Justin Long Honors ‘Acting God’ Philip Seymour Hoffman 9 Years After His Death

Justin Long will be “forever grateful” for the opportunity to meet Philip Seymour Hoffman early in his career.

On Thursday, Long paid tribute to Hoffman with an emotional post on Instagram timed to the nine-year anniversary of the “Capote” actor’s death. In it, he shared a throwback photo of him and Sam Rockwell, his co-star in the 1999 film “Galaxy Quest,” posing with Hoffman, who’d swung by the set for a visit.

“Knowing what a huge fan I was, Sam wanted to introduce us and I am forever grateful that he did,” Long wrote. “When I was the young eager actor you see in this picture, Phil was an acting god to me ― my Meryl Streep or Marlon Brando. He still is.”

He described Hoffman’s laugh as “full and bold and lacking even a hint of self-consciousness,” and also cited the late actor’s continued influence on his own work as an actor.

“Whenever I’m stuck in a scene I often find myself thinking ‘What would Phil do?’ – it always grounds me in the truth,” he explained. “He laughed the way he acted. Today I’m missing both.”

Hoffman died on Feb. 2, 2014, at age 46. A coroner’s report later ruled his death an accidental drug overdose.

With credits that include “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” “The Big Lebowski” and three films in “The Hunger Games” franchise, Hoffman is frequently cited as one of the most accomplished actors of his generation.

He received an Academy Award in 2006 for his portrayal of Truman Capote in “Capote,” and was a three-time Tony Award nominee for his performances in the Broadway revivals of “True West,” “Long Day’s Journey into Night” and “Death of a Salesman.”

As of Friday, Long’s post had received more than 94,000 likes. Many of the actor’s famous pals, including Jason Biggs and Jeremy Renner, shared their own memories of Hoffman in the comments.

Among those to also pay tribute was “Book of Mormon” and “Frozen” actor Josh Gad, who wrote: “His last words to me were ‘we need to play brothers.’ If only … ”