Philip Seymour Hoffman Explains His Attraction to “Capote:” “It was really the story that was the most attractive thing. The story of this and his story. The idea of the technical stuff of playing him, that wasn't the thing that attracted me to it. That stuff was daunting and the scary stuff. I had to be drawn into this in a different way. What I was drawn to was the tragic tale. This classic tragic tale. Something being inevitable, something playing itself out and no one could stop it. There was something about that, which was very interesting to me and compelling. I think that what makes the film compelling is you can't stop it and it's so subtle and simple and kind of slow. It's there and it's lulling you and you realize that you are on this train toward this place. It's inevitable and that's, I think, something that makes for good story and a good film.”
On Remaining in Character During the Shoot: “I didn't really go to shops and stuff, I really didn't. That would have been really frightening, I think. At work, because it was like an athletic event in a way, very specifically meaning that if you are running a race you don't want to stop in the middle of the race and have to start running again. It's harder to do that. Trainers will tell you that's how you should work out because you will burn more calories because it takes more energy. I had to keep a certain sense of the voice and quality and these things because if I let it go, it was just too much energy to get it back up again. Once the day is over, I can go home and be me. I needed to do that. I needed to rest. It's really that simple.”
The Responsibility of Being in Almost Every Scene in “Capote:” “It’s a huge responsibility and sometimes that's overwhelming. But it's a positive thing in the aspect that you get to work everyday and you do get the benefit of getting into a rhythm. You are in front of the camera a lot. Whereas when you are a supporting player, you come in and there is pressure to just get those three scenes just right. Whereas when you are a lead, you kind of modulate through. Like some scenes are this, some are this, there is something different about it which actually can be quite freeing.”
Philip Seymour Hoffman on Working with Clifton Collins Jr: Collins plays Perry Smith, one of the killers Capote became close with while writing “In Cold Blood.” Hoffman says working with Collins was a pleasure. “It was great. He's great, I really think that everyone in this film [is]. I think you will agree with me, the cast kind of just settles right into these roles in ways that are kind of uncanny. You kind of forget who they are. It's really just one of those special times when the ensemble just kind of [works].
While we were casting it, as a producer I was, I had never been having a say. It was scary. Like who is going to play these guys? Perry Smith, it was really, really tough. The fact that we got Clifton… I remember seeing his tape. He auditioned and it was great. Just the way he looks, everything about him. We are the same size and that's such an important aspect of the story. He just rammed it right in there. I was just so grateful as, really as a producer, that we got him.”
