10 Philip Seymour Hoffman Performances That Prove His Acting Genius

8. Dean Trumbell - Punch Drunk Love

Though not one of the more prominent performances of Hoffman's career, his brief turn in Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch Drunk Love is, in my eyes, easily one of his funniest, and certainly one of his most brilliantly explosive. In the film, he plays the mastermind of the phone scam that Adam Sandler's protagonist Barry gets caught in, and over the course of a phone call, gets hilariously angry, telling Barry to "Shut the **** up!", before shouting "Shut up! Shut up! Shut, shut, shut, shut, shut up!", in easily one of cinema's all-time great put-downs. What more need be said? He may not have received the praise that Adam Sandler and Emily Watson did for their roles, but his small part is, for me, by far the most memorable scene in the movie, and something I'd love to act out in real life some day at a cold caller. Quote: "No, no. Shut up! Shut the f*** up! Shut up, will you, shut up! Shut up, shut, shut, shut, shut, shut up! ... Shut up! ... Now, are you threatening me, d***?"