 Hoffman was held in high regard within the film and theater industry , and cited in the media as one of the finest actors of his generation . Despite this status among his peers and critics , he was never one of the most popular film stars , and has been overlooked in lists of all @-@ time greatest actors . He was not a typical movie actor , with a pudgy build and lacking matinée idol looks , but Hoffman claimed that he was grateful for his appearance as it made him believable in a wide range of roles . Joel Schumacher once said of him in 2000 , " The bad news is that Philip won 't be a $ 25 @-@ million star . The good news is that he 'll work for the rest of his life " . The Aiken Standard of South Carolina referred to him as an " anti @-@ star " , whose real identity remained " amorphous and unmoored " . Hoffman was acutely aware that he was often too unorthodox for the Academy voters . He remarked , " I 'm sure that people in the big corporations that run Hollywood don 't know quite what to do with someone like me , but that 's OK . I think there are other people who are interested in what I do . " 
