More than a decade after Philip Seymour Hoffman’s sudden passing at the age of 46, his son, Cooper, opens up about life without him.
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During a recent interview with GQ, the Saturday Night star recalled his relationship with his late father. “He’s my favorite actor, but he’s also my dad,” Cooper said. “He’s also not here. A lot of people idolize their parents because they’re great parents. It’s a different thing to idolize your parent because you love their art.”
As he continues his acting, Philip Seymour Hoffman’s son said he wishes his famous father were here to guide him through all aspects of the entertainment industry.
“I get to figure this out on my own,” he said. “But also, I would love his advice. And I would also just love my dad.”
Cooper said he needed his father the most when he made his off-Broadway debut in the Curse of the Starving Class in early 2025. “I was like, I’m so ill-prepared for this,” he explained. “The only person I really wanted to talk to was my dad.”
Although he wishes Philip were able to help him, Cooper acknowledged that his late father would intimidate him as a mentor.
“As much as I would love him to be here and talk to him about acting, I would also be terrified to have him see my stuff and judge my stuff,” Cooper pointed out. “Not that he would judge it, because he was a very empathetic person, and he would probably – hopefully – hold my hand through all of it.”
Seymour Philip Hoffman passed away on Feb. 2, 2014, in New York City from an apparent drug overdose. Cooper was 10 years old at the time.
Seymour Philip Hoffman’s Son Previously Stated It Felt Like He Was Stepping Into the Late Actor’s Shoes
While speaking to The Independent in 2022 about his film Licorice Pizza, Cooper discussed going into acting and how it felt like he was stepping into his late father’s shoes.
“In a weird way, it felt almost like I was stepping into my dad’s shoes,” he explained. “It really was this feeling of: Maybe this is what he felt like. It was this weird out-of-body experience. I felt incredibly close to my dad through the whole shooting process.”
The film’s director, Paul Thomas Anderson, previously collaborated with Philip Seymour Hoffman on The Master, Boogie Nights and Magnolia.
Cooper further shared that something “clicked” within him, prompting him to pursue acting. “I don’t think I ever really considered it a possibility,” he said. ” I was also kind of scared to enter that arena because my dad did it so well.”
That something led to a not-really-official audition with Anderson and his co-star Alana Haim. “But the second I read with Paul and Alana, I kind of got so emotional,” Cooper pointed out. “I was like, ‘Oh my god, I need to do this.'”