New York priest pays tribute to actor Philip Seymour Hoffman

Philip Seymour Hoffman Wiki

The priest who presided over Philip Seymour Hoffman’s funeral at the Church of St Ignatius Loyola in New York on Friday, has spoken of their 10-year friendship, and paid tribute to the actor's modest personality.

Fr James Martin is a Jesuit priest who first met Hoffman when the actor asked him for advice in 2003 about the Labyrinth Theatre Company’s production of the off-Broadway play The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, which was directed by Hoffman.

Five year's later, Fr Martin assisted Hoffman with writing the role of Fr Flynn in his 2008 film Doubt, starring Meryl Streep. Hoffman took on the role as a priest in a Catholic school who may or may not have molested a boy, which earnt him an Oscar nomination.

While they talked about Doubt, Hoffman and Martin would go to Saint Ignatius Church in Manhattan's Upper East Side, where Martin taught him how a priest celebrates Mass. Sadly, this was the same Church Hoffman's funeral would take place.

Fr Martin said: "He was a lovely person, very down-to-earth. I learned about humility from him. He never put on airs." He said Hoffman would never boast about the films he was in, or the major roles he had landed, instead simply saying: "Yeah, I got this job."

Hoffman was born in Fairport, New York, to a Catholic mother, (a family court judge and lawyer) and a Protestant father, (a former Xerox executive). He had two sisters and a brother. He is survived by his estranged partner and their three children. Hoffman was not raised with a deep commitment to any denomination. His parents divorced when he was nine.

Philip Seymour Hoffman who died on 2 February of a heroine overdose, at the age of 46, was a distinguished actor and director. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 2005 biographical film Capote, was nominated three times for Best Supporting Actor and also received three Tony Award nominations for his work in theatre.

In their front-page obituary The New York Times referred to Hoffman as "perhaps the most ambitious and widely admired American actor of his generation".