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Roger Ebert wanted Philip Seymour Hoffman to play him in his biopic

The untimely death of Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman has left a lot of question marks in its wake. What will happen to his unfinished projects like the “Hunger Games” sequels and the TV series “Happyish”? What might he have accomplished in his career had he not died? Who might he have played?

Chaz Ebert, widow of the late-great movie critic Roger Ebert, shed some light on that latter question at a screening of the Ebert documentary “Life Itself” this week.

According to Indiewire, during the Q&A for the doc, Chaz Ebert shared the famed critic’s admiration of Hoffman -- and she revealed that Ebert had always wanted Hoffman to play him if a movie of his life were ever made.

"Roger would say, 'He is one of the best, most versatile actors ever.' And he also was a brilliant man, you know, human being, just very smart,” Ebert’s widow recalled. “‘If you ever do a movie, where you need someone to play me, I want Philip Seymour Hoffman.'”

Casting Hoffman as the erudite and often fiery movie critic would have been a great bit of casting, but sadly it's not to be. Though Hoffman had not committed to the project before his death, the role seemed absolutely made for him.

As for Hoffman's other future projects, we’ll likely know just how the actor's death will affect them soon. Although the release dates of two “Hunger Games: Mockingjay” films won't be affected by Hoffman's death, the fate of Showtime’s “Happyish” remains unknown.

However, it’s those “what if?” scenarios that sting the most for admirers of the actor. Hoffman, an already gifted and well-respected performer, only seemed to be getting better with age. Indeed, given the calibre of his recent work (in films like “Capote” and “The Master”) it wouldn’t have been an exaggeration to say that the 46-year-old actor’s best years were still ahead of him.