Philip Seymour Hoffman's 'intuition was luminous'

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Philip Seymour Hoffman's 'intuition was luminous'

Philip Seymour Hoffman was ''the real thing''.

John le Carre - who penned the source material for the actor's penultimate film 'A Most Wanted Man' - has paid tribute to the late star, who tragically died of a drug overdose in February this year, and praised his ''intelligence''.

He told the Sunday Times Magazine: ''His intuition was luminous from the instant you met him. So was his intelligence.

''A lot of actors act intelligent but Philip was the real thing; a shining, artistic polymath with an intelligence that came at you like a pair of headlights and enveloped you from the moment he grabbed your hand, put a huge arm round your neck and shoved a cheek against yours.

''Or if the mood took him, hugged you to him like a big, pudgy schoolboy, then stood and beamed at you while he took stock of the effect.''

Meanwhile, John Slattery - who directed the late actor in 'God's Pocket' only a few months before his death - recently opened up about Philip's ''tragic'' passing.

He said: ''Losing him was tragic, and it ruined a lot of it. The experience, not the film.

''He was in love with the film. But afterwards, it took on this mantle of something it was never meant to carry, which was too bad.''