Cameron Crowe Discusses Hoffman’s Take On Lester Bangs

The world lost one of its greatest actors on Sunday when Philip Seymour Hoffman passed away at age 46. Hoffman’s resume is filled with award-winning and nominated roles, but one particular role resonated with us -his portrayal of legendary music critic Lester Bangs in 2000’s Almost Famous.

Almost Famous director Cameron Crowe put together the semi-autobiographical film and has shared his take on Hoffman’s amazing performance in Almost Famous’s “uncool” scene via his The Uncool website:

“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.”

And here’s the scene in question:

[via The Uncool / Hat Tip –Consequence Of Sound]