory in 2000's Bring It On, Gabrielle Union was given supporting roles in '90s teen favorites like 10 Things I Hate About You and She's All That. The latter was actually her film debut, in which she appeared as popular girl Katie, a member of Zack Siler's (Freddie Prinze Jr.) friend group. 

Nicolas Cage

Technically, Nicolas Cage wasn't in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. But Nicolas Coppola was — when he made his feature film acting debut in the 1982 coming-of-age comedy, the actor was still going by his birth name. However, the Oscar-winning star would later change his name professionally to avoid nepotism allegations. (He is, of course, the nephew of director Francis Ford Coppola and actress Talia Shire, and a cousin of director Sofia Coppola and actor Jason Schwartzman.)

Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp memorably made his big-screen debut in the 1984 horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street, but movie fans might not remember that a short while later, he also appeared in Oliver Stone's war film Platoon as a young soldier fighting in the Vietnam War alongside the likes of Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe, Tom Berenger, Forest Whitaker and Kevin Dillon. 

Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman has had a prolific acting career ever since she was a tween, starting from when she starred as the young protégée of a hitman in the 1994 action film Léon: The Professional at only twelve years old. Though that was an instantly memorable introduction to the performer, you might have forgotten that only a year later, she worked alongside screen greats like Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in the Michael Mann-directed classic, Heat. 

Tom Holland

He's most famous for spinning webs as Spider-Man but long before that, Tom Holland was making his film debut (and making audiences weep) in the 2012 disaster drama The Impossible, as a young boy desperately trying to reunite with his family following a horrific tsunami. 

Vince Vaughn

The heartwarming 1993 sports drama Rudy — about a young man (Sean Astin) who dreams of playing football at the University of Notre Dame — features an ironic pair of film-acting debuts. It was the first movie roles of both Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn, playing teaching assistant D-Bob and tailback Jamie O'Hara, respectively. That duo would famously go on to star in the 1996 buddy comedy Swingers. 

Ryan Gosling

Another early football role for a Hollywood heavyweight, a young Ryan Gosling already had some big TV gigs under his belt (The Mickey Mouse Club, Young Hercules) before he appeared as Alan Bosley, the wiry cornerback of T. C. Williams High School's football team in Remember the Titans. And if you remember that locker-room singalong, you know the little Goose had charisma even then!

Mila Kunis

Yes, that is a mini Mila Kunis in Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves — she played a friend of Wayne Szalinski's (Rick Moranis) niece, who throws a house party once it seems like all of the grown-ups have left for the evening. (Instead, the adults have been accidentally zapped to microscopic proportions, naturally.) 

Daniel Craig

Before he was Bond, James Bond, Daniel Craig was Ballard, John Ballard, in the 1998 historical drama Elizabeth. The British actor portrayed a priest-slash-assassin who conspired with the Duke of Norfolk (Christopher Eccleston) to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I (played by Cate Blanchett) from the throne. Of course, Bond would never treat the Queen of England that way!

Jake Gyllenhaal

Given that filmmaking is a family business for Jake Gyllenhaal — he is the son of film director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, and the younger bro of the great actress Maggie Gyllenhaal — it's not a shock that the actor started young. He made his film debut at age ten in 1991's City Slickers, playing the son of Billy Crystal's character Mitch Robbins. 

Kerry Washington

Kerry Washington is best known for playing crisis management expert Olivia Pope in the ABC drama series Scandal, but more than a decade earlier, she showed off her fix-it skills as Chenille Reynolds in Save the Last Dance, helping Julia Stiles's character Sara better integrate into their South Side high school and hip-hop culture at large. 

Ben Affleck

Like his famous best friend Matt Damon, Ben Affleck also began his acting career as a child and while eagle-eyed moviegoers no doubt remember spotting him in early-'90s films like School Ties and Dazed and Confused, they may have forgotten his uncredited early cameos, such as "Basketball Player 10" in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie. 

There are fewer more popular cult classics than The Big Lebowski. Some of the cast is very well known of course, and they are on this list, but others are less so. They are all phenomenal actors, and most have had long careers outside of the Coen Brothers classic, and while you might think to yourself, "Oh yeah, I know that guy," you might not remember from where. That's why we're here to fill in those gaps and give you 32 cast members from The Big Lebowski and where else you've seen them on screen. 

Jeff Bridges (The Dude)

Of course, you can't talk about The Big Lebowski without talking about The Dude, or "El Duderino" if you're not into the whole brevity thing. Jeff Bridges is on the record as saying it was one of his favorite roles and that's saying a lot considering he's won an Oscar for another role in Crazy Heart and is the star of another beloved cult classic, Tron. Bridges' full list of accomplishments is far too long to mention here. 

Peter Stormare (Uli Kunkel/Karl Hungus)

Any fan of the Coens probably immediately recognizes Peter Stormare as the nihilist Uli Kunkel and from his role as Gaear Grimsrud, Steve Buscemi partner in Fargo. Before Lebowski, he also was in The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Armageddon. Most recently, he is probably best known for playing Abram Tarasov, the main baddie in John Wick: Chapter 2. 

John Goodman (Walter Sobchak)

John Goodman's performance as Walter Sobchak is one of the best of the legend's career. It's hardly his only great performance in a Coen Brothers movie, either. He's worked with the writing and directing team in Raising Arizona, O Brother Where Are Thou?, Inside Llewellyn Davis, and Barton Fink as well. Not to mention all the other roles he's well known for. 

David Huddlestone

The late David Huddlestone, who passed away in 2016 was amazing as the other Jeff Lebowski. He also pops up in some other great roles you may have missed, like Mayor Olson Johnson in Blazing Saddles and as Sen. Max Lobell in a couple of episodes of The West Wing. 

Philip Moon (Woo)

Philip Moon's Woo is one of the two goons sent by Jackie Treehorn to shakedown the wrong Lebowski and his actions towards The Dude's rug is what kicks off the whole adventure. Outside of this movie, Moon is probably best known as Mr. Lee in Season 2 of Deadwood. 

Mark Pellegrino (Thug #2)

Mark Pellegrino plays one of the thugs who assault The Dude at the beginning of the movie, dropping The Dude's bowling ball on the floor in the bathroom. Pellegrino has dozens of credits on his resume going all the way back to the 1980s including the wrestling movie No Holds Barred, plus Lethal Weapon 3, Mulholland Drive, Capote, and National Treasure. Pellegrino is also well known for playing Jacob in Lost. 

Flea (Kieffer)

The three idiot nihilists who fake the kidnapping of Bunny Lebowski were all in a band together called Autobahn. Every band needs a bass player, so adding the Red Hot Chili Pepper's Flea to the mix is perfect casting. It's not Flea's only acting work, either. He has also appeared in Back to the Future II as one of the skating thugs, and alongside his bandmate, Anthony Kiedis in The Chase among other roles. 

Leon Russom (Malibu Police Chief)

The chief of the Malibu police department, played by Leon Russom, is a real reactionary. Russom himself is, presumably, not, but he is a fantastic actor. He's best known these days for his smaller, but very important role as the old man in the woods in A Quiet Place. 

Torsten Voges (Franz)

German Torsten Voges' first big role in the U.S. was as one of the nihilists, Franz. He's the least known of the three actors playing the supposed kidnappers, but since he's appeared in movies like 88mm and TV shows like Grimm. 

Julianne Moore (Maude Lebowski)

The late '90s were a peak moment in Julianne Moore's career, one of a few, as she continues to be one of the best actors in Hollywood. Around the same that she starred in The Big Lebowski, she also starred in Boogie Nights and Magnolia. More recently she received acclaim for her acting in May December, one of the best movies of 2023. 

Jerry Haleva (Saddam Hussein)

Jerry Haleva isn't a big name actor, but he found a lot of success in the 1990s for playing Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, including in The Big Lebowski. As the spitting image of Hussein, he also showed up in Hot Shots! and Hot Shots! Part Deux.

Sam Elliott (The Stranger)

Sam Elliott has one of the greatest mustaches in movie history and it's on full display in the movie. Elliott is beloved for his decades of work in movies like Mask, the classic western Tombstone, and Road House. 

Philip Seymour Hoffman (Brandt)

The Big Lebowski was released just as the late Philip Seymour Hoffman's career was really starting to take off. He'd had some important roles previously, as in Boogie Nights, Twister, and Scent of a Woman, and of course after he became a pretty huge star. 

Jimmie Dale Gilmore (Smokey)

Jimmie Dale Gilmore plays the burnout pacifist Smokey whose foot was over the line in a league match against Walter and The Dude. Gilmore isn't a professional actor, but he is one of the most accomplished and underrated country singer/songwriters of '70s and '80s. 

Ben Gazzara (Jackie Treehorn)

When Ben Gazzara died in 2012, he'd been in show business for nearly 60 years. He started on the stage but also made a huge mark on TV and in movies. Some of his most well-known roles came in The Thomas Crown Affair (1999), Summer of Sam, and, of course, as the main antagonist in the original Road House, alongside fellow Lebowski actor Sam Elliott.

Aimee Mann (Nihilist Woman)

Aimee Mann doesn't have a huge role in the movie, as she's seen just in one scene, ordering pancakes with the other nihilists, and missing a toe nail, with nail polish. Of course, Mann is best known as one of Canada's greatest singer/songwriters and while her music has been in many movies, she's only acted in a couple. 

Jon Polito (Da Fino)

Jon Polito was a Coen Brothers regular, playing in five of their movies before his death in 2015. He also was a series regular in the first couple of seasons of Homicide Life On The Streets and in movies like The Crow and American Gangster. 

Tara Reid (Bunny Lebowski)

Pretty much everyone knows Tara Reid, right? In the '90s, she was huge, starring not only as Bunny in The Big Lebowski, but as Vicky in American Pie and its sequels. Since, her most infamous role has been in the Sharknado series. Bunny is still her best role though, don't you think? Brandt does. 

Jack Kehler (Marty The Dancing Landlord)

Jack Kehler is a fantastic character actor who completely disappears into his roles. So much so that you might love some his movies and not even know he's in it - and that's meant as a compliment. He's been in Point Break, Men In Black, Waterworld, and many others. 

Steve Buscemi (Donny)

Donny was a bowler. And a surfer. Steve Buscemi is an actor. And a legend. And so much more. There isn't much we can add that most people don't know about Buscemi. He's starred in some of the best movies and TV shows of all time, including Reservoir Dogs, Con Air, and The Sopranos. It's arguably he's most loved as Donny though. 

Carlos Leon (Maude's Thug)

Carlos Leon has a pretty small role in The Big Lebowski as one of Maude's thugs who knocks The Dude out and takes the rug back. After Lebowski, he found his biggest fame as a series regular, Carlos, in Oz. He's got dozens of other credits to his name, especially on shows shot in New York like Law & Order and others. Of course, he is most known for being Madonna's ex-partner and the father of her daughter, Lourdes Leon.

John Turturro (Jesus)

It could be easily argued that John Turturro steals the show as Jesus. Of course, he steals the show in almost every movie his in, and he's well-known for doing it. His breakout role came in Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing and since he's got dozens and dozens of impressive credits, including three Golden Globe-winning performances. 

Richard Gant (Older Cop)

Richard Gant's small role in The Big Lebowski as the more skeptical cop investigating The Dude's car theft is a character actor with an impressive career. He's worked with Eddie Murphy in movies like Norbit, Daddy Day Care, and Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, among other roles. 

Christian Clemenson (Younger Cop)

The more enthusiastic cop helping The Dude with his car is played by Christian Clemenson. Clemenson has been working in Hollywood since the mid-'80s when he had a small role in Hannah and Her Sisters. He's also been in blockbusters like United 93, Apollo 13, J. Edgar, The Fisher King, and Broadcast News. 

Dom Irrera (Tony The Chauffeur) 

When The Dude learns all about his chauffeur's rash, he can do nothing but sympathize. the chauffeur, played by comedian Dom Irrera, is a small but memorable role. It's Irrera that makes it so. The standup has been in the business for decades and often pops up in screwball comedies like Silence of the Hams and the forgotten Rodney Dangerfield movie The Fourth Tenor. 

David Thewlis (Knox Harrington)

David Thewlis plays the visual artist Knox Harrington. Most people know Thewlis as Remus Lupin in the Harry Potter series. He's was also Ares in Wonder Woman and Justice League, plus he'll star in the next two installments of the Avatar series. He's a fantastic actor who you might now know the name of, but love him nonetheless. 

Lu Elrod (Diner Waitress)

Lu Elrod is one of the actors that you know you've seen before, but can't always place. In Lebowski she's the waitress that tries to hush Walter, but she's also played small roles in about a dozen other movies like Primary Colors, Wag The Dog, and Kicking And Screaming.  

Mike Gomez (Laughing Cop)

The most memeable moment in the movie is the laughing cop when The Dude asks about any leads in the case of his stolen car. Mike Gomez is that laughing cop and as such, has become more recognizable for that rile. Outside of that, he's probably best known as Quinones in the Clint Eastwood movie Heartbreak Ridge.  

Peter Siragusa (Gary The Bartender)

Heard more than seen, Peter Siragusa as Gary the bartender doesn't have a big role in the movie, serving The Dude his White Russians at the bowling alley. Peter Siragusa was an accomplished actor, however. Much of it was voice work before he died in 2022, but you would certainly recognize him as the lineman in Home Alone. 

Warren Keith (The Funeral Director)

Warren Keith is one of the Coen Brothers' go-to actors, having appeared in four of their movies, Raising Arizona and The Big Lebowski and well as off screen in Fargo and A Serious Man. He was recently in the acclaimed 2020 Oscar-winner Nomandland as well. 

Gérard L'Heureux (The Big Lebowski's Chauffeur)

Gérard L'Heureux doesn't have a big role in the movie either, but he is a great actor, despite not really having any lines as he drags The Dude from one limo to another. He's probably best known as one of the prison guards in Con Air, a movie that doesn't make any sense but is still one of the most re-watchable movies ever. 

Asia Carrera (Woman in Adult Movie)

Some of you out there might not want to admit to knowing who Asia Carrera is, but certainly many do. As one of the most-booked adult film stars of the '90s, Carrera was very famous, but not often talked about. The Big Lebowski is one of her very few roles in straight Hollywood, but she's got hundreds of credits in that other Hollywood that people don't always admit to watching. She's really a legend in that way. 

As a profession, acting is something that somebody can do at virtually any age, as such few actors ever bother to retire, and simply continue to make films until the day comes that they can't anymore. As such, it's basically impossible to know when a given film will be the last performance of one of the greats. From those who tragically die young to those who continued to work for decades, This is a look at the sometimes surprising final movies by some of the world's biggest movie stars.

A couple of caveats to the forthcoming list. As the title states, we're looking at the final movies that certain actors and actresses worked on, which is not necessarily the last movie that was ever released, as sometimes movies that had been in development earlier get completed years and even decades later. We're also only considering theatrically released films, and not television movies or series. 

Heath Ledger - The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus 

Ledger's legacy is most closely tied to The Dark Knight for which he won a posthumous Oscar, but he had already moved on to filming Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus before he died. The script was modified and saw Ledger's character "transformed" at various points, allowing three of Ledger's friends, Jude Law, Johnny Depp, and Colin Firth to all step in to collectively help complete the movie. 

Marilyn Monroe - The Misfits

Marilyn Monroe's role in the drama The Misfits was not the sort of performance that made her famous, yet her final performance, given more than a year before her death, is considered one of her best by critics today.  Monroe had been involved in another movie, Something's Gotta Give at the time of her death, but so little of the movie had been completed that production was simply halted.

 James Dean - Giant 

James Dean was an up-and-coming star when he died in a single-car accident in 1955. He only made three big screen movies before his death with East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, and his final film, Giant which was released the year after his death.

John Candy - Wagons East 

Wagons East sees John Candy as a wagon master who has agreed to take a group of settlers who have decided the West isn't for them back to the East. Candy died of a heart attack during production, and stand-ins were used to finish the film so it could be released a few months later. 

Paul Walker - Furious 7

The death of Paul Walker in a tragic car accident took place during the filming of Furious 7. The movie's ending was modified to give his character a proper sendoff and his brother, along with CGI, was used to recreate Walker's likeness for a final farewell.

Bruce Lee - Enter The Dragon 

Bruce Lee's Game of Death uses a combination of the actor and a double as the martial arts expert passed away before he could finish it. However, all of Lee's scenes were shot prior to the film going on hiatus so he could film Enter the Dragon, making this the final film he shot before passing away. 

Katharine Hepburn - Love Affair

Katharine Hepburn was a four-time Oscar winner when she passed away in 2003. She was largely done with the big screen by the 1980s, but she did appear in a small role in Warren Beatty's Love Affair in 1994, the last year she worked before retiring for good. 

 Brandon Lee - The Crow 

The son of Bruce Lee was well on his way to following in his father's footsteps when his life was tragically cut short. A prop gun on the set of The Crow malfunctioned firing a projectile into Lee, which caused his death. His final scenes were filmed with stand-ins so that the movie could be completed. 

Robin Williams - Absolutely Anything

Robin Williams' death in 2014 broke the hearts of millions of fans. There would be two more chances to see (and hear) him at the movies, however. Williams' final appearance was in A Night at the Museum: Secrets of The Tomb which was released just months after his passing. His final project, however, would be as the voice of Dennis the dog in the Simon Pegg-led comedy Absolutely Anything.

Brittany Murphy - Something Wicked

Actress Brittany Murphy died unexpectedly in 2009 and her death has remained a subject of controversy to this day. Her final performance, in the psychological horror movie Something Wicked would not be seen for years as the film was not officially released until 2014.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 

Phillip Seymour Hoffman was not an actor who often appeared in major franchise movies but two of his final performances would come in the two-part finale of The Hunger Games. Mockingjay - Part 1 would be released shortly after his death in 2014. By that point the majority of his role in Mockingjay - Part 2 had been completed, making his final on-screen performance a year later.

Judy Garland - I Could Go On Singing

While Judy Garland would continue to perform right up until she died in 1969, her last years were spent on stage rather than screen. Her final film role would be in 1963's I Could Go on Singing, where she played a successful singer who attempts to bond with her estranged son.  

 John Wayne - The Shootist 

John Wayne's final film role in 1976's The Shootist was in many ways the culmination of his entire career. In the film, he plays a former Western lawman who is dying of cancer, the same disease that would take Wayne's own life three years after the film was completed. 

 Angela Lansbury - Glass Onion 

Angela Lansbury had the sort of career that many actors can only dream of. She was a beloved star of both the big and small screen. Her final appearance in a movie was on an even smaller screen, as she appears on Benoit Blanc's laptop in Glass Onion, as one of four celebrities that Daniel Craig's detective is playing video games with. 

Chadwick Boseman - Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom 

Few people knew of Chadwick Boseman's colon cancer diagnosis, which made his death in 2020 a surprise to many. His final movie, An adaptation of the August Wilson play Ma Rainey's Black Bottom for Netflix would earn the actor a posthumous Oscar nomination. 

Audrey Hepburn - Always

The iconic star of Breakfast at Tiffany's and My Fair Lady made only a handful of films once the 1960s were over. In her final film, she was directed by Steven Spielberg in one of his largely overlooked dramas, Always, in which she plays a spirit named Hap who sets recently departed Richard Dreyfuss on the right path. 

Marlon Brando - The Score 

Marlon Brando was famously difficult to work with, something that remained true up to his final performance. 2001's The Score reportedly required co-star Robert De Niro to direct his old friend, as Brando refused to be directed by Frank Oz. Brando would pass away in 2004.

Ingrid Bergman - Autumn Sonata

Most famous for the role of Ilsa in Casablanca, Ingrid Bergman starred in Autumn Sonata, written and directed by Ingmar Bergman (while the two get famously confused, there is no relation). She was nominated for her seventh Academy Award for the role. 

Dennis Hopper - The Last Film Festival

Dennis Hopper passed away during during the production of The Last Film Festival, an indie comedy in which he plays a producer who has been blackballed from every other film festival, and thus attends one in a small American town. The movie turned to Kickstarter to raise the funding needed to complete the project, which they did. 

River Phoenix - Dark Blood

For years it seemed River Phoenix's final film would be the country music drama The Thing Called Love. Phoenix was in the middle of filming the movie Dark Blood when he died in 1993, but his death seemingly ended the production. In 2011 the director picked up the unused footage and reedited it into a complete film. Dark Blood was released in 2014, after making a film festival run in 2012. 

Bette Davis - Wicked Stepmother

Bette Davis was one of the all-time greats of the silver screen, but her final appearance was maybe not up to her previous standards, which is why she reportedly left in the middle of filming. 1989's Wicked Stepmother sees Davis as a witch who marries into an unsuspecting family. The plot shifts part way through to focus on the daughter of Davis' character after the All About Eve star left the film.

Vincent Price - Edward Scissorhands

Vincent Price was one of the fathers of the modern horror movie, so it's fitting that his final big screen outing was as the father of Edward Scissorhands, a movie that blended the horror with the heartwarming in a way that only Tim Burton could. 

Sidney Poitier - The Jackal

Sydney Poitier made history as the first Black actor to win the Oscar for Best Actor in 1964. More than 30 years later he would make his final silver screen performance, as the head of the FBI in 1997's The Jackal with Bruce Willis and Richard Gere. He did do one last television movie, released in 2001 called The Last Brickmaker in America before retiring from acting. 

Humphrey Bogart - The Harder They Fall 

Humphrey Bogart created iconic screen characters from The Maltese Falcon Sam Spade to Casablanca's Rick. His character in 1956's The Harder They Fall, Bogie's last role, isn't nearly as well remembered, but Eddie Willis, the down-on-his-luck sportswriter who gets involved in a boxing scheme to throw fights is just the sort of character that Bogart did so well.

Natasha Richardson - The Wildest Dream

Natasha Richardson's death from injuries sustained in a skiing accident in 2009 shocked the entertainment world. Her final screen performance where she would be seen was 2008's Wild Child but her final work came as a voice in the documentary film The Wildest Dream which followed the story of the first man who attempted to scale Mount Everest, and the climber decades later who found his body.

Elizabeth Taylor - The Flintstones  

The live-action Flintstones movie does not exist in particularly high regard among fans, but if it is remembered at all it will likely be because it contains the final theatrical appearance of Elizabeth Taylor. She played Pearl Slaghoople, Fred Flintstone's mother-in-law.

Charlie Chaplin  - A Countess From Hong Kong 

Charlie Chaplin was one of the first movie stars the world had ever seen. When he started movies didn't even have sound. By the end they had gained, voice, color, and so much more. 1967's A Countess From Hong Kong is a work of Chaplin's primarily behind the camera, as he wrote and directed the film which stars Marlon Brando and Sophia Loren. However, he does appear briefly on screen, for one final time, in a cameo as a ship's porter.

Alan Rickman - Alice Through the Looking Glass 

Alan Rickman will be forever linked to his role of Severus Snape in the Harry Potter franchise for a generation of movie fans. He made several more movies in the five years after that story ended. The final one, a sequel to Disney's live-action Alice in Wonderland, Alice Through the Looking Glass, where he reprised his role as Absolem, the caterpillar.

Paul Newman - The Meercats 

Paul Newman received his ninth Oscar nomination the last time he appeared on screen in 2002's Road to Perdition. His voice would remain in movies, however. In 2006 he would voice Doc Hudson in Pixar's Cars. Two years later he would narrate the documentary film The Meerkats, which would be his final performance.

Natalie Wood - Brainstorm

Natalie Wood spent her life acting. She appeared as a child in the original Miracle on the 34th Street and as an adult she wowed audiences, becoming the youngest actress ever (at the time) to be nominated for three Oscars. She died tragically by drowning in 1981 during a break in filming the sci-fi thriller Brainstorm. The movie was almost canceled, but as Wood had completed most of her major scenes, it was finished and released.

Ray Liotta - Dangerous Waters 

When Ray Liotta died in May of 2023 he was in the middle of filming the thriller Dangerous Waters. The movie would be released that October. Liotta plays the movie's villain, a man known simply as The Captain.

Ginger Rogers - Harlow

Ginger Rogers would become famous as a dancer and the frequent screen partner of Fred Astaire. Her final performance, however, would put her in a very different place. In the 1965 biopic of another great actress, Jean Harlow, Rogers plays the star's mother, who takes advantage of her daughter's fame to benefit herself.

Some final performances of great actors rank among their best. Others are clearly forgotten movies for a reason. Either way, anybody interested in the complete career of some of Hollywood's greatest will want to seek these out, if only to see how the story ends. 

As far as ratings go, at least those handed out by the Motion Picture Association, there is nothing more extreme these days than NC-17. That means no one under the age of 18 can be admitted to a movie with this rating for a multitude of reasons.

Some directors, producers, and studios will re-cut their films to get an R-rating, but there are plenty of NC-17 movies that have been left unedited and sent out into the wild as is, which has resulted in limited releases of some of the most notorious movies of all time. Find out why these films were branded this way, as well as how you can watch them if you are curious, in the following list.

Henry & June (1990) - Fred Ward, Uma Thurman

What better way to start than with the very first movie to earn the NC-17 rating – according to SlashFilm – Henry & June. Director Philip Kaufman’s adaptation of Anaïs Nin’s memoir focuses on a love triangle between novelist Henry Miller (Fred Ward), his wife, June (Uma Thurman), and the French-American author (portrayed by Thurman’s future fellow Pulp Fiction cast member, Maria de Medeiros) in 1930s Paris. Despite its controversially explicit sexual content, the drama was a mild critical and commercial success and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography.

Buy Henry & June on Blu-ray on Amazon.  

Killer Joe (2012) - Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple

Directed by the late William Friedkin and written by 2019’s Little Women cast member Tracy Letts (also based on his stage play), Killer Joe stars Emile Hirsch as an indebted young man who hatches a plan to have his mother (played by Gina Gershon) killed to collect insurance money. Matthew McConaughey gives one of his most underrated performances as the titular hitman he hires, whose fee is so high that he agrees to let his teenage sister (Juno Temple) be treated as collateral.

According to Deadline, the shamelessly twisted crime thriller was released with an NC-17 rating after Friedkin and distributor LD Entertainment opted not to change its ending. While an R-rated version of the film was later made available for home viewing, those interested in seeing it in its original form could also seek out the unrated director’s cut of Killer Joe instead.

Rent or buy Killer Joe on Amazon.
Buy Killer Joe on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Mysterious Skin (2004) - Joseph Gordon-Levitt

One of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s best movies from earlier in his career is Mysterious Skin, in which he plays a gay teen making a living as a sex worker who recalls a disturbing encounter from his childhood through narration. Meanwhile, another teen, played by Brady Corbet, struggles to figure out the truth behind a blackout he suffered when he was younger, leading the two men to cross paths unexpectedly.

Writer and director Gregg Araki is notorious for including pervasive sexual content in his films, but the NC-17 rating for Mysterious Skin – also starring Elisabeth Shue and Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast member Michelle Trachtenberg – was largely determined by its graphic depiction of pedophilia. According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the challenging subject matter sparked controversy when the Australian Family Association feared child predators could use the film as a grooming tool or for their own gratification.
 
Rent or buy Mysterious Skin on Amazon.
Buy Mysterious Skin on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (1989) - Antonio Banderas

In one of his many racy collaborations with writer and director Pedro Almodóvar, Antonio Banderas stars in Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! as Ricky, who is released from a mental hospital with the intent of finding love. So, he tracks down a former adult film star, played by Victoria Abril, whom he once shared an intimate encounter with and takes her prisoner in hopes he can convince her to be his wife.

According to Gwyne Edwards’ 2001 book Almodóvar: Labyrinths of Passion, the controversial subject matter of Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! was instrumental in the creation of the NC-17 rating itself. Thus, the MPA branded it as such in 1990 for a “scene of strong adult sensuality with nudity,” according to FilmRatings.com.

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Buy Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! on Blu-ray Amazon.

Blonde (2022) - Ana de Armas

Based on the book by Joyce Carol Oates, Blonde is director Andrew Dominik’s in-depth and fictionalized look at the tragically short life of Norma Jeane Baker, better known as Marilyn Monroe. Ana de Armas disappears into the role of one of Hollywood’s most iconic figures, portraying a side of the actress and model that was long kept hidden from the public.

Dominik once said that he anticipated his nearly three-hour biopic would be rated NC-17 before the MPA made it official in June 2022, citing “some sexual content” as the reasoning. The film’s more hardcore scenes would inspire some strong reactions from both critics and audiences since it was made available to stream in 2022.

Stream Blonde on Netflix.

Crash (1996) - James Spader, Holly Hunter

Not to be confused with director Paul Haggis’ Best Picture Oscar winner from 2005, Crash is one of the more bizarre and inventive movies directed by David Cronenberg (which is really saying something). Based on the novel by J.G. Ballard, it stars James Spader as a TV producer who becomes seduced into an unusual and dangerous obsession with car wrecks and the intense, sexually stimulating effect they seem to have on him and others, including his mistress (played by Holly Hunter).

Just from learning the plot, it seems pretty clear why a movie like Crash would have been given the NC-17 rating and why it inspired controversy so pervasive that it was chronicled in a 2001 book called The Crash Controversy: Censorship Campaigns and Film Reception. Nonetheless, it was still relatively well-received by critics, according to Rotten Tomatoes, and earned Cronenberg a Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, despite vehement opposition from the jury’s then-president, Francis Ford Coppola.

Buy Crash on DVD on Amazon.

Descent (2007) - Rosario Dawson

Not to be confused with the Scottish 2005 horror movie THE Descent, this film sees Rosario Dawson giving her most provocative and extreme performance since she broke out in another controversial classic, Kids. This time, she plays a woman who undergoes a dramatic and violent change of character after she is assaulted by a man she meets at a fraternity party.

This brutal and upsetting revenge drama was actually released with two alternative cuts: one rated NC-17 and an R-rated edit that omits seven minutes of footage. Still, both versions contain brutal rape, language, some sexual content and drug use.

Buy Descent on DVD on Amazon.

Showgirls (1995) - Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan

Perhaps the most infamous movie on this list, Paul Verhoeven’s 1995 erotic cult classic, Showgirls, stars a post-Save by the Bell Elizabeth Berkley as a young drifter named Nomi Malone. As she hitchhikes to Las Vegas with dreams of becoming a famous dancer on the Strip, she has some ups and downs on her journey, but finally makes her dreams come true, at a price…

According to the MPA, Showgirls was given its NC-17 rating due to the amount of nudity and erotic sexuality throughout the movie, as well as graphic language and sexual violence. If you’ve seen the movie (and not the VH1 version with digitized bras), you’re well aware of the film’s graphic nature.

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Shame (2011) - Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan

Released in 2011, Steve McQueen’s psychological drama, Shame, stars Michael Fassbender as Brandon Sullivan – a successful and dashing executive who is secretly a traumatized sex addict who will do anything and everything to get his kicks in New York City. Just when he thinks life can’t get any worse, his equally damaged sister (Carey Mulligan) storms into his life, causing more complications.

Upon release, Shame was given an NC-17 rating by the MPA for explicit sexual content as well as some truly troubling scenes. I’ve walked out of several movies before, but this was the first I exited simply because what was happening on the screen was way too real and unnerving to finish.

Rent or buy Shame on Amazon.
Buy Shame on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Blue Is The Warmest Color (2013) - Léa Seydoux 

Abdellatif Kechiche’s 2013 French drama, Blue is the Warmest Color, stars Adèle Exarchopoulos as a high school student who experiences a sexual awakening after meeting an art school student and aspiring painter named Emma, played by James Bond movies actor, Léa Seydoux. Over the years, the two form a contentious and highly-emotional relationship that opens their eyes to a whole new world around them.

Though tamer than some of the other titles on this list, Blue is the Warmest Color was given an NC-17 rating because of the explicit sexual content the MPA felt was unsuitable for younger audiences. However, at least one theater allowed teens to watch the movie upon release.

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Buy Blue is the Warmest Color on Blu-ray Amazon.

Bad Lieutenant (1992) - Harvey Keitel

Abel Ferrara’s 1992 crime thriller Bad Lieutenant follows Harvey Keitel as a broken NYPD detective whose stress over his job, life, and gambling habits get the best of him. From one interaction to the next, the unnamed lieutenant falls deeper down the rabbit hole of depravity, committing some irredeemable crimes of his own along the way.

If there has ever been a movie deserving of an NC-17 rating it would have to be Bad Lieutenant. With an abundance of sexual violence, intense sexual situations, endless drug use, and extreme language throughout, it’s no wonder the MPA came down hard on the movie, which later inspired a sequel only in name, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, starring Nicolas Cage and directed by Werner Herzog.

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Buy Bad Lieutenant on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Orgazmo (1997) - Trey Parker, Matt Stone

Co-writer and director Trey Parker plays a normal Mormon missionary trying to find enough money to support and marry his longtime girlfriend. But when he stumbles upon a porn set, the once strait-laced and deeply devoted young man becomes the biggest thing going in the adult entertainment industry in Orgazmo.

It should come as no surprise that a movie written by the creators of South Park, and one centered on the porn industry, would receive an NC-17 rating from the MPA in 1998. It should come as even less of a surprise that the rating was handed down due to the sexual content and dialogue featured throughout.

Rent or buy Orgazmo on Amazon.
Buy Orgazmo on Blu-ray on Amazon.

Bent (1997) - Clive Owen, Ian McKellen

After being discovered and arrested by the Gestapo in Nazi Germany, Max – a proud gay man played by Clive Owen – is sent on a perilous journey to the Dachau concentration camp where he is subjected to indescribable horrors while still being able to find love.

Possibly one of the most harrowing movies about the Holocaust, Sean Mathias’ 1997 drama Bent is absolutely heartbreaking and disturbing with its graphic displays of violence. Upon its release, the movie received an NC-17 rating from the MPA due to its graphic sexual nature.

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Matador (1986) - Antonio Banderas

In one of his most disturbing roles, Antonio Banderas plays Angel, a young student who confesses to an attempted rape and a series of murders he may or may not have committed, in Pedro Almodóvar’s 1986 dark comedy, Matador.

Just like some of the other movies featuring the director and actor, Matador pushed the limits with its dark, twisted, and oddly humorous story. Still, the MPA would later give the film an NC-17 rating in 2005 (nearly 20 years after initial release) due to “aberrant sexuality” and violence.

Rent or buy Matador on Amazon.
Buy Matador on DVD on Amazon.

The Dreamers (2003) - Eva Green, Michael Pitt

In the midst of the 1968 Student Riots in Paris, an American student named Matthew (played by Michael Pitt) finds himself getting caught up in the lives of formerly conjoined twins – Louis Garrel as Théo and Eva Green as Isabelle – whose relationship is far from normal. When asked to spend a month with the siblings, Matthew falls deeper into their wild and free-flowing lifestyle.

Bernardo Bertolucci’s 2003 erotic drama, The Dreamers, pushes several boundaries and deviates from societal norms to tell a story about young love in the midst of a chaotic time. With the extreme sexual content and nudity, it’s no surprise the MPA gave the movie an NC-17 rating upon release.

Buy The Dreamers on DVD on Amazon.

A Dirty Shame (2004) - Selma Blair, Johnny Knoxville

A John Waters movie receiving an NC-17 rating? You don’t say! The filthy filmmaker’s 2004 comedy, A Dirty Shame, follows Tracey Ullman as Sylvia Stickles– a puritanical resident of the Hatford Road area of Baltimore who experiences a sexual awakening after being hit by a car. 

Selma Blair, Johnny Knoxville, and Chris Isaak also star in A Dirty Shame, which (no shocker here) was given the NC-17 rating by the MPA due to its pervasive sexual content. And if you’ve seen the movie, you are all too aware of just how pervasive and graphic it is.

Rent or buy A Dirty Shame on Amazon.
Buy A Dirty Shame on DVD on Amazon.

Pink Flamingos (1972) - Divine

When Connie (Mink Stole) and Raymond Marble (David Lochary) attempt to steal Babs Johnson’s (Divine) title of “the filthiest person alive,” the down and dirty criminal and her family make it their mission in life to prevent the newcomers from accomplishing their mission by any means necessary.

With scenes featuring incest, people eating dog poop, flashers, and an infamously notorious scene involving a chicken, it shouldn’t shock anyone that John Waters’ classic exploitation comedy film, Pink Flamingos, was given an NC-17 rating by the MPA upon re-release in 1997, 25 years after it first shocked audiences around the world. Maybe that’s why Roger Ebert hated the movie.

Buy Pink Flamingos on Blu-ray on Amazon.

The Evil Dead (1981) - Bruce Campbell

Bruce Campbell stars in the film that kickstarted the Evil Dead franchise as Ash Williams who – along with his girlfriend and a small group of friends – set off for a night away in an isolated cabin. However, the night quickly takes a turn for the worst after they discover the Necronomicon – a powerful book that awakens possessive, malevolent spirits.

Sam Raimi’s classic horror film, The Evil Dead, was initially released with an X rating back in 1981 on account of its substantial graphic violence and gore. It was later given an NC-17 by the MPA when the movie was re-released back in 1994.

Rent or buy The Evil Dead on Amazon.
Buy The Evil Dead on Blu-ray on Amazon.

BONUS: Elles (2011) - Juliette Binoche

The title of Elles refers to the French magazine, Elle, for which Juliette Binoche’s character is researching an article about an underground sex worker ring orchestrated by female college students in Paris. However, the closer she gets to the facts behind the story, the more she begins to question her own personal interests. Graphic sexual content that goes as far as urinary fetishes initially earned this drama from Polish filmmaker Malgoska Szumowska an NC-17 rating.

Buy Elles on Blu-ray on Amazon.

BONUS: Happiness (1998) - Philip Seymour Hoffman 

The late Philip Seymour Hoffman plays one of several interconnected people all searching desperately for the most coveted emotion there is: happiness. Of course, their chosen ways of acquiring it are exactly the kind of reasons this Golden Globe nominee was initially given an NC-17 rating. 

Also starring the likes of Trick ‘r Treat’s Dylan Baker, Twin Peaks cast member Lara Flynn Boyle, and SNL’s Jon Lovitz, Happiness is one of the darkest comedies of its time. However, that does not mean so much when you learn it comes from writer and director Todd Solondz.

Buy Happiness on DVD on Amazon.

Elles and Happiness are some of a few notable examples of films that surrendered their NC-17 ratings upon release and are now deemed “unrated,” such as the aforementioned Kids. However, they are just as challenging and provocative as any of the films listed above, which is why we’ll still count them as NC-17 in our book.

Boogie Nights was an incredibly packed ensemble experience from filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson. The critically acclaimed drama featured the story of a dishwasher who ends up becoming famous by making pornographic films, and shows his rise and fall in the porn industry.

But, with such a large ensemble, one might be wondering where the Boogie Nights cast is now and what they’ve been up to after nearly twenty-five years. Well, look no further, as we aim to answer that question today and let you know exactly where stars like Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, and others are now. 

Mark Wahlberg (Eddie Adams/Dirk Diggler)

As the star of Boogie Nights, Mark Wahlberg received wide-spread acclaim for his role as Eddie Adams, otherwise known as Dirk Diggler. Since his role in the film, Wahlberg has been up to so much. 

Wahlberg’s biggest film roles so far have included a major role in The Transformers series, an Academy Award-nominated role in The Departed, directed by Martin Scorsese, The Italian Job, The Perfect Storm, the Daddy’s Home series, and many more. He’s also had success in television too, producing shows like Boardwalk Empire, Entourage, Ballers, and others. 

Some of his upcoming work are the films Father Stu, Me Time, Arthur the King, Our Man From Jersey, and The Six Billion Dollar Man, so he’ll surely be appearing in more awesome movies. 

Julianne Moore (Maggie/Amber Waves)

Next up, we have Julianne Moore, who played Maggie/Amber Waves in Boogie Nights and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Since her performance in the movie, Moore has become an even bigger star. 

While she has had some small roles on television, such as an appearance on Sesame Street and a minor recurring role on the classic series, 30 Rock, Moore has mainly kept her talents to the big screen. Some of her biggest roles thus far have included Still Alice, for which she won an Academy Award, The Big Lebowski, Crazy, Stupid, Love, Maps to the Stars, Far From Heaven, Dear Evan Hansen, and The Hunger Games series, which recently just turned ten years old. 

Coming up, Moore will be in many new movies, including Sharper, Mothertrucker, May December, and Fruitcake, so I’m sure the next couple of years are going to be jam-packed for this amazing actress. 

Burt Reynolds (Jack Horner)

Burt Reynolds was a legendary name in Hollywood, and he earned rave reviews for his performance in Boogie Nights as Jack Horner, including a nomination for Best Supporting Actor. 

After his role in the film, Reynolds would go on to have a prominent film career, just as he did before, appearing in movies like Crazy Six, Hotel, Driven, The Longest Yard, Grilled, In The Name of the King, Deal, and others. He also had a recurring role in the TV series, My Name is Earl, as well as playing Ron Wilcox in Hitting the Breaks. 

Unfortunately, Burt Reynolds passed away in 2018 at the age of 82, but we have the rest of his amazing legacy in Hollywood to look back on to remember him.

Don Cheadle (Buck Swope)

Playing Buck Swope in Boogie Nights was Don Cheadle, someone who's only gotten more and more popular over the years. Cheadle has had a prominent career in both movies and TV. 

One of his biggest roles that he has reprised many times is playing James Rhodes, otherwise known as War Machine, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, for more than ten years, and he will reprise that role in the upcoming Armor Wars series on Disney+. Some of his other big films roles include Hotel Rwanda, which scored him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, Traffic, Out of Sight, No Sudden Move. Space Jam: A New Legacy, and more. 

He’s also had a great career in television, with a main role in the Showtime series, House of Lies, as well as a main role on Black Monday. Currently, he actually stars in the series, The Wonder Years. 

Soon, he’s going to be appearing in many new movies, including White Noise and Black Stallions, so he certainly has a good line-up for the next couple of years. 

John C. Reilly (Reed Rothchild)

Next up, we have Reed Rothchild in Boogie Nights, played by John C. Reilly. The actor has had quite the career since Boogie Nights took off, and has appeared in a variety of movies and TV shows. 

Some of his biggest movies were appearing in Magnolia (another Paul Thomas Anderson film), The Thin Red Line, the musical film, Chicago, The Aviator, Step Brothers alongside Will Ferrell, Kong: Skull Island, The Guardians of the Galaxy, and so many more.

He’s also had a prominent career in television too, including a voice role in Stone Quackers, a starring role in Check It Out! With Dr. Steve Brule, a recurring role in Moonbase 8, a voice role in Ultra City Smiths, and more. His latest project is playing Jerry Buss, owner of the L.A. Lakers, in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, on HBO. 

William H. Macy (Bill “Little Bill” Thompson)

Another big name in Boogie Nights is William H. Macy, and while he had already made a name for himself years before with movies such as Fargo, Macy has had a huge career in the last twenty-five years. 

Some of his biggest film accomplishments have been starring in Magnolia, as well, Psycho, The Cooler, the Studio Ghibli film, The Wind Rises, Cake, Room, The Layover, Krystal, and so much more. However, his longest-running project thus far was portraying patriarch Frank Gallagher on the popular Showtime series, Shameless, for a 11 seasons, becoming a character fans loved to hate on the series.

His latest project is The Dropout on Hulu, where he plays Richard Fuisz, so keep an eye out for him. 

Heather Graham (Brandy/Rollergirl)

Next up, we have Heather Graham, who played Brandy/Rollergirl in Boogie Nights. Graham has appeared in many other movies since, with some of her biggest roles being in Bowfinger, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, The Hangover and The Hangover Part III, the Daniel Radcliffe-led film, Horns, The Last Son, and more. 

Graham has also done some television work as well, appearing in shows like Bliss, Angie Tribeca, Get Shorty, Law & Order True Crime, and others. Coming up, she’s going to be in many new movies, including Oracle, On a Wing and a Prayer, and more. 

Nicole Ari Parker (Becky Barnett)

Playing Becky Barnett in Boogie Nights was Nicole Ari Parker, who has had a huge career in television. While she has appeared in many movies as well, including Remember the Titans, Brown Sugar, Almost Christmas, How It Ends, and more, she’s mainly kept her talents to TV. 

Parker appeared as a recurring cast member on Cosby, was a part of the main cast on Soul Food, as well as The Second Time Around and The Deep End. She was a recurring cast member on Revolution, as well as on I’m Dying Up Here, Empire, and Chicago P.D. Most recently, she was a part of the recurring cast of the Sex and the City spinoff, And Just Like That…,which just got renewed for a second season. 

Soon, she’s going to have a role in two new movies, We Are Gathered Here Today and HeadShop, as well as appear in a new TV series called At That Age. 

Philip Seymour Hoffman (Scotty J.)

Moving on, we have Philip Seymour Hoffman, who played Scotty J in Boogie Nights. After his role in the film, Hoffman appeared in many movies. 

Some of his biggest roles were in Patch Adams, The Big Lebowski, Magnolia, Charlie Wilson’s War, Doubt, The Master, The Savages, and more, alongside a bigger role in The Hunger Games series. He did have some minor appearance on TV, including two episodes of Empire Falls, but mainly stuck to movies. 

Sadly, Philip Seymour Hoffman passed away in 2014 at the age of 46. 

Luis Guzman (Maurice Rodriguez/T.T. Rodriguez)

Next up is Luis Guzman, who played Maurice Rodriguez/T.T. Rodriguez in Boogie Nights. After his role in the film, Guzman has appeared in many movies, including Magnolia (like many of his other castmates) Traffic, Punch-Drunk Love, War, We’re the Millers, The Last Stand, 9/11, The Birthday Cake, and several others. 

He’s also had a great career in television as well, with several main roles and recurring appearances. Some of his most-known were playing the titular role in Luis, Rene Calderon in How to Make It in America, Jesse Salander in Code Black, Jose Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha in Narcos, Mikey O’Shea in Shameless (usually alongside William H. Macy) and Jorge Cuevas in Hightown. Talk about a stacked resume. 

Coming up soon, he is going to be portraying one of the most iconic TV characters ever, Gomez Addams, in the upcoming series, Wednesday, so definitely be on the lookout for this Netflix series to drop.

Philip Baker Hall (Floyd Gondolli)

Floyd Gondolli in Boogie Nights was played by Philip Baker Hall, who has had a great career in both movies and television. Some of his biggest roles include Psycho, The Insider, Magnolia, Rules of Engagement, The Amityville Horror, The Last Word, and more. 

Some of his most-known television roles have been a recurring role on Pasadena, as well as work on The Loop, Second Change, and Messiah. 

Thomas Jane (Todd Parker)

Last but not least, we have Thomas Jane, who played Todd Parker in Boogie Nights. Since his appearance, Jane has popped up in many movies and television shows. Some of his biggest movies include, but aren’t limited to, The Punisher, 1922, Deep Blue Sea, The Mist, The Predator, Vice, Hot Summer Nights, and many others. 

He’s also had some major roles in television, including playing Ray Drecker on Hung, James Wykoff in Texas Rising, Joe Miller in The Expanse, and Ted Conkaffey in Troppo. Coming up soon, he’s going to be in several new films, including Vendetta, Slayers, and Bad Hombres, among many others. 

There are still plenty of other names that you might recognize from Boogie Nights, such as Alfred Molina, Michael Penn, Robert Downey Sr., and more. However, this updates you on the main stars who have been active to this day with some amazing film and TV work. 

In September, we'll hit the ten-year anniversary of Moneyball, Bennett Miller's superb baseball drama starring and produced by Brad Pitt. The type of star-driven character drama that's rarely funded by studios nowadays, this sharp, well-helmed adaptation of Michael Lewis' 2003 book of the same name was in development hell prior to this movie's underdog success, but everything worked out in the end. Moneyball was met with both acclaim and box office success, later receiving six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

It's hard to believe that it's been nearly a decade since Moneyball debuted in theaters, but it's a credit to its timeless quality that it holds up — quite well, in fact! But, what is the cast doing now, including Jonah Hill, Robin Wright, and Chris Pratt? A hell of a lot has changed since this Oscar-nominated sports movie hit theaters. Let's take a look!

Brad Pitt (Billy Beane)

As Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics who adopts an unlikely strategy to form a competitive team, Brad Pitt plays our lead character in Moneyball. And, he received two Oscar nominations, for Best Picture and Best Actor. Previously, Pitt was nominated for his supporting role in 12 Monkeys and his titular turn in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Additionally, as a producer, he was nominated for The Big Short and 12 Years a Slave, the latter for which he won. Last year, Pitt won another Oscar for his supporting turn in Once Upon a Time ... In Hollywood. He also starred in Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Inglorious Basterds, Fight Club, Se7en, and the Ocean's movies.

Most recently, Brad Pitt starred in and produced Ad Astra. Next, the Oscar-winning actor will be seen in Bullet Train and Babylon. Additionally, through his Plan B production company, Pitt is producing The Underground Railroad, Blonde, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Black Hole, Wrong Answer, Americanah, and a Chris Cornell documentary.

Jonah Hill (Peter Brand)

In the role of Peter Brand, the young assistant general manager with radical ideas for how to measure each player's value, Jonah Hill gave an Oscar-nominated performance in Moneyball. A few years later, the actor would be nominated again for his supporting turn in Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street. His other notable film credits include Superbad, Knocked Up, 21 Jump Street, War Dogs, This is the End, 22 Jump Street, Hail Caesar!, Cyrus, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and The Beach Bum. Also, he can be heard in the How to Train Your Dragon films, The Lego Movie, Horton Hears a Who!, Sausage Party, and Megamind. Additionally, Hill starred in Netflix's mini-series, Maniac. As a screenwriter, meanwhile, Hill co-wrote the stories for 21 and 22 Jump Street and Why Him? He also wrote and directed mid90s.

Most recently, Jonah Hill guest-starred on Curb Your Enthusiasm. Next, the actor will be seen in Netflix's Don't Look Up.

Robin Wright (Sharon Beane)

Playing the part of Sharon Beane, Billy's ex-wife, Robin Wright took on a combative character in Moneyball. Most notably, Wright is known for her lead roles in The Princess Bride and Forrest Gump. She's also acclaimed for her Emmy-nominated performance in Netflix's House of Cards. Her other high-profile film credits include Unbreakable, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), Wonder Woman, Blade Runner 2049, White Oleander, Nine Lives (2005), Beowulf, The Congress, Everest, and A Most Wanted Man. Additionally, on TV, the actress is known for NBC's Santa Barbara, as well as Empire Falls and Enlightened.

Earlier this year, Robin Wright made her feature directorial debut with Land, which the actress also produced and starred in. She also reprised her role as Antiope in Wonder Woman 1984 and Zack Snyder's Justice League. Additionally, Wright narrated CNN's First Ladies. Currently, she's directing a segment in the anthology film, Together Now.

Chris Pratt (Scott Hatteberg)

As Scott Hatteberg, a catcher-turned-first baseman for the Oakland Athletics, Chris Pratt played a prominent supporting role in Moneyball. Following this film's release, the actor's profile skyrocketed, notably with his lead performance in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. He would reprise this role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. He's also well-known for starring in Jurassic World and its sequel. Additionally, he voiced the lead character in The LEGO Movie and The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part. On TV, meanwhile, the A-lister was a scene-stealer in NBC's Parks and Recreation.

Most recently, Chris Pratt appeared in A Parks and Recreation Special. The actor can also be heard in Pixar's Onward. Next, Pratt stars in Jurassic World: Dominion and The Tomorrow War. He's also playing Star-Lord in Thor: Love and Thunder, which is now filming, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Additionally, he's attached to the long-delayed Cowboy Ninja Viking.

Kerris Dorsey (Casey Beane)

In the role of Casey Beane, Billy Beane's daughter, Kerris Dorsey plays a heartfelt supporting character at the emotional core of Bennett Miller's Moneyball. Dorsey's other notable film credits include Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Walk the Line, Just Like Heaven, and McKenna Shoots for the Stars. Also, the actress can be seen in Don't Tell Kim, JumpRopeSprint, and Fuel. Most notably, though, Dorsey starred in Showtime's Ray Donovan as Bridget Donovan. Additionally, she was in the main cast for ABC's Brothers & Sisters. Her other television credits include Mad Men, Shake It Up, Sons of Anarchy, Monk, Scrubs, Medium, Vanished, and So Notorious.

Next, Kerris Dorsey stars in the short film, Delivery, which she also produced. She'll also reprise her role as Bridget Donovan in Showtime's Ray Donovan film continuation. Additionally, Dorsey wrote and directed the short film, Silverstone, earlier this year.

Stephen Bishop (David Justice)

Playing the part of David Justice, an outfielder, Stephen Bishop plays a notable supporting role in Moneyball. A retired baseball player, Bishop brought a great deal of authenticity to his performance, adding to its lived-in feel. As an actor, Bishop can be seen in Friday Night Lights (2004), The Rundown, Hancock, The Town, Safe House, Battleship, Miss Meadows, and last year's Fatal Affair. On TV, Bishop appears in Being Mary Jane and Imposters, as well as Criminal Minds, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Grey's Anatomy, Lost, CSI: Miami, The Mentalist, and Friday Night Lights.

Next, Stephen Bishop stars as Singleholic. He's also set to star in Starz's Run the World.

Reed Diamond (Mark Shapiro)

As Mark Shapiro, the Indians general manager who gets outmaneuvered by Billy Beane, Reed Diamond plays an eventful supporting character in Moneyball. Most notably, Diamond is known for his TV work in Homicide: Life on the Street, 24, Dollhouse, and The Shield, as well as Bones, The Mentalist, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Underground, Franklin & Bash, Judging Amy, and Journeyman. More recently, Diamond played recurring characters in ABC's Designated Survivor and USA Network's The Purge.

Outside of television, Reed Diamond appeared in Spider-Man 2, Assassins, Clear and Present Danger, S.W.A.T., Good Night and Good Luck, Meet Bill, Much Ado About Nothing (2012), Memphis Belle, and Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk. Most recently, the actor was seen in Our Friend, Pearl, and 13 Reasons Why's final season.

Brent Jennings (Ron Washington)

In the role of Ron Washington, the coach of the Oakland Athletics, Brent Jennings played an authoritative character in Moneyball. His other notable film credits include Witness, Red Heat, Another 48 Hrs., Life (1999), Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering, Honeydripper, Live Wire, and Fear City. On TV, Jennings was a series regular on AMC's Lodge 49. He also appeared in Political Animals, ER, Shameless, and Medium. Currently, the actor appears in The CW's All American. Also, Jennings guest-starred in FX's Snowfall this year. Additionally, he was seen in HBO's Insecure and CBS's All Rise.

Glenn Morshower (Ron Hopkins)

Playing the part of Ron Hopkins, an old-school scout, Glenn Morshower has a notable supporting role in Moneyball. Most notably, the actor is known for his role in 24. He also appears in four Transformers movies, including the most recent installment in the franchise, Transformers: The Last Knight. Currently, Morshower plays a recurring role in Fox's The Resident. Additionally, the actor has over 200 credits in film and television, including Bloodline, Supergirl, Dallas, X-Men: First Class, Friday Night Lights, Good Night and Good Luck, The Island, Black Hawk Down, Pearl Harbor, Godzilla (1998), Air Force One, Star Trek: Generations, Tango & Cash, The West Wing, and Alias.

Most recently, Glenn Morshower played a supporting role in January's The Little Things. He also starred in February's Scream Test. Morshower's other recent film credits include A Dark Foe and The Runners. Next, the actor appears in Under the Stadium Lights, Delicate State, Viridian, Quiet In My Town, Black Wood, and the short film, Amen.

Casey Bond (Chad Bradford)

As Chad Bradford, the underhand-throwing pitcher, former athlete Casey Bond plays a fastball-throwing character in Bennett Miller's Moneyball. Prior to acting, Bond was an outfielder within the San Francisco Giants organization. Following Moneyball, the actor appeared in I Saw the Light, Salvation Street, Undrafted, and Remember the Goal.

Additionally, Casey Bond starred in and produced My Many Sons and The Meanest Man in Texas. He also produced the documentary, The Cuban Dream, and wrote, directed, and produced a pair of short films, THE Rainbow Chasers and Deep Water Stillness. For the latter, Bond doubled as an editor and cinematographer. Additionally, the actor appeared in Nashville. Most recently, Bond played a supporting role in Apple TV+'s war drama, Greyhound. Next, he's expected to appear in the upcoming short film, Zinfandel.

Tammy Blanchard (Elizabeth Hatteberg)

In the role of Elizabeth Hatteberg, Scott's wife, Tammy Blanchard provides a brief supporting turn in Moneyball. Away from this acclaimed movie, Blanchard is a two-time Tony-nominated actress for her Broadway performances in 2003's Gypsy and 2011's How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. She also received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her portrayal of a teenage Judy Garland in Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows. Additionally, her other notable film credits include Tallulah, Into the Woods, Blue Jasmine, Rabbit Hole, Cadillac Records, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, The Good Shepherd, and The Invitation.

Additionally, on TV, Tammy Blanchard had a recurring role in USA Network's Dare Me. Also, the actress was in the main cast for Guiding Light. Her other TV credits include The Big C, Law & Order, Billions, The Good Wife, and Blue Bloods. Earlier this year, Blanchard appeared in The Mimic. Next, the actress will be seen in Rifkin's Festival, which premiered internationally, Defining Moments, and Joyful.

Jack McGee (John Poloni)

Playing the part of John Poloni, a scout and former big-league pitcher, Jack McGee was an outspoken character in Moneyball. Most notably, McGee is known for FX's Rescue Me, though the character actor has 100-plus film and TV credits on his resume, including The Fighter, The McCarthys, Pitch, Basic Instinct, Gangster Squad, Domino, Legally Blonde 2, The Man Who Wasn't There, Thirteen Days, Coyote Ugly, The Paper, The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas, Jungle 2 Jungle, Cool as Ice, Backdraft, The Doors, Lethal Weapon 2, Scrooged, Showgirls, 21, TRON: Legacy, and Drive Angry.

Most recently, Jack McGee appeared in Last Call. Next, he'll be seen in Blue Call, Our Almost Completely True Story, Christmas vs. The Walters, and A Place in the Field.

We should also note that, while Phillip Seymour Hoffman played a major role in this acclaimed drama, the Oscar-winning actor passed away in 2014 at 46. Following Moneyball's release, Hoffman was seen in The Master, A Most Wanted Man, and The Hunger Games sequels. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 became his final film.

Nothing sounds nearly as cool as traveling the country with a rock band and writer and director Cameron Crowe actually does know what that is like from following Led Zeppelin for a Rolling Stone cover article in his teens. That journey would inspire 2000’s Almost Famous, an instant classic about a young aspiring journalist who joins fictional up-and-coming musicians on tour in the 1970s, with a Grammy-winning soundtrack as stellar as its cast.

The Academy Award-winning period piece would be a breakout hit for some (such as Kate Hudson), yet another glowing resume entry for others (like Philip Seymour Hoffman), or might be one movie you forgot Jimmy Fallon was in years before hosting The Tonight Show. However, every member from the cast of Almost Famous would bring something memorable to the story and most would go on to live up to the film’s title, even if some were already pretty close to fame to being with.

In celebration of two decades since the release of Almost Famous, we look back on the legacy it has led through the legacies it helped to create. The following are 14 of its main cast members, who they are they portrayed and how they have made a name for themselves since.

Patrick Fugit (William Miller)

After making his big screen debut as Cameron Crowe’s onscreen counterpart in Almost Famous, Patrick Fugit reunited with the filmmaker for 2011’s We Bought a Zoo and would additionally show up in other notable films (Saved!, First Man) and TV shows (Jason Bourne spin-off Treadstone, Robert Kirkman comic book adaptation Outcast on which he played the lead). He more recently voiced the character Owen in the hit video game The Last of Us: Part II and will star in the pilot for Thirtysomething(else), which focuses on the grown-up children of characters from the late 1980s drama Thirtysomething.

Kate Hudson (Penny Lane)

Other than being known as the grown-up child of Goldie Hawn and stepdaughter of Kurt Russell, Kate Hudson won a Golden Globe for playing a free-spirited, fictionalized version of band promoter Pennie Lane (with the spelling altered) in Almost Famous. 

She has also been known to associate with musicians in real life, too, having once wed The Black Crowes’ Chris Robinson and later dated Muse frontman Matt Bellamy amongst other rock star romances. The How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days star has led an eclectic acting career that will next include Music, the directorial debut of Sia, fantasy thriller Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon, and Michael Shannon-led comedy Shriver, which is still currently filming.

Billy Crudup (Russell Hammond)

He has lent his voice to music onscreen twice as Stillwater’s lead guitarist in Almost Famous and alongside the late Anton Yelchin in Rudderless in 2014. You might also recognize Billy Crudup’s voice from those “priceless” Mastercard ads years ago. He also starred in two DC movies (Dr. Manhattan in 2009’s Watchmen and The Flash’s dad in 2017’s Justice League), portrayed lawyer Eric MacLeish in the 2016 Best Picture winner Spotlight, played the captain of a doomed colony vessel in Alien: Covenant, and recently scored an Emmy nomination for playing a slimy network executive in the Apple TV+ original The Morning Show.

Jason Lee (Jeff Bebe)

You might also recognize Jason Lee’s voice as Syndrome in The Incredibles or his face from his Golden Globe-nominated title role on sitcom My Name is Earl. Before playing Stillwater’s lead singer Jeff Bebe in Almost Famous, the skateboarder turned actor broke out as Brodie in 1995’s Mallrats by Kevin Smith, for whom Lee reprised his Chasing Amy character, Banky Edwards, a third time in 2019’s Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. He also recently voiced a Sasquatch named Charlie on the Cartoon Network original We Bare Bears and its 2020 feature-length TV movie, which you could argue is a step up from playing Dave in the Alvin and the Chipmunks movies, and he also moonlights as a restauranteur in Denton, Texas.

Anna Paquin (Polexia Aphrodisia)

Her role as Flora McGrath in The Piano made her the youngest Best Supporting Actress Oscar recipient in history at 11 years old in 1994 and, in 2000, Anna Paquin had a tremendous year, both starring in Almost Famous as Polexia Aphrodisia and debuting as Rogue in X-Men. The Canadian actress also has a Golden Globe for the hit HBO vampire series True Blood and her most celebrated performance recently was as Robert DeNiro’s estranged daughter in The Irishman, despite having one line of dialogue. She has also appeared on the acclaimed Showtime drama The Affair and as a publicist for troubled celebrities in the Pop TV original series Flack.

Fairuza Balk (Sapphire)

Prior to playing Stillwater groupie Sapphire in Almost Famous, Fairuza Balk also had a notable child acting career, making her film debut as Dorothy in the twisted Return to Oz and later landing a scene-stealing role as teenage witch Nancy in The Craft. One of her more recent notable characters was a sex worker named Ginger on the third season of Ray Donovan and she will make her return to the world of the music business (on screen, at least) in Paradise City, a series spin-off of the 2018 film American Satan, which is now in post-production.

Noah Taylor (Dick Roswell)

Some modern audiences may recognize English actor Noah Taylor, who played Stillwater’s manager Dick Roswell in Almost Famous, as Mr. Bucket in Tim Buton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or as Phibs in Paddington 2. However, most people would more likely recognize him from his remarkable television as of late, which includes playing Locke on Game of Thrones, Daryl Sabini on period crime drama Peaky Blinders, and, most recently, on AMC’s DC Vertigo comic book adaptation Preacher, which is, believe or not, the second time he has portrayed Adolf Hitler.

Mark Kozelek (Larry Fellows)

Making his feature film debut in Almost Famous was Mark Kozelek, who played Stillwater bassist Larry Fellows - a very fitting role for him a he has made a career out out it. The musician only has four total acting credits to his name, including Cameron Crowe’s Vanilla Sky, leader of a band called Hot Tears in the Steve Martin-penned drama Shopgirl, and an appearing as himself against Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel in 2015’s Youth. Any other contribution of his to entertainment has been in the music department on various and films and TV shows or rocking out onstage or a recording studio.

John Fedevich (Ed Vallencourt)

It was actually per Mark Kozelek’s suggestion that John Fedevich, a studio session drummer since the late 1980s, got the part of Ed Vallencourt, Stillwater’s drummer. In fact, the musician has never been in a movie that did not also star his bass player friend Kozelek, including Almost Famous, a wordless reprisal of the Vallencourt role in Vanilla Sky, and playing the drummer for Hot Tears in Shopgirl. Fedevich is still active in the music business touring with various artists, including Billy Joel, to name one.

Michael Angarano (Young William Miller)

Michael Angarano’s career as a promising child actor was already on the up-and-up when he was cast as a younger version of William Miller and his career has since continued to evolve with no sign of stopping. He played the super-powered son of his Almost Famous co-star Kate Husdon’s stepfather, Kurt Russell, in Sky High, reprised his role as Eliot, Jack’s (Sean Hayes) son, on NBC’s reboot of Will & Grace more recently, and his stint as Jack Pearson’s younger brother on This Is Us earned him an Emmy nomination in 2019. He also appears in the second season of Hulu’s PEN15 and is pre-production for a CBS sitcom pilot called To Whom It May Concern.

Zooey Deschanel (Anita Miller)

Like her onscreen younger brother, Zooey Deschanel would become a sitcom star after playing Anita Miller in Almost Famous, after appearing in several other high-profile films, of course. The 40-year-old star of Elf, 500 Days of Summer, and M. Night Shyamalan’s infamous The Happening, who is also a singer for indie duo She and Him, retired her role as Jessica Day on New Girl after seven seasons in 2018 and recently reprised the voice of Bridget in Trolls World Tour. Otherwise, Deschanel has spent much of 2020 in quarantine with her beau, Property Brothers’ Jonathan Scott.

Frances McDormand (Elaine Miller)

Playing the overprotective Elaine Miller in Almost Famous was just one of the many stages of Frances McDormand’s portrayal of many kinds of mothers, including her Oscar-winning roles in 1996’s Fargo and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri in 2017, among others. The 63-year-old actress will appear next as an free-spirited cross-country traveler in Nomadland, a trailblazing journalist in Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, and as Lady MacBeth opposite Denzel Washington in the title role of her husband, Joel Coen’s, interpretation of Shakespeare’s 17th Century tragedy.

Jimmy Fallon (Dennis Hope)

Few remember Jimmy Fallon having the most successful career outside of his Saturday Night Live stint and eventually becoming a leading late night talk show host, but those are also the same people who might not have recognized him in his feature film debut as professional touring manager Dennis Hope in Almost Famous. While his acting career was, admittedly, underwhelming to most (from 2004’s Taxi and Fever Pitch the following year) before taking over Late Night from Conan O’Brien and later The Tonight Show from Jay Leno, he has done quite well lately by making cameos as himself, such as in Jurassic World, Amazon Prime’s darkly funny superhero satire The Boys, and the upcoming comedy Marry Me, starring Jennifer Lopez, which is expected for release in 2021.

Philip Seymour Hoffman (Lester Bangs)

Never one to underwhelm on screen was the great Philip Seymour Hoffman, who played real life music critic Lester Bangs in Almost Famous as well as countless other scene-stealers since the late 1980s, including Brandt in The Big Lebowski, Scotty J. in Boogie Nights, and his Oscar-winning performance in the title character of Capote. His final role was as undercover resistance leader Plutarch Heavensbee in The Hunger Games franchise, which he was mostly able to finish before he passed away of a heroin overdose in 2014. Hoffman was 46.

What do you think? Did the cast of Almost Famous indeed live up to the film’s title or do you believe they deserved better? Let us know in the comments and be sure to check back for additional information and updates on the Cameron Crowe classic, as well as even more inside looks at the cast members of your favorite movies and TV shows, here on CinemaBlend.

Death is never an easy thing, especially when it's unexpected. That's almost always the case with a movie loses an actor or actress, and oftentimes a death during production can lead to changes that alter the way movies move forward.

The following are some of the more famous cases in which productions had to deal with an actor's death, and how it impacted the movies. To be clear, these aren't all the times an actor or actress has died while a film is in production, and no offense is meant to any names left on or off the list.

Gladiator

Actor Oliver Reed passed away while filming for Gladiator, and in quite an odd way. While the movie was filming in Malta, Reed, a known alcoholic, challenged some sailors to a drinking competition and died in the bar after having a disputed amount of drinks. Director Ridley Scott has said it was a couple of pints, but other publications have said Reed consumed eight pints, in addition to several shots of various liquors. In either case, some of Reed's scenes as Proximo had to be finished with CGI and body doubles. The result, surprisingly, is phenomenal for the technology available in 2000.

Furious 7

Furious 7 decided to halt production for multiple reasons when star Paul Walker died in a car accident, both to grieve and rethink the movie. Up to that point, Walker had played been one of the central characters of the franchise, and with so many key scenes left to shoot, James Wan and writer Chris Morgan opted to change the focus of Brian's direction to becoming a family man. The subplot gave the writers the perfect send off to Brian O'Connor, as well as a tasteful tribute to Walker in light of his death.

Plan 9 From Outer Space

Unlike a vast majority of the entries on this list, Bela Lugosi's scenes for Plan 9 From Outer Space were shot before his death. The weird part here is that Plan 9 From Outer Space didn't exist when those scenes were shot, and director Ed Wood worked a compilation of random scenes he had filmed with the actor into the script. In doing so, Wood was able to promote the movie as Lugosi's last movie and attracted bigger names to Plan 9 From Outer Space as well. However, Wood still needed additional scenes for Lugosi's character when filming got underway, so he brought in his wife's chiropractor (a man with no acting experience and was taller than Lugosi) as a stand-in.

The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus

Director Terry Gilliam assumed The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus was done for when he received word of Heath Ledger's death, mainly because Ledger's appearance was tied to much of the film's funding. Once production resumed, Gilliam was able to finish the movie with a new idea that Ledger's character would change appearance across realities, and with the help of actors with a connection to Ledger: Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell. Gilliam had no shortage of actors who wanted to stand in for Ledger, but he had to turn away folks like Tom Cruise because he felt it wrong to include those who hadn't personally known the actor.

Game Of Death

Bruce Lee's Game Of Death is a unique situation, in that Robert Clouse's version was a revamped version of a Hong Kong film that Lee was in the process of making when he died. The movie used footage of Lee's original version, but had revamped other parts in which Lee's intentions for the plot were unclear or to accommodate the fact he wasn't around for reshoots. Body doubles and a cardboard cutout of Lee's face were used to try and create the magic of bringing the actor back to life on screen, but even by the late '70s effects standards, the attempt is pretty shoddy.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

Philip Seymour Hoffman tragically passed away with just a week left of filming in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2. While most of his scenes between Part 1 and 2 were filmed, there were still a couple of major scenes from his character that had not been finished. Originally it was announced the movie would attempt to digitize Hoffman, but those on the production later changed their mind. Instead, Plutarch's final conversation with Katniss was read by Haymitch in the form of a letter.

The Crow

Brandon Lee, son of Bruce Lee, sadly suffered the same fate as his father by dying amidst the production of a Hollywood feature. The Crow star had only three days left of filming and was shooting the flashback scene in which Eric is first killed. Unfortunately, the gun was not properly checked, and due to circumstances that had happened in previous fires, there was a discharge that struck Lee in the abdomen similar to if an actual bullet hit him. He died later in surgery, and the movie was completed with the use of CGI and his stunt double.

Brainstorm

Brainstorm was already in trouble at the time of Natalie Wood's death, and with that news, MGM attempted to shut down the movie completely. The movie would eventually release with Wood's sister stepping in as a body double, though Brainstorm did not generally get good reviews. The legacy of Wood's death has somewhat outlived the legacy of the movie, with the circumstances behind her death considered a mystery to this day. Wood passed away after drowning on a yacht with her husband Robert Wagner and Brainstorm co-star Christopher Walken.

Twilight Zone: The Movie

The death of actor Vic Morrow and two child actors, Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen, has lived on as a catastrophic failure of Hollywood safety procedures. The actor and the children were killed when a helicopter spun out of control thanks to pyrotechnic explosions that were placed too close together. The accident resulted in an investigation and trial, and dissolved the relationship between directors John Landis and Steven Spielberg. Landis and the crew were ultimately acquitted of manslaughter charges for the accident, though Landis was admonished for circumventing child labor laws that would've otherwise guaranteed the children would not have been in the scene. Twilight Zone: The Movie was still released, and the segment with Morrow's story was changed to have a different ending than what was intended.

Continue to stick with CinemaBlend for all the latest news happening in movies and television, especially as productions continue to change dates and deal with halts in production.

With 20 seasons, Law and Order is one of the longest running dramas of all-time. It spun several spin-offs, including--the still going strong--Law and Order: SVU. Law and Order helped make procedural dramas more popular and it made the cast very recognizable. It even launched the career of some very famous Hollywood names.

In September of 2020, Law and Order celebrates its 30-year premiere anniversary. Part of what made the series successful was its episodic nature. Each episode felt like a contained show, movie, or play. Turn on any Law and Order episode to enjoy actors bringing intense drama, stunning intrigue, and a dash of deception. With Law and Order: SVU still on the air and Dick Wolf’s shows continuing to dominate television, Law and Order remains a coveted gig for up and coming actors.

Claire Danes

In 1992, two years before My So Called Life would air, Claire Danes landed her first major acting gig: an episode of Law and Order. Claire Danes’ Law and Order episode was the Season 3 premiere. She was barely a teen on her Law and Order episode where she played a 15-year-old tied into a secret prostitution ring. Her displaying so much talent at such a young age likely helped Claire Danes’ accelerate her acting career.

The short-lived My So Called Life gave Claire Danes’ career a major boost. She then went on to star in many motion pictures, including Romeo + Juliet, The Hours, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, and Stardust. Danes gained even more recognition and praise in 2011 when she landed the lead role of Carrie Mathison in Homeland. But before all of that, she was on Law & Order.

Adam Driver

Adam Driver appeared in Law and Order in 2010, during Law and Order’s final season (Season 20, Episode 15) “Brilliant Disguise.” This Law and Order role came two years prior to him landing his breakout Girls role. Law and Order was one of Adam Driver’s first screen roles. In his episode he played a lab technician accused of murdering a secret escort. He had theater roles before Law and Order, but he had only appeared on one TV show and a short film before the police drama. Appearing on such a massively popular show might have help give him the confidence to audition for even bigger roles.

Since 2009, Adam Driver has taken on a variety of stage and screen roles. He has blended big blockbuster performances, like his role as Kylo Ren in the new Star Wars trilogy, with an array of arthouse film projects like Frances Ha, BlacKkKlansman, and The Report. Adam Driver had a very successful 2019, appearing in the critically acclaimed Marriage Story, and receiving his first Best Lead Actor Academy Award nomination for the same film.

Sam Rockwell

Sam Rockwell played two different characters in multiple episodes of Law and Order. His first episode was Season 2's “Intolerance,” and his second episode was Season 3" 21st episode, “Manhood.” in "Manhood," Rockwell plays an officer who doesn't show up when a fellow officer needs him. This leads to that officer's death and accusations of homophobia on their police force. In "Intolerance," he plays a member of a family accused of murdering a Chinese-American student to help one of the boys win a science award. Sam Rockwell had at least a dozen screen roles before appearing in Law and Order. However, it was still quite early in his career. Rockwell had only been consistently booking gigs for four years when he had his Law and Order premiere.

Since the early '90s, Sam Rockwell has forged a very diverse acting career--appearing in major motion pictures like The Green Mile, Charlie’s Angels, Iron Man 2, and Seven Psychopaths. In 2018, Sam Rockwell won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. He has also appeared in three recent Academy Award nominated movies, Vice, Richard Jewell, and Jojo Rabbit. In 2019, Sam Rockwell also appeared in the limited series Fosse/Verdon.

Sebastian Stan

Sebastian Stan had only appeared in one thing prior to his Law and Order debut in 2003. He appeared in Season 13's “Sheltered.” In the episode, Stan played a boy abducted and raised by his abuser. Modern Family’s Ty Burrell played his abuser. This role led to a steady stream of small roles until he landed his 2007 Gossip Girl role.

Sebastian Stan appeared in the hit TV series Gossip Girl and Once Upon a Time. However, most people know him for his roles in the Marvel movie franchise. Sebastian Stan plays Bucky Barnes aka The Winter Soldier. He’s been playing Bucky Barnes in the Marvel franchise since 2011, and later this year he’ll have his own Disney+ and Marvel series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson appeared on Law and Order Season 1, Episode 14, “The Violence of Summer" as Defense Attorney Louis Taggert. He had only made limited television appearances before his Law and Order episode. However, he had already been appearing in films for nearly 20 years before the show. Samuel L Jackson at least appeared in over fifteen films from 1972 to 1992, including films like Do The Right Thing, Coming to America, and Jungle Fever. It was definitely not a career-making role, but it was before Samuel L. Jackson became one of the most recognized names in cinema.

Samuel L. Jackson has appeared in nearly 200 films and television shows. His most famous work includes the Marvel movies, The Incredibles, the Star Wars prequels, Kill Bill II, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Pulp Fiction, and School Daze.

Sarah Paulson

In 1994, Law and Order was Sarah Paulson’s first screen acting gig. She appeared in Season 5, Episode 4, “Family Values.” Sarah Paulson played a teen who claimed that she was having an affair with her murdered mother’s new husband. A year later, she landed a series regular role on American Gothic.

Sarah Paulson appeared in Bird Box, Ocean’s Eight, The Goldfinch, and Glass, but most people know her from her work with Ryan Murphy. Sarah Paulson has appeared in most seasons of American Horror Story and a few seasons of American Crime Story. Ryan Murphy and Paulson also will team up once again for a Netflix series about the infamous One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest character Nurse Ratched.

Ellen Pompeo

Law and Order was Ellen Pompeo’s first TV gig. She appeared in Season 6, Episode 16, “Savior” and Season 10's “Fools for Love.” The first episode involved a case about a man being accused of murdering his wife and son. The Season 10 episode involved a man accused of killing and raping his girlfriend’s sister and another victim. Prior to her first Law and Order episode, Ellen Pompeo had only appeared in one short film. She had a few movies and TV roles before her 2000 return to Law and Order.

Grey’s Anatomy fans best know Ellen Pompeo for her lead role as Dr. Meredith Grey. She has also appeared in Life of the Party, Friends, and Catch Me If You Can.

Allison Janney

Allison Janney had appeared on As the World Turns and Morton & Hayes along with a few movies before making her Law and Order appearances. She appeared in 1992 and 1994. The first episode Season 2, Episode 12, “Star Struck,” and the second episode was Season 4's “Old Friends.” In "Old Friends," Allison Janney plays a character scared to testify about a murder because it could lead to dangerous consequences for her. In "Star Struck," she plays someone interviewed about a murdered soap opera actress.

Allison Janney is an Academy Award and Emmy winning actress. She has appeared on hit series and critically acclaimed movies; her list of work includes 10 Things I Hate About You, The Hours, Finding Nemo, The West Wing, Masters of Sex, I, Tonya, and Mom.

Emmy Rossum

Emmy Rossum appeared on Law and Order when she was only a preteen. She played a young girl who became the target of a female circumcision. This Law and Order episode, "Ritual," aired during Season 8. This was Emmy Rossum’s first TV acting gig, but the following year she would appear in several screen projects.

Emmy Rossum is best known for her role as Fiona Gallagher in Shameless. She has also appeared in the films Mystic River, The Day After Tomorrow, and The Phantom of the Opera.

Vera Farmiga

Vera Farmiga appeared in Law and Order Season 8, Episode 12, “Expert.” She plays a character accused of trying to murder an expert witness in her father’s case. Prior to Law and Order, Farmiga had only appeared in two other on-screen things. One was a short lived TV show starring Heath Ledger called Roar and the other a TV movie called Rose Hill.

Vera Farmiga is an Academy Award nominated actress, best known for her role as Nora Bates in Bates Motel. Vera Farmiga has also appeared in Up in the Air, The Conjuring series, When They See Us, and The Departed.

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Philip Seymour Hoffman made his screen debut with Law and Order. He appeared in Season 1, Episode 14, “The Violence of Summer.” He plays one of the men involved in a rape case. Samuel L. Jackson also appeared in this episode.

Philip Seymour Hoffman was an Academy Award winning actor who appeared in The Hunger Games movies, The Master, Almost Famous, Doubt, and Capote. He won his Best Lead Actor Academy Award for his role in Capote, and he received three Best Supporting Actor nominations for The Master, Doubt, and Charlie Wilson’s War.

Law and Order is available to rent or buy on most major streaming platforms, including Amazon Prime Video. Law and Order’s most successful spin-off, Law and Order: SVU, is currently airing season 21 on NBC. Hulu has all seasons of Law and Order: SVU available to stream. Stream it HERE.

We are entering into the Dog Days of summer at the multiplexes, and since the ReelBlend guys exhausted their Mission: Impossible -- Fallout conversation in previous episodes of the podcast, this week they spend a lot of time on news. Thankfully, there were two massive stories in this news this week, which gave them plenty of time to talk about it.

The first story was James Gunn, and the ongoing deliberations about whether or not Disney should reconsider his firing from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Gunn was removed from the project due to insensitive jokes he made on Twitter years ago. Despite the fact that his Guardians cast released a statement supporting their director, it doesn't look like Disney is going to back off.

In addition, the ReelBlend guys shifted focus over to Star Wars: Episode 9, which made a splash right before the live show by releasing a photo form the first day on set. What did it show? The guys discuss.

Earlier this week, Kevin McCarthy traveled to Bend, Oregon to visit the last Blockbuster video store. Kevin actually worked behind the counter, got a name tag and a t-shirt (and he picked one up for Jake Hamilton, but NOT for Sean O'Connell), and he met an Oregon man who had rented Terminator 2 AND True Romance. So he's basically Kevin's new best friend now.

Then, we got to the #Blend game for this week, and it was a wild one. For starters, the guys chose Philip Seymour Hoffman. But this also was the first week that they tweaked the game to be about their FAVORITE performance by an actor, and not their BEST. We thought it would lead to more personal and passionate discussions, and it certainly managed to do just that.

ReelBlend is a LIVE podcast that we do on CinemaBlend's Facebook page. As soon as we are done on Facebook, you can download the latest episode (and all of our past episodes) for FREE on our iTunes page! Visit. Subscribe. Like and comment. Review! Apple loves when you have star ratings and reviews, so if you listened, and you liked it (or even if you didn't), let us know. We also are on Spotify. And Google Play. And basically everywhere that you download podcasts. So download us!

Meanwhile, follow the guys on Social Media! We have an official Twitter feed for the show, so follow @ReelBlend. In addition, follow the guys at @Sean_OConnell, @JakesTakesand @KevinMcCarthyTV. We will be back at it next week, LIVE on CinemaBlend's Facebook page. See you then!

It has been nearly four years since Academy Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman died at the age of 46. Now Mimi O'Donnell, the woman with whom Hoffman shared the last 14 years of his life and had three children, has opened up in a heartwrenching essay. The piece accounts her relationship with Hoffman and her recollections of his relapse into alcoholism and drug abuse, which directly led to his untimely death. The story is dark in parts, but O'Donnell also covers some of the happy times she and her longtime partner shared. Still, she broaches the topic of Hoffman's passing and writes,

In the Vogue essay, Mimi O'Donnell tells the story of how she first met Philip Seymour Hoffman. She was vying for a job designing costumes for a play Hoffman was directing. O'Donnell describes the instant attraction, and she explains how the relationship blossomed over the following years. O'Donnell reveals how Hoffman was candid about his alcohol abuse and use of hard drugs in his early twenties. She says he was honest about the recovery and rehabilitation programs he went through as well. O'Donnell writes that most of Hoffman's friends were in Alcoholics Anonymous with him, and for years everything went in the right direction.

Mimi O'Donnell indicates the turning point in Philip Seymour Hoffman's life was a challenging time. Evidently, he was experiencing what some people might call a midlife crisis of extreme proportions. O'Donnell writes he was finding himself questioning his "sexual currency" in his 40s. Plus, Hoffman had experienced a falling out with a number of his AA connections. O'Donnell writes about Hoffman one day asking her what she would think if he tried a drink again. Although she vehemently requested he keep alcohol out of his life, he unfortunately relapsed. Soon after alcohol had crept back into his life, O'Donnell uncovered that Hoffman had begun abusing prescription drugs. Not long afterward, she found out he had returned to using hard drugs like heroin.

In the essay, Mimi O'Donnell outlines some but not all of the harrowing moments between when she found out about the heroin and Hoffman's death. At one point, she told him he was going to die if he kept using. In fact, O'Donnell wrote that, in her opinion, Philip Seymour Hoffman seemed to believe he would die young, perhaps as a result of his addictive behaviors. Sadly, this prediction came true.

Philip Seymour Hoffman passed away on February 2, 2014. Hoffman's screenwriter friend, David Bar Katz, found the actor deceased in his Manhattan apartment's bathroom. Hoffman had been using drugs, and heroin and prescription medications turned up around the home when investigators did a sweep of the location. He was wrapping up the final week of filming Mockingjay: Part 2 of the Hunger Games series when he died. Celebrities and movie studios spoke of Hoffman's passing as a real loss for Hollywood. Although alcoholism and drug abuse were critical aspects of Hoffman's life and death, many people remember him not for his addictions but his legacy as a gifted, talented actor and director who blew audiences away in dozens upon dozens of projects like Capote, Doubt, Magnolia, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and so on.

This coming Sunday marks the 88th occasion when Hollywood has collectively slapped itself on the back for a year of well-crafted movies. But the previous 87 Academy Awards haven’t unfolded without their fair share of issues. There have been streakers, painfully awkward speeches, and unlikely and contentious victors. In fact, with the latter in mind, there was no more divisive an Oscars ceremony than 2006’s 78th Academy Awards, which was hosted by Jon Stewart, delayed a week because of the Winter Olympics, and saw some truly bizarre Academy Award recipients. 

Want to relive the madness? Of course you do. So take a rewind to 10 years ago, and check out the winners that the Academy got right and very, very wrong that year.

What They Got Wrong: Crash Won Best Picture

Easily the most controversial decision of the night saw the Academy Awards hand Paul Haggis’ Crash the Best Picture accolade. Crash was met with some positive but mainly mixed reviews upon its release for the rather simplistic way that it merged and meandered together its various tales about social and racial tensions across Los Angeles. So the fact that it beat the hugely fancied Brokeback Mountain, a critical darling that was showered with praise for its raw, romantic, but luscious tale of two men falling in love, was met with audible gasps in the Kodak Theatre on Oscar night.

But it wasn’t just Brokeback Mountain that should have felt overlooked. The subtle yet prescient Good Night, And Good Luck from George Clooney and Grant Heslov would have been a more worthy victor, as would have Batman Begins, the genre-defining origin story for Bruce Wayne from Christopher Nolan. Alas, as the Academy have repeatedly shown, they’re not willing to celebrate comic-book movies at their annual gathering, with Batman Begins not even receiving a nomination. Instead, much to the Academy’s shame, they’re more than happy to reward sappy, gawkish and overly sentimental pap that is nowhere near as profound as it thinks it is.

What They Got Right: Philip Seymour Hoffman Won Best Actor For Capote

An absolute no-brainer, Philip Seymour Hoffman wasn’t just one of the most respected and popular actors working in cinema back in 2006, but it was widely regarded that this was just the start of his Academy Award collection. Instead, 10 years after Philip Seymour Hoffman picked up his solitary Academy Award for Best Actor as Truman Capote in Bennett Miller’s Capote, and just over two years after his untimely passing, all we can do is think of what could have been.

What makes the fact that Philip Seymour Hoffman won the Best Actor Oscar for Capote all the more remarkable is that it’s probably not even in his Top 10 performances. Yet, despite towering portrayals from Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain), Joaquin Phoenix (Walk The Line), and David Strathairn (Good Night, and Good Luck) in 2005, Philip Seymour Hoffman’s work in Captote was still far and away the best of the year. It’s just absolutely devastating that he was unable to add to his four Oscar nominations, which he undoubtedly would have.

What They Got Wrong: Andy Serkis Was Overlooked For King Kong

It says a lot about George Clooney’s performance in Syriana that I actually completely forgot he’d won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for it. Stephen Gaghan’s ambitious and intricate political drama pines to be taken seriously. So it was no surprise that the Academy Awards found space to reward it by handing George Clooney his gong, especially since, in the same year, he’d written, directed, and starred in Good Night, and Good Luck, too. But, if we’re all being honest, George Clooney’s Syriana performance is akin to half a dozen others from the actor.

Meanwhile, Andy Serkis’ performance capture portrayal of the eponymous King Kong pushed the medium of cinema forward, as the actor proved that you could add an emotional complexity to a character through its usage. At the same time, Serkis is utterly engrossing and powerful as King Kong, bringing the oversized ape to life in an authentic but still cinematic and relatable manner that really deserved to be acknowledged. Serkis was mastering Mo-Cap at the time, but the Academy still doesn't see it as acting. Maybe, in time.

What They Got Right: Reese Witherspoon Won Best Actress For Walk The Line

I’m not a huge Walk The Line fan. Johnny Cash’s life and career was a huge, "Fuck you," to the constraints of the music industry, so the fact that his cinematic adaptation repeatedly descends into formulaic tropes and plotting was a huge disappointment. But, despite these issues, Walk The Line still prospers because of the leading performances of Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash and the feisty and driven Reese Witherspoon as June Carter Cash, who crackle and simmer with a romantic and sexual energy that is glorious to watch unfold.

But while Joaquin Phoenix’s path to Oscar glory was blocked by a certain Philip Seymour Hoffman, Reese Witherspoon didn’t have the same issues. In fact, in the same way that Leonardo DiCaprio’s Oscar glory for The Revenant is almost a certainty, Reese Witherspoon’s name was practically already etched into the Best Actress gong way before her name was read out by Jamie Foxx. It speaks volumes of just how good a performance it was that no one had a problem with that, too.

What They Got Wrong: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Wasn't Nominated For Best Original Screenplay

While Crash was a much more worthy winner of its Best Original Screenplay Oscar than the Best Picture accolade that it would pick up later in the night, there was one gaping omission from the nomination’s list that meant its victory was always going to ring hollow. While the celebrated writing talents of Woody Allen (Match Point), Noah Baumbach (The Squid And The Whale), and George Clooney and Grant Heslov (Good Night, And Good Luck) each earned nominations, any screenplay that has the name of Shane Black on its front page deserves to be equally as honored as work from this trio.

And Shane Black has never been wittier, more biting, or more outrageous than with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. It also helps that Black, who directed as well as wrote the action comedy, cast the film perfectly, with Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer uttering the lines of his script in a fast, furious, and thoroughly entertaining fashion. Simply put, the world of cinema needs more of Shane Black. So do the Oscars, for that matter.

What They Got Right: Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit Won Best Animated Film

With Nick Park having previously won the Academy Award’s Best Animated Short Film on three separate occasions, it was no surprise when his elongated animated effort Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit took home the Best Animated Feature back in 2005. Even the fact that it beat Hayao Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle and Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride to claim the prize was met with little dissent.

That's because, as anyone who has ever seen Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit can attest, the gloriously over-the-top, eccentric, and energetic animated jaunt through northern England is just a joy to watch unfold. Peppered with slapstick humor and visual gags that men, women, and children of all ages can enjoy, while at the same time touching and emotional, and never even close to boring, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit is the pinnacle of Aardman’s output, and right up there with anything the animated genre has ever produced. Yep, including Pixar.

What They Got Wrong: Sin City Didn't Get A Best Adapted Screenplay Nod

The Academy has always had a problem celebrating the comic-book genre. It’s a problem that’s still rife to this day, with the genre’s biggest Oscar triumph only coming after Heath Ledger’s death led him to pick up a posthumous Best Supporting Oscar gong for his turn as The Joker in The Dark Knight.

One of the biggest Academy oversights when it comes to the comic-book genre was its refusal to reward Sin City. While a Best Director nomination for Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller was always going to be a long shot, it would have been justified if the duo’s work adapting Frank Miller’s comic-book series of the same name had been. Expertly plotted, with a superb mix of action and characterization, Sin City’s success both critically and financially helped to legitimize the genre. Surely it’s about time that the Academy began to recognize it, too.

What They Got Right: Ang Lee Won Best Director For Brokeback Mountain

Crash’s victory in the Best Picture field often overshadows the fact that Brokeback Mountain took home just as many gongs (3) as its rival. While Crash picked up Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, and Best Picture, Brokeback Mountain claimed Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Director. Sure, Crash probably comes just out on top because of its Best Picture accolade, but Ang Lee’s unassuming work in the latter category made the lasting cinematic impression, as not only is it poignant, artistic, and poetic, but it also paved the way for stronger gay characters and films in mainstream cinema.

As usual, Ang Lee casually and patiently builds up the audiences connection to both the characters and story, while at the same time subtly taking advantage of the heavenly landscape that perfectly suites the romantic story. All of which makes it even more peculiar and infuriating that the Academy still rewarded Crash instead of Brokeback Mountain in the Best Picture category.

Philip Seymour Hoffman was truly one of Hollywood's most gifted performers, and when he died one year ago today, he left behind a notable void in the movie industry. Thankfully, one of the truly beautiful things about film is that it can be cherished and appreciated forever, always reminding us of the incredible beauty an artist can produce. That's why we are incredibly grateful to have this 22-minute supercut, highlighting some of the greatest moments in the dearly departed actor's career.

This video, which was edited by Vimeo user Caleb Slain, was actually first created and posted online nearly a year ago - shortly after Philip Seymour Hoffman's passing - but now that it is the anniversary of the great actor's death, the clip has been circulating around the internet, reminding us of exactly what we lost. At the length of a 30-minute TV show without commercials, it's a lot to take in, but it also does an incredible job showing how chameleon-like Hoffman could be in a role. As the video cuts from film to film, you occasionally feel the need to double take as you sometimes forget that you are watching the same performer.

While the video doesn't encompass Philip Seymour Hoffman's entire back catalog of films, it really does hit on all of the really important titles - be they small dramas like Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, New York or blockbusters like J.J. Abrams' Mission: Impossible III. While there isn't a list of the movies as they appear in the video (you'll notice that multiple titles have multiple clips featured), but Caleb Slain has provided the full list of films from which you can see footage above:

In retrospect, what still really hurts about the loss of Philip Seymour Hoffman is the fact that he could have had so many years of brilliance ahead of him. Even if he had retired at the age of 65 we still would have had him around making art for another 20 years, sharing his wonderful gifts the world and working with filmmakers to make their stories that much more powerful and/or funny. It's a tragic death that we will continue to mourn for years.

In remembrance of Philip Seymour Hoffman, hit the comments below to tell us what role you will always remember him for.

We lost legends in 2014. Looking back over the notable celebrity deaths, names like Robin Williams and Joan Rivers mix with Hollywood icons such as Mickey Rooney, Lauren Bacall and Sid Caesar. The industry is a darker place because the shining talents of these amazing performers have been extinguished. Lucky for us, we’ll always have the creative work they left behind to remind us of their incredible abilities to entertain, to make us laugh, to make us think, and to make us smile.

Take a moment today to remember these outstanding artists who died in 2014:

Joan Rivers

Age: 81

Died: September 4, of cardiac arrest.

Best Known For: Her brutal honesty as a comedian, both on the stage, and on the E! Network as a fashion consultant. Rivers was a staple of the stand-up world for decades, running with the greats (Johnny Carson, Ed Sullivan) before establishing her own unique voice.

Watch This As A Tribute: The recent, eye-opening documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work took audiences behind the curtain and showed how this brilliant comic truly lived.

Sir Richard Attenborough

Age: 90

Died: August 24, of natural causes.

Best Known For: Despite an incredible career both in front of and behind the camera, where he directed such incredible films as A Bridge Too Far and Ghandi, Attenborough will always be known for playing John Hammond in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park.

Watch This As A Tribute: Do a double feature. Watch Jurassic to honor Sir Richard’s most-recognizable role. Then watch Chaplin to see how he and Robert Downey Jr. paid tribute to the brilliant silent-film star.

Lauren Bacall

Age: 89

Died: August 12, of a stroke.

Best Known For: Her on-screen partnership with the equally great Humphrey Bogart. The icon went on to conquer the stage and the small screen, earning multiple awards and nominations for roles in projects like Applause and The Mirror Has Two Faces.

Watch This As A Tribute: But it’s her Bogart-and-Bacall movies that will define her career, so fire up either crime noir The Big Sleep or Key Largo. Neither disappoints.

Mike Nichols

Age: 83

Died: November 19, of a heart attack.

Best Known For: Winning a damn EGOT. Seriously, no matter the field, Mike Nichols dominated it. Stage? Screen? He was a master, and the legacy he left behind proves it.

Watch This As A Tribute: My favorite Mike Nichols movie is The Birdcage. But if you are watching anything in his honor, it would have to be The Graduate, the film that earned him a Best Director trophy.

Robin Williams

Age: 63

Died: August 11, after committing suicide.

Best Known For: His rapid-fire comedic approach, initially, which boosted such movie and television projects as Mork and Mindy, Happy Days and Good Morning, Vietnam. But Robin Williams cemented his status as a legend when he deftly switched gears to drama, all without drifting too far from his amazing stand-up career.

Watch This As A Tribute: For comedy? Pop in Aladdin, and see how animation truly set Williams’ mind free. For drama, revisit Good Will Hunting, and skip to all of his heartwrenching scenes with Matt Damon.

James Garner

Age: 86

Died: July 19, of a myocardial infraction.

Best Known For: Two towering television personalities, Maverick (in the late 1950s) and Jim Rockford in the 1970s program The Rockford Files.

Watch This As A Tribute: Either of those television shows are appropriate, though if you want to see Garner’s natural Midwestern charms writ large, rent Murphy’s Romance and watch him chew scenes alongside Sally Field. Garner earned his first and only Oscar for his performance in the winning romantic comedy.

Ann B. Davis

Age: 88

Died: June 1, of a subdural hematoma.

Best Known For: Helping to raise the Brady kids on the seminal sitcom The Brady Bunch.

Watch This As A Tribute: As many episodes of the timeless ABC show as possible, particularly any that focus on Alice’s steamy relationship with Sam the butcher.

Bob Hoskins

Age: 71

Died: April 29, of pneumonia.

Best Known For: Being a fireplug character actor in several crime dramas. Bob Hoskins played the stereotypical Brit thug for films like The Long Good Friday, but finally spread his wings (so to speak) when directors gave him more chances in movies like Mermaids, Brazil, Made in Dagenham and, of course, Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Watch This As A Tribute: It has to be Roger, which gave Hoskins his most animated co-star (har har) but also allowed the actor to rise to the occasion and show up his more energetic side.

Mickey Rooney

Age: 93

Died: April l6, of natural causes.

Best Known For: Being a consummate professional, a "lifer" in the entertainment industry who dabbled in virtually everything over the course of his entire career. Mickey Rooney started as a child actor, and was still acting when he died in his sleep. The man lived for entertaining, and he lived very, very well.

Watch This As A Tribute: Not Breakfast at Tiffany’s, that’s for sure. Rent The Black Stallion, which cast the tender and warm-hearted Rooney as a retired jockey who helps train the titular beast. Rooney earned yet another Oscar nomination for this part, one of his best.

Harold Ramis

Age: 69

Died: February 24, of complications of autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis.

Best Known For: Directing some of the funniest comedies in recent memory, from Caddyshack to Vacation and Groundhog Day. In front of the camera, Ramis was a Ghostbuster… and it doesn’t get cooler than that.

Watch This As A Tribute: Groundhog Day. It’s one of Bill Murray’s best movies, thanks to Harold Ramis’ whipsmart script and stellar direction.

James Rebhorn

Age: 65

Died: March 21, of melanoma.

Best Known For: Being a brilliant character actor for decades, transitioning seamlessly between television and film by being one of the classic "Oh, THAT guy!" actors. And yes, James Rebhorn regularly played a sinister dude, but don’t old that against Rebhorn.

Watch This As A Tribute: Homeland fans might point you to the Showtime hit, where Rebhorn recently played Carrie’s bipolar father. I’m sending you to Meet the Parents, where Rebhorn’s incredulous reading of the line, "It’s only a game, Focker," during the pool volleyball scene gets a huge laugh.

Shirley Temple

Age: 85

Died: February 10, of emphysema.

Best Known For: Being one of the industry’s most recognizable child actors. Shirley Temple broke on the scene at the ripe old age of five when she went on her first audition. The following year, she had at least three films under her belt, and had a nation wrapped around her adolescent finger.

Watch This As A Tribute: Bright Eyes was Temple’s first real hit, and contained what eventually became her signature song, "On the Good Ship Lollipop."

Sid Caesar

Age: 91

Died: February 12, after a short illness.

Best Known For: The live entertainment program Your Show of Shows, the 90-minute television program that paved the way for Saturday Night Live, MadTV and basically every sketch-comedy program you have ever watched.

Watch This As A Tribute: Sid Caesar was one of the billions of stars in the ensemble comedy It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. And while it might not have shown off his sharp comedic skills, it emphasized what a major movie star he was considered to be at the time.

Maya Angelou

Age: 86

Died: May 28, after months of poor health.

Best Known For: Poetry and writings that inspired millions, notably Hollywood’s top actors, writers, producers and directors. There are very few lives that weren’t touched by the celebrated author.

Watch This As A Tribute: The television mini-series Roots struck a chord back in the 1970s the way that Selma is resonating now. Angelou played the part of Nyo Boto, so dig up a copy if you want to see her act on screen.

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Age: 46

Died: February 2, of acute mixed drug intoxication.

Best Known For: Being the greatest character actor of his generation, arguably. Philip Seymour Hoffman made most movies better. And when a director was smart enough to hand him a significant role – from Truman Capote to Caden Cotard – Hoffman hit home runs.

Watch This As A Tribute: There are too many parts one could pick, and an infinite sadness when you realize that there will be no more roles on the horizon. Why not go with Boogie Nights, which features Hoffman as a mild-mannered porn crew member with an unfortunate crush on a rising star. Heartbreaking, in every sense of the word.

Oscar-winning filmmaker, writer and producer Mike Nichols died on Wednesday evening. He was 83.

ABC News reports that Nichols, who was married to longtime ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer, died of cardiac arrest.

Mike Nichols was a titan in this industry, accomplishing virtually everything one could strive for as a creative outlet in the entertainment field. Limiting the conversation to just his films, he directed a string of unquestionable masterpieces, from The Graduate (which earned him his Oscar) to Working Girl, from the controversial Silkwood to the upbeat (but still button-pushing) The Birdcage. Revisit some of them on Netflix tonight. Nichols made movies for intelligent adults, and his films sparked conversations that were equal parts engaging and important. But his gift was in his dialogue, delivering a message – and working with some of the greatest actors in the business – without ever preaching via the heavy hand. It could be argued that Mike Nichols brought out the best in some of our finest actors, from Dustin Hoffman:

To Meryl Streep:

To the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, who DESTROYS in this scene from the underrated Charlie Wilson’s War. (This clip is about as NSFW as they get):

Mike Nichols’ outstanding career wasn’t limited to film, however. He’s one of the rare greats who collected an Emmy, a Grammy, a Tony and the Oscar – the nearly-impossible EGOT. And he continued to produce award-winning gems late in his career, as when he directed the incredible adaptation of Angels in America for HBO in 2003.

In a note following Mike Nichols’ passing, James Goldston, President of ABC News, writes:

Mike Nichols is survived by Diane Sawyer, his wife of 26 years; three children; and four grandchildren.

This past weekend I had the pleasure to sit down with a couple of castmembers of the soon to explode The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1. There was an unmistakable excitement in the air, but there was also something--well, someone--missing. Philip Seymour Hoffman.

The actor who died while The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 and its sequel The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 was in production looms large, even in his absence. I asked his long-time friend and co-star Jeffrey Wright what he'd like our readers to know about Philip Seymour Hoffman. In his answer, he not only spoke of the respect Hoffman carried in the industry, but also how much The Hunger Game movies meant to him. Wright explained:

In The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, Philip Seymour Hoffman reprises his role as former Capitol citizen/Head Gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee. Now embedded with the rebels of District 13, this masterful manipulator is part of planning a revolt against the very people who once made him rich and powerful. Having seen the film, I can say Hoffman is astonishing in it, delivering a grumbling voice and a raised eyebrow that paint Plutarch simply and elegantly. In honor of this lost actor, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1's final scene is followed by a title card in remembrance.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 opens everywhere Friday. We'll bring you more from Jeffrey Wright and Sam Claflin later this week.

Furious 7 isn’t the only production that had to scramble to stay afloat in the wake of the passing of a key cast member. Philip Seymour Hoffman, as you’ll likely recall, died of a drug overdose earlier this year with but a few weeks of shooting left to do on The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. As audiences prepare for the opening of the first half of this sprawling adaptation, the crew is opening up about how they coped with Hoffman’s death… and kept the movie on track.

Director Francis Lawrence sat down with Empire Magazine (via Yahoo) to discuss the blow The Hunger Games: Mockingjay felt after Philip Seymour Hoffman’s passing. The actor was scheduled to film the day after he died, and after a brief shutdown, Lawrence said the production half-heartedly resumed. "You could hear a pin drop that first day back… We all gathered and said something about him and for him. It was tough," the director confirmed.

But when it came down to the amount of work Hoffman still had left on the sequel, Lawrence finally clarified:

That’s interesting. That goes against reports that surfaced earlier this year that The Hunger Games would use digital trickery to recreate the late actor and work him into the scenes he’d miss. The previously mentioned Furious 7 will take a similar shortcut by using some of the late Paul Walker’s siblings to complete scenes. The fact that two blockbusters face similar problems in production is eerie.

The effects of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s loss probably won’t be felt until next year, when The Hunger Games franchise finally wraps with Mockingjay: Part 2. That means we will have similar discussions about the work he did on the franchise, and our chance to say goodbye to this acting titan, a year from now. In the meantime, tell me: Will you go see The Hunger Games because of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s involvement? Were you planning to see it anyway? Or is the loss of this incredible actor too much to bear, forcing you to miss what might be the biggest sequel of the season?

Remember Philip Seymour Hoffman with a taste of what he brought to the Hunger Games franchise in this clip from Catching Fire...

When it comes to actors who can display equal amounts of warmth, dramatic emotion and comedic pathos, Philip Seymour Hoffman was at the top of the game, and his death left a glaring hole in the genre-morphing thespian community. Thankfully, Showtime has found a more than suitable replacement for Hoffman for their upcoming dramedy pilot Happyish: hilarious British comedian Steve Coogan.

For Happyish, Coogan will play Thom Payne, a 44-year-old guy who really feels his age once a 25-year-old waltzes in as his new boss. The youthful exec rattles off buzzwords that Thom isn’t familiar with and he starts to feel like he’s being outpaced. He might be able to turn himself to catch up with the world around him, but first he has to find his path towards happiness. This sounds fun already, and it’ll go over even better if they get someone like Workaholics’ Adam DeVine to play his boss. I think I just created comedy heaven.

As the press release puts it, Happyish is "a comedic, soul-searching examination of our pursuit of happiness, a pursuit that might just be the very thing causing our unhappiness in the first place.” One should expect nothing less from a Showtime series, and Coogan is the perfect kind of acting chameleon to make it work. He’s probably best known for playing the cluelessly garish Alan Partridge across several TV series and even a feature film, but he’s attracted huge critical acclaim in recent years for his two The Trip films and supplemental series, and for Steven Frears’ 2013 drama Philomena, a film that also earned Coogan a screenplay Oscar nomination.

For its creator, Happyish boasts author and regular This American Life contributor Shalom Auslander, who wrote and will executive produce the pilot. Director Ken Kwapis (He’s Just Not That Into You, The Office) will direct the initial episode. Hopefully this won’t hew too closely to the ideas and ideals presented by Peter Chelsom’s recent comedic drama Hector and the Search for Happiness, or even Gabriele Muccino’s The Pursuit of Happyness.

Beyond his two Trip projects this year, Coogan also has a role coming up in Shawn Levy’s sequel Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, where he’ll be reprising his role as Octavius. He also stars in Elaine Constantine’s soul music drama Northern Soul, which came out last week in the U.K. And with any luck, we will have embraced him on American television in 2015.

Showtime will begin production on Happyish this December in New York City, the most happyish place on Earth.

I like Drake a lot—like a 9/10 level like. He writes some great music. He was a total baller as a child actor on DeGrassi. He’s an outspoken hater of Chris Brown, and he went back and completed his high school education to be a good example to his fans. He really seems like a good dude, but now and again, he takes his own foot and shoves it firmly into his mouth. Like this morning, for example, when he went off on Rolling Stone for choosing Philip Seymour Hoffman over him to grace this month’s cover.

That’s right. The same Philip Seymour Hoffman who unexpectedly died after two decades of churning out brilliant performance after brilliant performance. He apparently didn’t deserve his moment in the sun, and Drake is “disgusted” at Rolling Stone thinking differently.

Seriously. Here’s the actual quote he threw up on Twitter…

Evil? Rolling Stone is evil for honoring an Academy Award winner who died over a musician who should have another decade of magazine covers in him? Really, Drake?

You may notice I didn’t embed the actual Tweets. That’s because Drake thought better of them not long after sending them out into the world and decided to use the delete button for the majority of his rant that also touched on the magazine unfairly quoting him. Is that because he was inundated with a torrent of “WTF?” messages from fans who didn’t understand why he would be so petty about a magazine cover when one of the greatest actors of his generation just died? Is it because he realized it came across as a backhanded shot at Hoffman not being deserving enough? We’ll probably never know, but thankfully, he had a moment of clarity, whatever got him there.

There is a time and a place to take a stand. If Drake had been kicked off the cover in favor of a Kanye West interview, I think most of us would completely understand the rage, but sometimes you have to take a step back and look at the larger circumstances. Philip Seymour Hoffman dying is significantly more important than Drake's thoughts on Macklemore.

As of now, Drake says this is his list interview ever, but I wouldn't hold my breath on that...

Shortly after it was reported that actor Philip Seymour Hoffman had lost his battle with drug addiction, fans of his ongoing work in the Hunger Games series began to wonder if his part would be altered – or completely recast – in the last two installments of Mockingjay. Hoffman’s character, Plutarch Heavensbee, is a major component of the developing narrative in Suzanne Collins’ third and final novel, and Lionsgate clearly hired an Oscar winner like Hoffman to carry some dramatic loads. What was director Francis Lawrence to do in the wake of this unexpected tragedy?

Sources touched on the fact that Hoffman still had one major scene left to film in Mockingjay, Part 2, and that certain filmmaking tricks would have to be employed to complete the movie. Today, yet another version of that story is circulating, with The NY Post becoming the first outlet to confirm that the filmmakers will "digitally recreate" Hoffman in this pivotal scene. As was reported earlier, none of this will affect the release date of either Mockingjay film. Part one is due in theaters on Nov. 21.

At the risk of sounding insensitive, of course Hoffman is going to have to be recreated digitally. The studio is left with very few options in light of what has occurred. The first two movies adapted from The Hunger Games books have followed the source material very closely, and a rewrite for a character as important as Heavensbee is out of the question. Recasting makes no sense, as Hoffman allegedly had only seven days left to film (and reportedly had completed all of his work in Mockingjay, Part 1). What, are you going to allow Hoffman to play the character in Catching Fire and the first Mockingjay, then ask an actor to fill his shoes in the franchise’s swan song?

Obviously, this is a movie that we are talking about, and the future of a film franchise pales when compared to the loss of one man who has contributed a great deal to the art and craft of on-screen performance. But Hoffman’s overdose left Lionsgate in a difficult spot, and it’s within their right to use the technical tools at their disposal to finish the work that Hoffman had started. We have seen, over the years, the amazing feats that can be accomplished with digital tools, from the worlds James Cameron creates to the characters created in digital blockbusters on a weekly basis. Hoffman undoubtedly left Lawrence and his team plenty of footage with which they can work, and if they choose to digitally create his likeness to get the scene they need for Mockingjay, I’m confident it means they explored all possible options and chose the one that was necessary.

Will it be strange to see Hoffman digitally recreated on screen? It will, if we’re even able to notice. This new bit of news probably means that they are going to recreate the back of Hoffman’s head in a conversation (though this is speculation on our part). Is it the best scenario? No. The best scenario would involve Hoffman finishing the work that he started on The Hunger Games movies, then moving on to countless more interesting and challenging roles. Sadly, that option’s no longer on the table.

Philip Seymour Hoffman was a father and a husband, an artist and a raconteur. He was a star and a character actor, an artist and a worker, a marquee attraction and a member of the ensemble. Hoffman filled many roles throughout his fertile career, becoming an in-demand talent without conventional good looks, without a media-friendly personality, and without a consistent onscreen persona. He could be fierce and pathetic within the blink of an eye, and while he was generous in ensembles, he had the capability to blow co-stars out of the water.

The passing of the 46-year-old Oscar winner sent reverberations throughout Hollywood. The industry had undoubtedly lost one of its brightest lights. But we are fortunate that Hoffman crammed a vivid, unpredictable career in those few years he shared with us, giving us a chance to recognize a performer that brought us a raft of memorable performances in, more importantly, a magnificent body of work.

So we’ve set out to honor him with this 24 Hour Philip Seymour Hoffman marathon. Hoffman’s filmography is an embarrassment of riches, and ultimately you could fill two days or more with some of the heroes and miscreants in his repertoire. The goal here was to provide a solid collection of performances and films that represent the diversity he brought to the art form. It was also to stuff a full day’s worth of film into one schedule, giving the viewer a chance to sample nearly every flavor Hoffman could provide, at a breakneck speed that allows for very limited breaks. Hopefully you’re ready for some full-throttle Hoffman.

It’s with a heavy heart that we mention this list doesn’t even include room for Boogie Nights (where he plays a pathetic hanger-on), State And Main (erudite screenwriter) and Flawless (where he goes toe-to-toe with Robert De Niro). There was also an impossibility in finding spots for his ensemble acting in Happiness, The 25th Hour and Moneyball. Any list you make would ultimately exclude some of Hoffman’s best work. Sound off with your own in the comments section below.

ALMOST FAMOUS

Hoffman collected many lead roles as his stature grew, and his work had enough integrity that seeing his face seemed like a recommendation on its own. However, in Cameron Crowe’s nostalgia-fest, Hoffman is deployed as the perfect weapon, used early and quickly as mentor figure Lance Bangs, a disaffected hippie who now thinks it all stinks. In Hoffman, Bangs is defeated professionally and emotionally, but he perks up with the chance to pass his dogma onto a young wannabe, one of many savagely funny character beats in this bittersweet film. At noon, the film’s shaggy-dog charms and good-time vibe are the ideal place-setter.

CAPOTE

One of the more delightfully catty, possibly-imaginary gossipy Oscar moments was when Heath Ledger lost out on the Best Actor Oscar to Hoffman and proceeded to tell a confidante that the prize was for Best acting, not Most acting. It’s a funny lie with a kernel of truth to it: there’s an awful lot of acting going on in Capote, a smoky drama that follows Truman Capote on his quest to write In Cold Blood. Hoffman’s gestures are mannered and theatrical, but those who knew Capote (captured here as often vain and petty) would understand this was an actor creating a simulation driven larger to interrogate the whole of Capote’s writing. Capote is heavy afternoon viewing, but Hoffman’s achingly precise performance, which amusingly pits Capote’s morals against his own egotism, is more than entertaining enough.

OWNING MAHOWNY

This is a very little seen drama, one where Hoffman plays a gambling addict far over his head. The film didn’t receive any traction because it is enormously understated: as much as a capital-A Actor Hoffman was, he could also re-create the sad milieu of everyday life on his face. Hoffman sports a pretty gnarly mustache in this, and he’s pitted against Minnie Driver as his exasperated wife, in a character piece that spans several years and ultimately builds to a very subtle, tragic outcome. Owning Mahowny is based on a true story, but only Hoffman makes you believe that you’re watching a true story.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III

FYI, the scheduling here would be packed, so we’d be up to 5:45, perfect for something a bit more commercial. Hoffman didn’t often lean in that direction, but if the paycheck was right, he was game. That’s how he arrived in the massive Hunger Games series, and it’s how he became a threat to megastar Tom Cruise in the Mission: Impossible films. Many consider this the worst film of the four in that series, but Hoffman is by far the most intimidating antagonist of all the films. His scheming Owen Davian sizes up Cruise’s unstoppable superman Ethan Hunt and lets him know all the terrible things that are going to happen to Hunt’s wife. And while Cruise matches him in intensity, for the first time in his career you can look into Cruise’s eyes and see something entirely new: fear.

MAGNOLIA

One of the treasures of the Hoffman filmography is that he worked with great filmmakers on a couple of truly massive films. Arguably, none were bigger than P.T. Anderson’s sprawling Magnolia, where Hoffman was part of a loaded ensemble as a nurse helping an elderly Jason Robards cling to life. The film should ably take you from primetime into late night, but what it really does is take you on an emotional journey, full of sadness, regret, absurdist humor and the notion of coincidence as something specific to the San Fernando Valley. It’s also amusing to see this after Mission: Impossible III and watch Hoffman and Cruise act against each other in an entirely different context, with the exact opposite dynamic. With Hoffman, you forget it’s the same actor.

JACK GOES BOATING

One of the sadder elements of Hoffman’s passing is that, while he gave us so many terrific performances, he had only begun to discover directing. This was his directorial debut, based on a play, where Hoffman plays an isolated limo driver brought out of his shell when a new relationship beckons. Particularly following Magnolia, one has to acknowledge that Hoffman’s directorial skills are slight, but he keeps this film focused on the actors and light on its feet, even when the subject matter takes a dark turn. John Ortiz, Amy Ryan and Daphne Rubin-Vega are terrific in the ensemble, while in the lead, Hoffman’s performance recalls the bearish vulnerability of a young Ernest Borgnine.

LOVE LIZA

We’re past midnight, and we’re in the world of hardcore Hoffman devotees, getting pure, unfiltered PSH. This low-key drama with darkly comedic undertones finds Hoffman as a bruised widower struggling to cope with the suicide of his wife. There is a letter she has left for him, but instead of opening it, he’s driven into a bout of self-destruction, developing an addiction to paint-sniffing and remote-controlled model planes. It’s a tiny film, but Hoffman is titanic in it: on paper, the character seems wildly incongruous and almost unbelievable, but Hoffman makes him feel so real, so identifiable, as that friend who ultimately collapsed in the face of unspeakable tragedy.

THE MASTER

Can’t say there’s much understanding of the people who claim The Master is a boring film. Beginning this at 2 AM should serve as a nice espresso shot for film lovers, as it features Hoffman at his blustery, actorly best. As the blowhard jackass Lancaster Dodd, philosopher and leader of "The Cause," Hoffman is almost taking a piss out of the craft of acting. Prone to terrible, self-serving ad-libs and irrelevant narratives, stories and theories, Dodd is just an idiot drawing diagrams in the sand, but Hoffman does it with the authority of a genius, enough to hoodwink an entire fleet of followers. With other actors who have passed on, there’s the temptation to show off an example of how great they really are with some sort of sweet or touching footage. But if the lasting memory of Hoffman is the scene where he runs out of b.s. to spew and he stutteringly calls a dinner guest a "pig fuck" as his verbal ammo runs to zero, is it still not a fitting tribute?

DOUBT

It’s 4:30 in the morning, time to wake the fans with a monster movie. And if you don’t have access to Godzilla Vs. Ghidorah, why not Hoffman versus Streep? Very obviously based on a play, John Patrick Shanley’s adaptation is mostly stagebound, but that works when pitting two gargantuan actors against each other. Streep’s nun is convinced that Hoffman’s folksy New Testament priest has committed a grave indiscretion, but without evidence, it’s merely her fire against his brimstone. Hoffman quietly underplays the role, simmering on a low boil as Streep menacingly takes aim at him. But Hoffman’s native intelligence in the role keeps you on your feet as to which way the power dynamic truly lies. If you enjoy the work of great actors, this is the equivalent to a prize fight.

CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR

Wake up! It should be around 6:15 when you cue up Mike Nichols’ caustic Gulf War comedy, where Tom Hanks plays an aw-shucks politician attempting to broker some Middle East peace while getting his share of the pie. As political satire, it’s fairly soft, as befitting stars Hanks and Julia Roberts. But walking in from a better, more angry film is Hoffman’s avuncular Gust Avrakotos, a magnificently mustached power broker who wields verbal dynamite at any fool who can’t keep up. Hoffman was justifiably nominated for an Oscar for this role, but who needs a little gold man when you’ve successfully stolen a film from America’s Sweethearts Hanks and Roberts?

BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD

If you only saw a select few Hoffman roles, you’d conclude that he was one of the nastiest, most evil men in the world, and acting was his only outlet. In Sidney Lumet’s final masterstroke of a film, Hoffman is a belligerent ass who bullies brother Ethan Hawke into finally standing up for himself and plotting to engage in some nefarious criminal activity. Like Training Day, Hawke is again paired against a more fiery, extroverted actor who attempts to emasculate him at every turn. But as great as Denzel Washington was, there’s a more primitive push-and-pull in the cop film (largely thanks to director Antoine Fuqua) than there is in this picture: Hoffman’s sweaty insults practically size up Hawke on their own, but it feels more like two performances in symphony with each other, one brother belittling the other in a way that makes both interesting to watch. If you’ve timed it right, this should be finishing slightly before ten, which leaves space for one more movie.

SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK

Looking through his filmography, hOFFMAN played several characters with a fixation on death, and a deep reservoir of sadness. Charlie Kaufman’s masterpiece perfectly crystallizes these sentiments. Hoffman is Caden Cotard, a playwright who finally earns a grant to direct a play that allows him to put himself into his own work. The result is an endless, apocalyptic self-examination, as Cotard begins to put together a massive warehouse of never-ending rehearsal space, where actors are tasked with living their characters, to the point where he casts actors to play himself, and then actors to play the actors playing himself. The passage of time is key in Synecdoche, as is the dissolution and confusion of language: Hoffman ages considerably as the world slips away from him, and he realizes his life has been his life’s work all along. It’s a powerful way of saying goodbye, and should wrap things up right at noon.

As the film community continues to mourn the loss of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, the business side of the industry continues to roll on. Hoffman was a major factor in a massive film franchise that relied on him to complete his role. Today, we’re learning that some tricks and cheats might be necessary to bring The Hunger Games to completion in 2015.

Hoffman played the pivotal role of Plutarch Heavensbee in Francis Lawrence’s latest Games sequel, Catching Fire. As the head gamemaker, the character was responsible for creating the obstacles meant to snuff out Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence). And as a right-hand-man to the President Snow (Donald Sutherland), he played a key role in squashing the rebellious citizens of the outlying Districts… and harbored a secret that would play out over the course of the two Mockingjay sequels.

It was revealed that Hoffman had filmed the majority of his scenes for Mockingjay, and in a statement, Lionsgate confirmed that the release date for the two Hunger Games sequels would not be affected by the actor’s loss. But sources now tell The Hollywood Reporter that an important scene was left to be filmed, and that "a couple of work-around issues" would have to be employed to complete Mockingjay, Part 2.

This is inevitable. As smooth of a transition as Lionsgate would like to say they are handling, there’s no way that the death of an actor will have zero impact on a movie still in production. Those who have been following the trajectory of the Fast & Furious franchise following the death of Paul Walker understand how difficult it can be to continue telling a story – which feels inconsequential to the survivors of the deceased, but remains important to the fans of the franchise in question. There is no doubt that Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson and the Furious crew want to do everything in their power to honor the legacy of their late co-star with the next Fast movie. The Hunger Games family likely wants to do the same for Hoffman, even though he was a recent addition to the nascent series.

The difference lies in the source text. Fast is creating its narrative on the fly. Mockingjay follows the text of YA author Suzanne Collins, and the character of Plutarch can’t simply be re-written to accommodate for the loss of the actor playing him. Hoffman had filmed enough of the sequel, however, to ensure that Plutarch wouldn’t need to be recast. A studio source tells THR:

Sources with ties to the Mockingjay production hint at digital tricks that can be employed to cover up an actor’s absence, suggesting "you can have conversations where you’re not focusing on him but the people he’s talking to."

We’ll have multiple opportunities to honor Hoffman’s talent in the coming years, as he has A Most Wanted Man coming to theaters, and the remaining two Hunger Games films. Mockingjay, Part 1 will be in theaters on Nov. 21.

Try this out as an exercise in futility: Name Philip Seymour Hoffman’s greatest film role.

A close friend and I tried in the hours following the tragic news that we’d no longer get future Hoffman performances to consider. Twitter flooded with admiration for Hoffman’s work in the prestigious (Capote, Doubt, The Master), the accessible (The Hunger Games, Mission: Impossible III) and the iconic (The Big Lebowski, Almost Famous). Scan his resume. Your jaw literally drops at the sheer number of outstanding roles Hoffman delivered in his scant 46 years on this planet. He was one of our greatest living actors.

We here at CinemaBlend are devastated that this incredible talent was cut short, with so much left to give. But we’re choosing to counter our sadness with a celebration, of sorts. We combed through his filmography and selected our five favorite PSH roles. In doing so, we easily left 25 amazing performances in the lurch. Such is the incredible output of Hoffman’s. But these are the performances we’ll always hold dear, with an attempt to explain to you why.

Which roles would you choose?

Magnolia

As hospice care nurse Phil Parma in Magnolia, Philip Seymour Hoffman approached the role with exactly the kind of patience, determination, kindness and incredible compassion one might expect from a person tasked with caring for a terminally ill patient. In a film that ties a lot of characters together, Hoffman's character never really gets his own story, but we learn plenty about the kind of man Phil is through his actions, and Hoffman's talent certainly isn't wasted in the role.

Parma's involvement among the ensemble in Paul Thomas Anderson's film serves as a crucial connector between Jason Robard's Earl Partridge and his estranged son, Frank Mackey (Tom Cruise). As a caretaker for Earl, Parma goes above and beyond to try to track down Earl's son, whether it means taking on an extra shift, patiently relaying Earl's situation to people who might be able to help him find Frank, calmly responding to the emotional reactions of Earl's wife (Julianne Moore) and at one point, awkwardly ordering pornographic magazines through a grocery delivery service in the hopes of finding one of Frank's self-help seminar ads. Parma patiently does what needs to be done to make this reunion happen before Earl dies, and in the process of portraying this man, Hoffman demonstrates his ability to play a genuinely kind and selfless human being, who proves to be a stark contrast to some of the other roles Hoffman has played, including the sleazy Dean Trumbell in Punch-Drunk Love, the music-loving know-it-all Lester Bangs in Almost Famous or the contemptuous Freddie Miles in The Talented Mr. Ripley, to name a few examples.

Hoffman was an actor with range. He could be funny, awkward, dramatic, dark and anything else a role called for. His body of work is a demonstration of his talent and his performance in Magnolia is no exception there.

Synecdoche, New York

There’s no easy guide on playing someone like Caden Cotard, the protagonist of Charlie Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York. As befitting writer/director Charlie Kaufman, Cotard is not your typical lead character, -- a disgruntled New York playwright who places his life on hold to pursue a work that he finally deems true and real. He’s a character who has to appear intelligent in an attractive manner, but also distant… an inscrutable mess who can’t seem to keep track of his marriages or the age of his daughter. He has to be both maddeningly specific, but also a man lost in a slipstream of regret, emotional abuse and loneliness as he ages before he can count his own accomplishments.

It’s difficult to imagine anyone but Hoffman making this character affectingly concrete, both tragic and inherently unlikable. It’s a performance without vanity: Cotard’s body crumbles and his humiliations reach outlandishly scatological lows. But Hoffman has always had a deep reservoir of sadness and rejection, even in his most blustery roles. Kaufman’s film rarely takes you outside Cotard’s world, and so it’s Hoffman’s task to illustrate the feeling that Cotard’s unfinished experiment (a play within a play within a play within…) is wearing on him as well as his loved ones. He shatters so convincingly in this picture, to the point where it’s probably the most difficult film to watch in the wake of Hoffman’s sudden passing. When he finds the remnants of a gift he procured for his daughter in an abandoned alley, it’s as if a million mirrors have been shattered simultaneously, even as Kaufman downplays Hoffman’s typically-volcanic emotional explosion.

Difficult and dissonant, Kaufman and Hoffman’s collaboration is typical Hoffman: abrasive, difficult, funny and ultimately, deeply, life-affirming.

The Big Lebowski

Starring in a Coen brothers film almost necessarily means an actor will deliver one of the most memorable performances of his or her career, and Philip Seymour Hoffman put his best and most auspicious foot forward in The Big Lebowski for the role of Brandt. A "Yes Man" to the nth degree, Brandt stands tall in a century of cinematic butlers with a nose browner than the Kahlua in the Dude’s White Russian. Good help is hard to find, but Brandt will almost certainly help you look for it.

As the servant to the disabled Lebowski namesake, Brandt is the always-smiling, verbal biographer of his employer, but he’s also one of the only characters who is sympathetic towards the bearded toker at the film’s center. While most uppity people would just make The Dude sit and wait in the least expensive chair in the house, Brandt is warm and welcoming, quick to point out the many accolades that Lebowski has earned, as if that will somehow excuse his rude demeanor. He is visibly intimidated by his boss, and I like to think after the credits have rolled that Brandt rented an apartment near the beach and turned his stiff-lipped introversion into sandal-wearing extroversion, free from pinky toes and mansions with candles in every room. Maybe he could work on his laugh, as well.

The Big Lebowski came at a key point in Hoffman’s career, right alongside his depressed neighbor in Todd Solondz’s Happiness, and between his memorable supporting turn in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights and as the doting nurse in Anderson’s Magnolia. Brandt was arguably Hoffman’s most cult role, and always the one that I think of first when his name is brought up. To quote the character himself, "Perhaps we’ll see you again sometime, Dude."

Almost Famous

Every journalist needs a Lester Bangs – a veteran who has been in the "trenches" and can pass along vital secrets about how to survive. Hell, that mentor role is vital to virtually any profession, but they are extremely important when an up-and-comer like William Miller (Patrick Fugit) is attempting to enter and maneuver an alien environment like "rock-and-roll." Lester is William’s foot in the door. He hands him his first assignment, inviting him behind the velvet rope where a music-loving nerd could only dream of landing. He’s the person William can point to when proving that there’s a career in this, and the person he can lean on when that career choice starts to sound like suicide.

Hoffman, as he has numerous times, has to walk a very complicated line in Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous, and to the surprise of no one, he nails it. To William – and to the audience – he first must appear as the epitome of cool. William waits outside of a radio station just to meet Lester, and when it becomes clear no one else has, the rock-journo icon is able top drop his guard. But it’s Hoffman’s explanation of the power of the "uncool" that gives Famous its spine… and the whole movie rests on that truth as young William gets seduced by music, by Penny Lane, by Stillwater – by rock and roll. Though he was only in his mid-30s at the time, Hoffman sold a character who had lived a lifetime, and was anxious to share his experience with the next generation so that they could learn from his mistakes (and maybe make a few of the same ones, as well). It’s one of Hoffman’s warmest, kindest and most honest performances, and it goes a long way to explaining why Famous stands out as one of Crowe’s finest, ever.

Punch-Drunk Love

Philip Seymour Hoffman was so talented that he could morph to play any character that a story needs, but one side we could never get enough of is when he would star as one of the bad guys. The actor was able to summon an incredible, intense energy that would fuel his antagonist roles, and when heroes were going up against him, you knew that there was a hard-fought battle ready to be had. No place in Hoffman’s career does this energy come out better than in his turn as the nefarious Dean Trumbell in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Punch Drunk Love.

It may not be the flashiest or even the most famous part of his career, but Hoffman’s turn in the bizarre romantic comedy is nothing if not memorable. Playing a man who owns both a phone-sex line as well as a mattress store, the Academy Award-winning actor spends most of his role in the movie pulling strings behind the scenes, doing his part to make the lead, Barry (Adam Sandler), miserable. But the performance all comes boiling down to a singular in-person confrontation that has the film’s protagonist and antagonist together in the best way possible.

From his over-the-top shouting match on the phone ("Did you just say go fuck myself?" "Yes, I did." "That wasn’t good!") to his final line in the movie, said in the most chicken-shit way possible ("That’s that!"), the character is one of Hoffman’s most oddball creations, and it’s amazing to watch every brief second of it. There were few actors who could take as limited a role as Dean Trumbell in Punch Drunk Love and turn it into something truly brilliant, but it really just speaks to Hoffman’s brilliant talent as an actor.

Boogie Nights

A strong case could be made that there are 10 characters with more textual depth and more of a presence in the Boogie Nights screenplay than Scotty J, the gay boom mic operator with a massive crush on Dirk Diggler. Amidst all the bigger personalities and more shocking downfalls, he’s just not that important to the greater story arc, but in the skilled hands of Philip Seymour Hoffman in one of his first major Hollywood roles, Scotty winds up being so much more. In a weird way, he turns into one of the most genuine, caring and complicated characters in the entire film, a piece so vital it’s impossible to even picture the larger story without him.

Anytime an actor is playing a man who’s awkward, a man who could be considered a bit of a joke, there’s a clear choice he needs to make. He can either turn the dial up on all the negativity and all the unintentional buffoonery or he can dig deep within that graceless, floundering exterior and find something beautiful and human within him. In other words, he can be a funny caricature or he can be a familiar weirdo. Hoffman picked the latter. That might sound obvious, like it’s a conscious choice an overwhelming majority of actors would make, but the truth is it takes balls to turn the knob down and stay away from the easy jokes. It takes extreme confidence to avoid overacting and trust tones of voice and careful dialogue to win out in the long run.

Boogie Nights was the first indication for most of us of just how brilliant Hoffman could be, and as long as movie fans are sitting through that brilliant film, they’ll continue to walk away, thinking and smiling about Scotty J.

Philip Seymour Hoffman may well have been the greatest actor of his generation. It turns out he was also a drug addict. Heroin went into his arm over the weekend, and two decades of future brilliance drifted back out, lost to the wind of what-ifs forever. God only knows how many Oscars he would have been nominated for, how many brilliant films he would have offered up had he survived, but that’s all gone now thanks to a terrible, life-ruining choice he made over the weekend. So, now, all we can do is remember. And we will remember, but the question is exactly what those memories will be.

It would be nice if we remembered dearly departed celebrities, politicians, actors and activists in all their nuanced glory. It would be nice if we remembered Richard Nixon as a statesman, as a pioneer in Chinese relations and as a family man who was married for fifty-three years, in addition to his Watergate scandal and subsequent resignation, but legacies are a whole lot more black and white than people. We tend to collectively pick out one or two key plot points and run with them. We like the basic gist more than anything else. So, Chris Farley is a brilliant comedian and a drug addict (who lost his battle with drugs), while Michael Jackson is a singer, dancer and weirdo (who just so happened to die of a drug overdose).

Philip Seymour Hoffman deserves to be remembered as an actor who just so happened to die of a drug overdose, not as a drug addict actor. That doesn’t mean we should whitewash what happened or refuse to hold him up as an example of why heroin is always a terrible decision, but unlike so many of his peers who preceded him in death with a needle in their arms, he did not live his life as a drug addict. He was not difficult to work with. He was not frequently late, frequently unprofessional or frequently unreliable. He was a man with a demon, a dark secret he kept hidden from most of the world. Heroin was his personal shame, and while it took his life, it wasn’t his life.

As a society, we spend a whole lot of time obsessing over people’s personal lives. We stare with wide-eyes every time the same old celebrities get busted for acting a fool or being too fucked up to play gigs. After awhile, those reputations start to overshadow their other accomplishments. They start to be inextricably linked with the art the person is producing. That’s why Jackson deserves to be remembered as a weirdo in addition to the greatest showman who ever lived. And conversely, that’s why Hoffman doesn’t deserve to be remembered as a drug addict. He was clean for more than two decades. Last year, when he checked into rehab, he did so quietly and without any kind of major incident. At some point recently, he fell off the wagon. He made a series of bad decisions, and he fucking died for it. But those bad decisions did not define his life. They only defined how he died.

I’m going to remember Philip Seymour Hoffman as a brilliant actor, a devoted family man and a really nice human being, who happened to die of a drug overdose. Given the circumstances of his life, I would recommend you do the same.

We’re still in shock over the devastating loss of Philip Seymour Hoffman. The Oscar-winning talent died of a drug overdose on Sunday morning. He was 46.

Sunday ended up being a strange day. CinemaBlend’s staff was hunkering down, mapping out coverage of the various extended Super Bowl trailers that were going to air during the football game. We had Transformers and superheroes on the brain. We were blindsided by the news of Hoffman’s passing. Isn’t that always the way with a tragic loss?

But as the industry moves forward in the wake of Hoffman’s passing, we’re choosing to celebrate the man’s life and appreciate all that he gave us during his all-too-short 46-year run. We honor his legacy in the Monday Movie Memo, giving you some insight into all of the reasons why we adore Philip Seymour Hoffman, the actor. And throughout the course of the week, we will be posting several tribute pieces to his incredible acting resume.

If you need to catch up on the news, if for some reason you are just now hearing about Hoffman’s death, we have:

- The news story, with the latest details.

- Reactions from fans and colleagues on Twitter

- And a statement from Lionsgate, the studio behind the Hunger Games franchise, of which Hoffman remains a vital part.

Now all we want to do is revisit Hoffman’s past works, absorbing his craft while lamenting the fact that we only have a handful of upcoming projects left to appreciate, before to the door to his incredible career closes forever.

Rest in peace, Mr. Hoffman, and thank you for all that you gave this community of film lovers.

Lionsgate released an official statement following the tragic death of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who was found dead in his New York City apartment Sunday afternoon. Hoffman had been filming scenes as Plutarch Heavensbee in Francis Lawrence’s back-to-back Hunger Games sequels, Mockingjay, so he was in close contact with the studio.

Of his passing, Lionsgate officially states:

UPDATE: The following statement comes from Francis Lawrence, Suzanne Collins, Nina Jacobson, Jon Kilik and Jennifer Lawrence on behalf of the cast and crew of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay 1 & 2:

In terms of Hoffman's role in the final two Hunger Games films, here's what we know. Hoffman had finished working on Mockingjay, Part 1, and had seven days of filming left on Part 2. His loss is not expected to affect the previously announced release date for the Hunger Games films, which remain November 21, 2014 for Part 1 and November 20, 2015 for Part 2.

So it doesn't seem like Hoffman's role will have to be recast in the franchise, Not that the future of a movie franchise matters at all in the wake of Hoffman’s loss. But he was excellent in Catching Fire, and we knew that he had a lot to do in the next films. It sounds like we’ll be able to see what he brings to Suzanne Collins’ conclusion.

Sam Claflin, who plays Finnick Odair opposite Hoffman in the Hunger Games movies, was one of the first to Tweet in the actors memory, saying:

Expect to hear more outpouring of support and remembrance from Hollywood, the Hunger Games family and more as the shock and sadness of Hoffman’s sudden passing continue to wash over the entertainment community.

News of Philip Seymour Hoffman's tragic death has already begun to circulate. As details surrounding the circumstances emerge, Hollywood has already begun to react on Twitter as actors and other people who were fortunate enough to get to work with Hoffman, or were simply fans of his work express their shock and grief over the actor's unfortunate death.

For more details on the reported circumstances surrounding Hoffman's death, click here.

Joel McHale, Rainn Wilson, Steve Martin and Aaron Paul were among some of the actors who Tweeted this afternoon, among others...

Anthony Bourdain quoted Velvet Underground's "Heroin"...

Martha Plimpton expressed sympathy and also tweeted about his talent and about addiction:

"So fucking sad" pretty much sums it up, but Wil Wheaton's reaction is also pretty succinct...

Author Isaac Marion spoke about the evolution of Hoffman's career...

We'll continue to add more as they come in. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Hoffman's friends and family in their time of loss.

Celebrated French film star Vincent Cassel is the latest actor to join Daniel Espinosa’s Safe House follow-up, Child 44. Between his smoldering turn as a sneering dance instructor in Black Swan and his Cesar-winning performance in the epic gangster biopic Mesrine: Killer Instinct/Public Enemy #1, Cassel’s inclusion in any thriller’s cast is good news, but what’s surprising here is that he’s been brought in to replace Academy Award-winning thespian Philip Seymour Hoffman - and with production in full swing no less!

Deadline reports Cassel has joined the cast that already boasts Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Noomi Rapace, Joel Kinnaman, Jason Clarke, Paddy Considine, and Fares Fares. Just as was the case when Hoffman was brought on board, no information has been released about this role Cassel’s taken over. Perhaps more frustrating, Deadline doesn’t give any hint to why the swap occurred so late in production. Child 44 began shooting in Prague, Czech Republic in June, so we assume production is close to wrapping by now. Could Cassel being brought in so late be a sign of trouble on set, or is it just a last minute change in the direction of the film?

For now, we can only speculate. Presumably, this Cassel nee Hoffman role is a small one, as Hoffman himself was cast shortly after the film first went into production. Thankfully, as its based on Tom Rob Smith’s best-selling novel of the same name, we do know a fair amount about Child 44’s plot, if not all its characters.

The 2008 novel is set in 1950s Russia, where Stalin’s influence is still intense. There, Leo Stepanovich Demidov is a military cop chasing a serial killer whose has a penchant for murdering children. This gruesome thriller is inspired by the real-life crimes of the atrocious Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo. This Ukranian madman earned such grim monikers as The Butcher of Rostov, The Red Ripper, and The Forest Stripper Killer for his 12-year spree of sexual assaults, mauling, and murders. When he was finally caught, Chikatilo confessed to killing a shocking total of 56 people. Aside from this grisly murder investigation, Child 44 is also said to explore the social ills of Stalin’s Soviet Union, including paranoia, homophobia, and the poor treatment of children and the mentally unwell.

Richard Price, who earned an Academy Award nomination for his adaptation of The Color of Money, was selected to pen the adapted screenplay. Between this and an extraordinary cast—led by Hardy as Demidov—Espinosa could well be poised to surpass the remarkable success of his last effort. Though the action double-hander Safe House earned mixed reviews and a 53% on Rotten Tomatoes, it thrived at the box office, bringing in an extraordinary $208 million worldwide. Sadly, we’ll have to wait until 2014 sometime to see how Child 44 will stack up.

In the meantime, Cassel will move on to headline first time filmmaker Ariel Kleiman’s Partisana. In the drama co-written by Kleiman and Sarah Cyngler, the scintillating star will play a cult leader whose dangerous doctrine is challenged by the picture’s precocious 11-year-old protagonist. Filming on Partisana will begin in Australia in October.

Philip Seymour Hoffman’s more than twenty year streak of sobriery reportedly ended a little more than a year ago, and in the time since, the Academy Award winning actor has reportedly been inching closer and closer to a full-on downward spiral. The substance abuse issue reportedly started with prescription pills but wound up escalating to the point in which he spent about a week earlier this month snorting heroin.

According to TMZ, Hoffman, with the help of his family and friends, realized he couldn’t possibly go on like that. So, he decided to be proactive about it and checked into a rehabilitation facility for ten days. That stretch ended last Friday, and now, he’s already back on a movie set in Europe doing what he does best.

PSH might not be the type of guy who studios slap on the top of a poster to sell tickets, but in his own way, he is one of the most in-demand actors in all of Hollywood. Being incredibly talented, being a team player and being a class act whose professionalism is never in doubt has its perks. Fortunately for Hoffman, he was able to think logically enough about his situation not to screw up that reputation.

Pop Blend’s sincerest well-wishes go out to PSH during this time of need. He’s brought all of us so much joy over the past few decades with his wonderful body of work. Here’s to hoping he’s able to dwell in sobriety and continue to do what he was put here to do.

John Slattery's tenure on the long-running series Mad Men has afforded him the opportunity to flex his filmmaker muscle, having directed four episodes of the show, but now he's ready to take his behind-the-scenes prowess to the big screen. And what's more, he's bringing one of his co-stars, Academy Award winner, and two of the best character actors we have along with him.

According to Deadline, Slattery is now getting ready to make his feature directorial debut on God's Pocket, an adaptation of the Pete Dexter novel that he scripted with Alex Metcalf, and has signed Christina Hendricks, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Richard Jenkins, and John Turturro to star. Set in South Philidelphia, the story follows a man named Mickey, whose psychotic stepson is killed on a construction site due to an "accident." While Mickey tries to quietly get rid of the body, his life becomes complicated when a reporter starts snooping around. From there, the site says, the protagonist "finds himself stuck in a life and death struggle between a body he can’t bury, a wife he can’t please and a debt he can’t pay." The article makes no mention of what characters any of the actors will be playing. The film is being sold at the Cannes Film Festival, but there's no mention of when production is scheduled to start.

Speaking of directorial debuts, Hendricks is currently in production on Ryan Gosling's, a fantasy thriller called How To Catch A Monster. Hoffman will be seen later this year in both The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, in which he plays Plutarch Heavensbee; and the John le Carre adapted thriller A Most Wanted Man. Jenkins has both White House Down and Turbo due out this summer, and Turturro is in post-production on his latest directorial effort, Fading Gigolo.

This has been a good week for Philip Seymour Hoffman. Not only has he been getting rave reviews for his performance in Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master, the movie has been setting "per theater average" records and now his latest directorial project has been announced. The Oscar winner is now set to helm Ezekiel Moss, a new project set up over at a Likely Story and Mandalay Pictures in association with Cooper's Town Productions.

Variety says that the script was featured on the 2011 Black List (the annual list of the most popular unproduced screenplays in Hollywood) and written by Keith Bunin. The story is set during the Depression Era and follows a curious and imaginative young boy who starts an unlikely friendship with a drifter in his small town who claims that he has the power to talk with the dead.

The film will be the second movie that Hoffman has directed. Back in 2010 he made his debut with Jack Goes Boating, which was based on a play by Robert Glaudini that he starred in alongside Amy Ryan, John Ortiz, Richard Petrocelli, and Thomas McCarthy. The film received middling reviews from critics and after premiering at Sundance and playing at the Toronto International Film Festival it never got a wider release than 90 theaters.

Said Cathy Schulman of Mandalay Pictures about the signing, "Hoffman is one of the great talents of our generation. We are thrilled to be in his capable hands directing this captivating and gothic exploration of faith and the supernatural."

Hoffman is currently filming The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, in which he plays the character Plutarch Heavensbee.

We've been anticipating Paul Thomas Anderson's movie The Master essentially since the moment we knew it existed, and every detail that's come since has made it sound all the better. A story allegedly based on the life of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard? A cast led by Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Joaquin Phoenix? Shooting on 70 mm film? It's like the director of There Will Be Blood didn't even realize we were guaranteed to see his next movie no matter what.

With The Master scheduled for release on September 14, as well as a spot in the Toronto Film Festival, we don't have that much longer to wait to finally get a look at it. But a few lucky moviegoers in Los Angeles, who were smart enough to check out a theatrical presentation of The Shining, don't have to wait anymore at all. Anderson held what appears to be the first-ever public screening of The Master as a surprise double feature after The Shining on Saturday, and this being the modern age, the reactions started coming in immediately. At Hollywood-Elsewhere, reader "bob film" calls it "pretty amazing…a strange fever dream," but notes that it's "not audience friendly AT ALL. An ambiguous ending and not one likable character." And before you claim that just sounds a whole lot like There Will Be Blood, he claims there are no "milkshake" lines-- meaning it might not be able to grab hold of pop culture the way Anderson's previous film did.

And yet, if you're already a fan, you've got plenty to anticipate anyway, like "the best work Amy Adams has ever done" and a (very premature) promise that "Phoenix WILL win Best Actor." If you don't want to trust the word from just this one guy, The Playlist has collected a few more reactions from other Twitter users, who call it "amazing," "possibly the best film watching experience I've ever had" and "like nothing you've ever seen before." Try no tot jump out of your skin with excitement after reading all these-- it's only about a month, after all, until the rest of us finally get a look for ourselves.

We've already gotten to see some footage from Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master. Following a footage presentation at this year's Cannes Film Festival, two short teasers were released online that introduced us to the film's two central characters: Freddie Sutton (Joaquin Phoenix) and Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Each teaser did an astounding job painting a picture of who these two men are, one a drunk and a drifter, the other a scholar and a writer. Now those two sides have come together for The Master's first theatrical trailer and the result is outstanding.

The preview has arrived online via Yahoo and you can check it our for yourself below!

Is anyone really surprised that this movie looks utterly brilliant? Anderson is already established as one of the great modern day auteurs and we've been waiting with bated breath for this project since it was announced in summer 2010. Now all it has to do is live up to our expectations.

The film follows Phoenix's Freddie as he struggles in the post-war 1950s. Lost and alone, he discovers The Master a.k.a. Dodd, who has begun his own faith-based organization and is willing to take Freddie under his wing as his right-hand man. In addition to Phoenix and Hoffman, The Master also stars Amy Adams (as Lancaster's wife, Mary Sue Dodd), Laura Dern and Jesse Plemons. The movie will be have a limited release on October 12 and you can read more about it in our Blend Film Database.

UPDATE: Lionsgate has confirmed the news, in an press release that also includes the film's first synopsis. Check it out below!

It's probably not entirely fair to say fans are the reason Philip Seymour Hoffman now has a role in the upcoming Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire. But hey, after plenty of fans including me imagined Hoffman would be perfect to play Haymitch, only to see the role go to Woody Harrelson instead, you have to imagine someone at Lionsgate was listening and figuring out a way to get Hoffman on board. Now, after rumors broke about a month ago that Hoffman could be brought in to play Gamesmaker Plutarch Heavensbee, E! is reporting that he has officially signed on, with a deal completed just before the Fourth of July holiday.

For those of you who haven't read the Catching Fire book, don't be surprised if you see very, very little of Plutarch Heavensbee in the eventual movie. He's in charge of making the edition of the Hunger Games that take place during Catching Fire, but our heroine Katniss only interacts with him once, in a conversation in a ballroom that becomes very, very important later on. His role gets expanded in the third book, Mockingjay, but of course we won't get into that yet. And it's entirely possible Plutarch's role will be expanded for the movie, especially with an actor as high-profile as Hoffman playing him; after all, Wes Bentley's Seneca Crane was a tiny figure in the book, but his role was expanded in a really clever way that helped explain how the Games work. The Games at the center of Catching Fire are very different, but following Plutarch could still be a smart move.

Catching Fire is set to go into production this fall, with Francis Lawrence directing a cast that includes returning faces Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks and Lenny Kravitz, and will also feature newcomers to the franchise like Jena Malone, and whoever gets cast to play Finnick. The movie is set to come out November 22, 2013.

When the first teaser trailer emerged for Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master a month ago, it didn't feature a single frame of the titular character, the L. Ron Hubbard-esque cult leader played by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Instead all the focus went to Joaquin Phoenix, who we see comes from a troubled background and who eventually falls under the wing of The Master, eventually becoming his right-hand man. Now a longer trailer for the film has debuted online, and it finally gives us our first look at Hoffman as the title character, possessing the kind of calm confidence and charisma that makes you believe in his potential cult almost immediately. Take a look below.

It's also our first look at Amy Adams in the film, who we've been told is playing Hoffman's character's wife, but we don't' really know much of anything about this movie for sure. All the same, the focus is still on Phoenix's character, from that excellent extended scene of him climbing out of a river bank to his outburst in a jail cell. Hoffman commands a lot of attention with his calm demeanor, but Phoenix is the one bringing all the fire, and it's going to be fascinating to see those two performances thrown together in a scene.

Probably my main takeaway from the trailer, though, is the percussive score from Jonny Greenwood, who was robbed blind of an Oscar nomination for his work on There Will Be Blood to arcane rules, but seems to be doing similarly spare and haunting work here. Let's face it-- there are a million reasons to be excited for The Master, which is set to come to theaters in October. Let us know your own reasons in the comments below.

Philip Seymour Hoffman was on the mind of a lot of Hunger Games fans when producers were looking for an actor to play the drunken but eventually endearing mentor Haymitch-- the part that eventually went to Woody Harrelson. But as it turns out, the crew behind the Hunger Games franchise weren't leaving out Hoffman-- they were just biding their time. According to Variety's Jeff Sneider, Hoffman has been offered the role of Plutarch Heavensbee in Catching Fire, the Hunger Games sequel that shoots this fall.

For the Hunger Games newbies, Plutarch Heavensbee has a small but crucial role in Catching Fire, playing the Head Gamemaker for the annual Hunger Games, and eventually returning once our heroine Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) gets further involved in the rebellion against the vicious Capitol. To say too much more would be spoiling it, and it's also hard to know how big Hoffman's role would be-- after all, Wes Bentley's character Seneca Crane was barely there in the Hunger Games book, and his part was nicely fleshed out for the movie. If Catching Fire adopts the same form as The Hunger Games, showing what's going on among the Gamemakers alongside the action in the arena, Hoffman could have a much bigger role in the second film.

That is, if he even accepts it. Hoffman doesn't exactly have a strong track record making big-budget studio movies-- Mission: Impossible 3 being a great exception-- and he just wrapped his stint as Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman on Broadway, meaning he might want a bit longer of a break after playing one of the most challenging roles in contemporary theater. But we'd also love to see him show up in the Hunger Games universe, so maybe a part in a big studio movie is exactly the kind of change of pace he needs. We'll let you know if any more news on the offer emerges, and of course, if he accepts!

Rachel McAdams seemed to have been hitting a lull in her career in the last few years, sputtering out with the actually delightful workplace comedy Morning Glory, not to mention a string of flops before that-- The Time Traveler's Wife and State of Play, plus the virtually unseen indies The Lucky Ones and Married LIfe. But last spring's Midnight in Paris was the start of a new winning streak that culminated with this year's The Vow, a romantic drama that has actually outgrossed her monster hit The Notebook from 2004.

Sure, she hasn't turned The Vow into a mega-year quite the way her co-star Channing Tatum has, but she's doing pretty well, and she looks to be continuing her hot streak with A Most Wanted Man, the John le Carre novel adaptation that already has Philip Seymour Hoffman set to star. Anton Corbijn, director of the George Clooney slow-burn drama The American, will be directing the adaptation, another twisty spy story by the author of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. I'll let THR's description take it from here, since they've sorted through the tangled plot far better than I can:

If complicated spy stories aren't your thing, don't worry, you can see plenty of McAdams elsewhere-- she's part of the newly retitled Terrence Malick film To The Wonder, and will work with Love Actually director Richard Curtis in To the Wonder last this year, wrapping in time to start A Most Wanted Man in September. That Regina George-- she always manages to come out on top.

From the 1965 classic The Spy Who Came in from the Cold to the 1980s TV series Smiley's People, John Le Carre's novels of intrigue and espionage have long proven scintillating source material for movies and mini-series. Most recently, it was Tomas Alfredson' adaptation of Le Carre's George Smiley-centered novel Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy that drew critical praise, Oscar nods, and a revived interest in his works. In February, Philip Seymour Hoffman entered into talks to add some star power to the upcoming thriller A Most Wanted Man, based on the Le Carre novel of the same name. Now, just in time to shop domestic distribution rights at the Cannes Film Festival, Film4 revealed to Deadline that they've secured Hoffman after all.

Adapted by Edge of Darkness scribe Andrew Bovell, A Most Wanted Man is set in contemporary Hamburg, Germany. Here we meet Issa, a young Russian who is battered and penniless but insists he has claim to his father's fortune, tucked away in a private bank. He seeks help from the city's Islamic community, and is taken in by Melik Oktay, a kind-hearted boxer, and his mother. But their charity proves to be costly as nothing about their guest adds up. Is he a medical student? A devout Muslim? A thief? A terrorist? As American, British and German intelligence agencies begin to nose into Issa's true identity, the Oktays are inescapably pulled into a web of intrigue, suspicion and dangerous politics that is fallout of the War on Terror. Hoffman has signed on to play a German spy, who is described as "brilliant" but "roguish."

Anton Corbijn, who helmed the undervalued baroque spy thriller The American, will be directing A Most Wanted Man. As he's shown a fascinating skill of creating tension with restraint, he should prove a great partner for Hoffman. The role likewise seems a great fit for the Oscar-winner, but really, most roles do, as Hoffman's played humble, arrogant, brilliant, buffoonish, roguish and noble. He's a heavyweight who is sure to draw distributors eyes at Cannes and may well attract other enticing talent to the project that will shoot on location in Germany.

A Most Wanted Man is expected to hit theaters in 2013.

The work of John Le Carre made a major cinematic comeback in 2011. While many of his novels have been adapted before, director Tomas Alfredson's adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy was a critical success that did well at the box office and earned three Oscar nominations, including one for Best Adapted Screenplay (Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan) and Best Actor (Gary Oldman). A new adaptation is already in the works, Le Carre's A Most Wanted Man, and it looks like it has landed an A-list lead.

Philip Seymour Hoffman, who put on two stellar performances last year in The Ides of March and Moneyball, is now in talks to join the project, which is being directed by Anton Corbijn. According to Variety, the story follows a half-Chechen, half Russian man on the run who goes into the Islamic community of Hamburg, Germany and looks for help to find his grandfather's "ill-gotten" fortune. A female lawyer and a male British banker decide to help the man, not knowing that they are being watched by a German spy unit. The script was written by Andrew Bovell, who last worked on Martin Campbell's The Edge of Darkness. The film will be Corbijn's first since 2010's The American and production is scheduled to begin in September.

While the movies don't always end up being top notch, I have yet to see a poor Philip Seymour Hoffman performance and it's great to see him back in a starring role. But what about the banker and the lawyer? Any Le Carre fans out there want to suggest who they think would be best for the roles?