• The Master

For a certain generation of moviegoers, Philip Seymour Hoffman was considered one of Hollywood’s great actors, known for bringing his towering presence to the smallest of roles. His sudden passing creates a gaping hole in the American film landscape, but the performances he left behind will stand forever. I won’t waste time rehearsing the tragic details of his death, as so many other eulogies and “dedications” have—what matters most is his legacy. After the jump, you can catch my five favorite Philip Seymour Hoffman performances, each accompanied with a clip.

  1. The Master (2012, dir. Paul Thomas Anderson) An obvious choice, but the right one. The working relationship he had with Anderson was truly special. If Hoffman was larger than life in Doubt, I’m not sure what he is here. The character, like the film as a whole, is full of paradox. He’s inscrutable yet welcoming, intimidating yet charismatic, villainous yet fatherly. He epitomizes so many things at once that it’s impossible to think of him as mere movie character—he’s a sheer force of personality, embodied by Hoffman with pure bravura.