Overview
- Hawke told The Guardian that Hoffman, Robin Williams and River Phoenix were not tragic figures, saying, “If they were sitting here on the couch, you’d see how utterly un-tragic they were.”
- He emphasized Hoffman's extended sobriety, saying Hoffman “won all the other days” over addiction for “twentysomething-odd years” and was on his way to a meeting the day he died.
- Officials have ruled Hoffman’s 2014 death an accidental “acute mixed drug intoxication,” including heroin, cocaine, benzodiazepines and amphetamine.
- Director Richard Linklater said addiction has forced “artistic breakups” and that leaders sometimes must remove people from projects and send them to rehab for the good of the production.
- Hawke and Linklater were speaking while promoting Blue Moon, in which Hawke portrays composer Lorenz Hart, whose struggles with alcoholism add resonance to their reflections; coverage also notes Cooper Hoffman’s continuing acting career.