Philip Seymour Hoffman
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1967-07-23
Day of Death
2014-02-02 (46 years old)
Place of Birth
Fairport, New York, USA
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Biography
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.
Known For
Acting
(2016)
Starring Austin Pendleton
as Self
(2015)
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
as Plutarch Heavensbee
(2015)
Straight from the Heart: A Tribute to Philip Seymour Hoffman
as Self (Archive Footage)
(2015)
(2014)
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
as Plutarch Heavensbee
(2014)
God's Pocket
as Mickey Scarpato
(2014)
A Most Wanted Man
as Günther Bachmann
(2014)
And the Oscar Goes To...
as Self (archive footage)
(2013)
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
as Plutarch Heavensbee
(2013)
Salinger
as Self - Actor
(2013)
(2012)
The Master
as Lancaster Dodd
(2012)
A Late Quartet
as Robert Gelbart
(2012)
Moneyball: Playing the Game
as Self (Archival Footage)
(2011)
Moneyball
as Art Howe
(2011)
The Ides of March
as Paul Zara
(2011)
A Child's Garden of Poetry
as Self (voice)
(2010)
Jack Goes Boating
as Jack
(2010)
Restoring a Masterpiece: The Renovation of Eastman Theatre
as Narrator (voice)
(2009)
Mary and Max
as Max (voice)
(2009)
The Invention of Lying
as Jim the Bartender
(2009)
The Boat That Rocked
as The Count
(2009)
(2009)
Doubt: Stage to Screen
as Self
(2008)
Synecdoche, New York
as Caden Cotard
(2008)
Doubt
as Father Brendan Flynn
(2008)
(2007)
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
as Andy Hanson
(2007)
Charlie Wilson's War
as Gust Avrakotos
(2007)
The Savages
as Jon Savage
(2006)
Mission: Impossible III
as Owen Davian
(2006)
Strangers with Candy
as Henry
(2006)
(2006)
(2005)
Capote
as Truman Capote
(2004)
Along Came Polly
as Sandy Lyle
(2003)
Cold Mountain
as Reverend Veasey
(2003)
Owning Mahowny
as Dan Mahowny
(2003)
(2003)
(2003)
Mattress Man Commercial
as Dean Trumbull
(2002)
Punch-Drunk Love
as Dean Trumbell
(2002)
25th Hour
as Jacob Elinsky
(2002)
Red Dragon
as Freddy Lounds
(2002)
Love Liza
as Wilson Joel
(2001)
Last Party 2000
as Self
(2000)
Almost Famous
as Lester Bangs
(2000)
State and Main
as Joseph Turner White
(2000)
That Moment: Magnolia Diary
as Self
(2000)
(2000)
(1999)
The Talented Mr. Ripley
as Freddie Miles
(1999)
Magnolia
as Phil Parma
(1999)
Flawless
as Rusty
(1998)
The Big Lebowski
as Brandt
(1998)
Patch Adams
as Mitch Roman
(1998)
Happiness
as Allen
(1998)
Montana
as Duncan
(1998)
Next Stop Wonderland
as Sean
(1997)
Boogie Nights
as Scotty J.
(1997)
Culture
as Bill
(1997)
Anita Liberty
as Man at Party #3
(1996)
Twister
as Dusty
(1996)
Hard Eight
as Young Craps Player
(1995)
The Fifteen Minute Hamlet
as Bernardo, Horatio & Laertes
(1994)
When a Man Loves a Woman
as Gary
(1994)
The Getaway
as Frank Hansen
(1994)
Nobody's Fool
as Officer Raymer
(1994)
The Yearling
as Buck
(1994)
It Is Now Our Time: Peter Sellars’ The Merchant of Venice
as Launcelot Gobbo
(1994)
Szuler
as Martin
(1993)
My Boyfriend's Back
as Chuck Bronski
(1993)
Money for Nothing
as Cochran
(1993)
Joey Breaker
as Wiley McCall
(1992)
Scent of a Woman
as George Willis, Jr.
(1992)
Leap of Faith
as Matt
(1992)
My New Gun
as Chris
(1992)
Triple Bogey On A Par Five Hole
as Klutch
Crew
(2014)
God's Pocket
Producer
(2014)
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
Thanks, In Memory Of
(2014)
A Most Wanted Man
In Memory Of
(2013)
Feed Me
Thanks
(2010)
Jack Goes Boating
Director, Executive Producer