The stars of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire remember how wonderful it was to work with the late Philip Seymour Hoffman on the movie's Blu-ray extras, filmed before the actor's untimely death.
On one of three behind-the-scenes featurettes, called "Friend or Foe: New Cast", actors Jennifer Lawrence and Donald Sutherland heap praise on Hoffman, who died on February 2 from an accidental drug overdose.
"I think he's probably one of the greatest actors of our time, so I was really just kind of blown away that... I was reading lines with him," Lawrence says. "Just that enough was really inspiring to me. He's such a smart, nice man and really embodies the character in such an incredible way."
Meanwhile Sutherland, who plays President Snow, describes Hoffman as a wonderful actor, saying it was amazing "to be able to have that kind of to and fro" while filming opposite him.
Hoffman plays Head Gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee in the franchise, based on Suzanne Collins' bestselling books.
Producer Nina Jacobson spoke about how they had wanted Hoffman for the part from the beginning and flew out to watch the actor on Broadway in Death Of A Salesman and to try to get him involved.
The featurette also includes interviews with Hoffman about what attracted him to the part and how the books helped with the decision.
"I just kind of got sucked into it," Hoffman says.
* The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is available on DVD and Blu-ray now
