As Philip Seymour Hoffman’s directorial film debut, what like working with him?
Phil is very generous director – as an actor he knows what he needs, what gives him fuel, and he did his utmost to give that to us actors, so I think he took from his most inspired and best experiences with directors that he’s worked with. The truth is he has directed before–he just hasn’t directed cinema–but he knows how to speak to actors and how to galvanize an actor and get that process going. As a director, did he have his shots all mapped out or did he let you improvise? I admire his intelligence and the way his brain works. I would say he’s a perfectionist but that is by no means of saying every take has to be perfect. In order to celebrate and explore and do the best we can, he puts it plainly — being a fool is part and parcel, and being allowed to make mistakes and explore things at the risk of falling flat is important. What we do is an imperfect thing, we imitate reality and he allows us to be able to do that safely. How is film acting different than stage acting for you? Th
