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BREAKING: Phil Seymour Hoffman is going to go without an agent. He’s leaving Paradigm after an 18-year run at the agency, repped by Sarah Fargo. From the breakout role in Boogie Nights, to the Oscar turn in Capote, the recent tour de force performance as Willy Loman in the Mike Nichols-directed Death Of A Salesman (I was surprised he didn’t win the Tony for Best Actor) and his work in last year’s Oscar movies Moneyball and The Ides Of March, Fargo’s done a helluva job finding ways to showcase Hoffman’s considerable talents. I am not hearing that he’s taking meetings, just that he’ll go agentless for now. Hoffman next appears in the Paul Thomas Anderson-directed The Master, and I’ve heard he has been offered a big role, Plutarch Heavensbee, in The Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire. Mostly, Hoffman is wiped out after finishing the Willy Loman role, which director Mike Nichols says is perhaps the most taxing stage role on an actor. Hoffman might just need a break before figuring out what’s in his future.
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Go PSH!!!! He’s such a fantastic actor that people will just seek him out. Why pay the 10% for fielding phone calls? He’s going the way of Leonardo DiCaprio. I think we will see this more and more…
That’ll last all but 10 seconds until he realizes he’ll have to read all those scripts coming his way himself, at which point he’ll no doubt end up at CAA.
You are a moron. Why pay? How about the years of work his rep did before he got his first job. it’s called loyalty. great actor yes but did not come overnight. I’m sure years of ” you’re not good looking enought for film” sound familiar?
I’ve never understood this argument. Yes, she worked hard, but she was also paid for her hard work, wasn’t she? It’s not as if he’s doing a dine and dash.
PSH: I will pay you 10% commission to represent me, get me work, and negotiate my contracts on my behalf.
Agency: Agreed, and we will work very hard for that 10%, because the harder we work, and the more successful you are, the more money we make, and the higher potential you have to earn even more on your next project, which in turn nets us a higher commission, etc.
PSH: Agreed. You work hard, and, as compensation, you’ll receive 10% of the value of the contracts you represent me for, get for me, and negotiate on my behalf. Deal?
Agency: Deal.
If you’ve never understood the argument, then you’ve never worked at an agency. You don’t understand the time, effort, expense and emotion that go into repping a client, nor do you understand the feeling of utter crap when a client leaves.
And for some reason, they always seem to leave RIGHT when the paychecks (and therefore commissions) start getting good.
Let me guess….Plutarch Heavensbee? An inspired choice. A rare time I feel bad for an agent, probably cause she’s not at CAA or WME.
oh bs to the post above. fargo has slaved for this dude. psh is an ungrateful egomaniac. and he’s so over the top in salesman. thank god he didn’t win a tony.
I was an agent at a major agency for many years. Sarah did an excellent job for Phil and so unless there is more to this story than we know (which is always possible) — I can’t begin to express how grotesque this man now is in my eyes.
There is no loyalty or appreciation to the blood, sweat and tears what went into representing him. Being a brilliant actor certainly isn’t enough.
Your piece outlines a strategic and well thought and well planned career. He has worked with the finest filmmakers and co-stars out there. Is it that he’s too thrifty to spend 10%? Or, does he feel that his immense talents don’t require the guidance of a professional. What ever happened to his manager Davien Littlefield?
I feel for Sarah and Paradigm. He was a banner client and she should be proud of his work.
10% of an actor’s paycheck is a significant amount of money. If an actor wants to save that 10% or give it to another agent, let him be. Loyalty in Hollywood? Please.
Talent agents are no different than your real estate agent. They make deals.
Let’s not forget Philip has made Fargo a ton of money. An actor’s job is much more difficult than phone conversations and lunch meetings, and they surely don’t have assistants and interns doing half their work.
I hope Philip goes the Bill Murray route.
Wow. You completely discount the opposing viewpoint (not that I adhere to it, but it’s valid) that the agent is a parasite, who merely feeds off the talent of the…talent. Really, you, and those like you, should take a giant hike through a large wilderness. It’s a business arrangement. If the agency wanted, or was entitled to, a lifetime commitment, that’s what they should have insisted upon at contract signing time. Otherwise, pretend to a graciousness you don’t possess.
If “Fargo’s done a helluva job”, then why?
Good for you PSH. Agents do more harm than good and everyone is sick of it.
I hope he’s not leaving because he lost last night.
When i worked at the digm there were two people that could talk to Phil, Sarah Fargo and Sam Gores. To say Phil was represented by the group of agents at digm is overstating…
I agree that Hoffman is successful and in-demand enough to go without an agent. But what would the counter-argument be? What would a hungry agent say?
Agents do more harm then good? Fargo signed this guy before anyone knew who he was. She set up meetings, read scripts and was a major reason why he found the success he currently enjoys.
Right on.
18 years isn’t loyalty? Those were 18 pretty great years to be his agent. And it’s not like he left her for someone else.
This story doesn’t address the big question: why. I’m not jumping down either of their throats until I hear that.
PSH is a tool. Great actor, but has amnesia about anyone who has helped him or liked him before he was anyone; unless, they too, are famous.
Probably owes PTA more than his agent. Just saw Ides of March, good movie great cast. I am glad at least Clooney tries to make movies for adults. They are few and far between this day. I thought Phillip was great so was Giamatti and I finally give credit to Gossling. The number of young male actors making movies with any talent is very low. More in tv but acting is becoming a lost art. I thought he held his own with three great actors.
If anyone passes by Boogie Nights, besides being a great movie, you see in hindsight how good Hoffman was in that movie. By the way maybe he likes making scripts or maybe he will just make a couple more Paul Thomas Anderson movies in his life.
Im glad he lost the tony. I have lost all respect for him. Sarah Fargo and Paradigm did everything imaginable for this guy, spending YEARS making virtually no money and then guiding him to become a sought after actor. Loyalty is bad only when it doesn’t benefit you. How had his loyalty to his agent hurt his career?what possibly could be done that hasn’t been done? Five years from now he will be at APA
Sorry Sarah. You did great work and we all are aware
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!! Five years from now he’ll be at APA?! PSH will continue to be one of the premiere actors of his age, because he is one of the premiere actors of his age. If you think leaving Paradagm will suddenly make top flight directors disinterested in collaborating with him, and his talent, then you – “smartman” – belong at APA (I was once a client, by the way) yourself.
Yeah, to be clear, nothing should be taken away from his agent in this. She obviously did a great job.
So sad. Fargo is a Saint for putting up with Petulant Hoffman. The Universe giveth & it taketh away. Good Luck PSH.
My hunch is he winds up @ CAA or WME a month from now. By not leaving Paradigm for another agent right away he softens the blow a bit.
As well he should. Why is it so hard for the agenting community to accept that certain companies are geared toward servicing different kinds of careers – and that, as careers change, so should ones agency alliance?
Should someone always drive a Toyota, because that’s what they started driving? Is it disloyal to upgrade to an Audi? Mercedes? Porche? Simply because the Toyota didn’t crash? Note to the denser among us: it doesn’t mean Toyota is a bad car. It simply means that, when offered more luxurious options, upgrading is a valid choice.
Now, will at least a few of you please pipe down?
The moral indignation in some of these comments is nauseating. Agents routinely treat people dreadfully. PSH has merely ended a business relationship with a business person. Moving on.
18 years is ingratitude? Seven years beyond an Academy Award is ingratitude? What precise length of time would be sufficient? Ten years beyond the grave? You clowns crack me up.
Ummm, what is loyalty if not 18 years? I mean, it’s not as if he’s gone to someone else (yet). What? Are they supposed to stay together forever, until death, with little matching broken heart necklaces?
going agentless?
come on. Phil’s not going agentless. he’s leaving Sarah and Paradigm and will end up with CAA or WME in a matter of time.
he’s likely booked for work for the next 2 years and so doesn’t need an agent for now anyway . . .
why he left Sarah?
like all these actor/agent scenarios, I don’t know enough to comment other than he’s had a great run and really done an excellent job making smart choices . . .
his agent must be given some respect and responsibility for charting that career path.
he decided to move on?
well . . .
his choice.
undoubtedly, he will not be happier at CAA or WME b/c now he will be one of hundreds of actors instead of the top talent at Paradigm.
that said, some actors do NOT want to be the top talent . . . and feel that level of responsibility for their agency . . .
way back when, Jim Carrey, Sandra Bullock ,etc left UTA for that reason . . .they don’t want to be the only star at the agency . . .
so . . .now he has what he wants . . .
best to Phil. He’s done quality work and that should be respected.
You certainly need an agent when starting out but once you are established and an award-winning talent, you really do NOT need an agent. It’s mostly out of convenience. But the last major jobs I got I got totally out of people i personally KNEW who wanted to work with me and hire me. Hell, just have a good entertainment lawyer to make the deal. That’s really all you need.
In this business, sticking with an agent for 18 years is pretty frickin’ loyal. Also, I find it interesting no one has mentioned his management team, which I believe includes a former agent from Paradigm. Don’t think they haven’t played a hand in his decision to go agentless for a while.
Come on, in all practicality, an agent is critical in the early part of an actor’s career. But, why do I think he got “The Master” because PT Anderson asked him. He did “Ides Of MArch” because Clooney asked him. He did “Moneyball” because Bennett Miller, his longtime friend whom he handpicked to direct him in ‘Capote’ for the Oscar, asked him. And so on…
Yeah, actors can be petulant. And I’m sure when PSH needs his big fat paycheck to play the bad guy in Men In Black 4, he’ll sign with someone.
Actors don’t rely on agents to pick material from colleagues they trust. If anything, any agent in town would have told him “he’s crazy” to to do Capote with a dicertor who had only a feature documentary under his belt; he wasn’t a “name (read: can;t make an agent 10%) director” – 2 Oscar noms later and Bennett Miller is a**-kissed by the same agents who wouldn’t spit on him 10 years ago.
This IS the truth, what you’ve written!!!!!
Willie Loman character the most taxing stage role? Yep, that MacBeth guy and old what’s-his-name, um, oh yeah, Hamlet are just too darn easy.