My original take on this scene was a loud, late night pronouncement from Lester Bangs. A call to arms. In Phil’s hands it became something different. A scene about quiet truths shared between two guys, both at the crossroads, both hurting, and both up too late. It became the soul of the movie. In between takes, Hoffman spoke to no one. He listened only to his headset, only to the words of Lester himself. (His Walkman was filled with rare Lester interviews.) When the scene was over, I realized that Hoffman had pulled off a magic trick. He’d leapt over the words and the script, and gone hunting for the soul and compassion of the private Lester, the one only a few of us had ever met. Suddenly the portrait was complete. The crew and I will always be grateful for that front row seat to his genius.
he was a GREAT actor, but dude always gave off that sleeze/degenerage kinda vibe to me... I could never tell if he was that that damn good at his roles or if it was just him 
I was more shocked to hear that he was only 46 than I was to hear that he was dead. That being said, I don't find any joy in his death. Or anyone's for that matter. So RIP.
