Philip Seymour Hoffman

Known for ActingBorn 1967-07-23Died 2014-02-02Fairport, New York, USA

Philip Seymour Hoffman (July 23, 1967 – February 2, 2014) was an American actor, director, and producer. Best known for his distinctive supporting and character roles–typically lowlifes, eccentrics, bullies, and misfits—Hoffman acted in many films, including leading roles, from the early 1990s until his death in 2014. Drawn to theater as a teenager, Hoffman studied acting at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He began his screen career in a 1991 episode of Law & Order and started to appear in films in 1992. He gained recognition for his supporting work, notably in Scent of a Woman (1992), Boogie Nights (1997), Happiness (1998), Patch Adams (1998), The Big Lebowski (1998), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Almost Famous (2000), Punch-Drunk Love (2002), and Along Came Polly (2004). He began to occasionally play leading roles, and for his portrayal of the author Truman Capote in Capote (2005), won multiple accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Actor. Hoffman's profile continued to grow and he received three more Oscar nominations for his supporting work as a brutally frank CIA officer in Charlie Wilson's War (2007), a priest accused of pedophilia in Doubt (2008), and the charismatic leader of a Scientology-type movement in The Master (2012). While he mainly worked in independent films, including The Savages (2007) and Synecdoche, New York (2008), Hoffman also appeared in Flawless (1999), and Hollywood blockbusters such as Twister (1996) and Mission: Impossible III (2006), and in one of his final roles, as Plutarch Heavensbee in the Hunger Games series (2013–15). The feature Jack Goes Boating (2010) marked his debut as a filmmaker. Hoffman was also an accomplished theater actor and director. He joined the off-Broadway LAByrinth Theater Company in 1995, where he directed, produced, and appeared in numerous stage productions. His performances in three Broadway plays—True West in 2000, Long Day's Journey into Night in 2003, and Death of a Salesman in 2012—all led to Tony Award nominations.Read more

Movies & web series

The Frame

Restoring a Masterpiece: The Renovation of Eastman Theatre

Icons

Anita Liberty

Mary and Max

The Big Lebowski

A Director's Journey: The Making of 'Red Dragon'

Liberty!

That Moment: Magnolia Diary

Scent of a Woman

Magnolia

Synecdoche, New York

Boogie Nights

Inside the Actors Studio

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Almost Famous

Happiness

Moneyball

25th Hour

Too Young to Die

The Boat That Rocked

Patch Adams

Doubt

The Evolution of an American Filmmaker

The Master

Late Night with Conan O'Brien

Law & Order

The Talented Mr. Ripley

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

Punch-Drunk Love

The Fifteen Minute Hamlet

I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale

Red Dragon

Mattress Man Commercial

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2

Capote

Reflections on 'the Talented Mr. Ripley'

The Savages

Arthur

Cold Mountain

HAPPYish

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

Starring Austin Pendleton

Nobody's Fool

Mission: Impossible III

A Late Quartet

Owning Mahowny

Hard Eight