Philip Seymour Hoffman
Acting • Born 1967-07-23 – Died 2014-02-02
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.
Filmography
94 credits
The Big Lebowski
Movie • 1998
Brandt
Magnolia
Movie • 1999
Phil Parma
Doubt: Stage to Screen
Movie • 2009
Self
Capote
Movie • 2005
Truman Capote
Mission: Impossible III
Movie • 2006
Owen Davian
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Movie • 1999
Freddie Miles
25th Hour
Movie • 2002
Jacob Elinsky
The Getaway
Movie • 1994
Frank Hansen
Twister
Movie • 1996
Dusty
Almost Famous
Movie • 2000
Lester Bangs
Cold Mountain
Movie • 2003
Reverend Veasey
Patch Adams
Movie • 1998
Mitch Roman
The Ides of March
Movie • 2011
Paul Zara
Happiness
Movie • 1998
Allen
When a Man Loves a Woman
Movie • 1994
Gary
Synecdoche, New York
Movie • 2008
Caden Cotard
Boogie Nights
Movie • 1997
Scotty J.
State and Main
Movie • 2000
Joseph Turner White
Along Came Polly
Movie • 2004
Sandy Lyle
Charlie Wilson's War
Movie • 2007
Gust Avrakotos
The Invention of Lying
Movie • 2009
Jim the Bartender
Nobody's Fool
Movie • 1994
Officer Raymer
Montana
Movie • 1998
Duncan
My Boyfriend's Back
Movie • 1993
Chuck Bronski
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Movie • 2007
Andy Hanson
Flawless
Movie • 1999
Rusty
Mary and Max
Movie • 2009
Max (voice)
Punch-Drunk Love
Movie • 2002
Dean Trumbell
Hard Eight
Movie • 1997
Young Craps Player
The Savages
Movie • 2007
Jon Savage
It Is Now Our Time: Peter Sellars’ The Merchant of Venice
Movie • 1994
Launcelot Gobbo
Scent of a Woman
Movie • 1992
George Willis, Jr.
Leap of Faith
Movie • 1992
Matt
Red Dragon
Movie • 2002
Freddy Lounds
Strangers with Candy
Movie • 2006
Henry
Next Stop Wonderland
Movie • 1998
Sean
Doubt
Movie • 2008
Father Brendan Flynn
Moneyball
Movie • 2011
Art Howe
Love Liza
Movie • 2002
Wilson Joel
Owning Mahowny
Movie • 2003
Dan Mahowny
Jack Goes Boating
Movie • 2010
Jack
The Master
Movie • 2012
Lancaster Dodd
The Boat That Rocked
Movie • 2009
The Count
Money for Nothing
Movie • 1993
Cochran
My New Gun
Movie • 1992
Chris
Last Party 2000
Movie • 2001
Self
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Movie • 2013
Plutarch Heavensbee
A Late Quartet
Movie • 2012
Robert Gelbart
Reflections on 'the Talented Mr. Ripley'
Movie • 2000
Self
Inside 'The Talented Mr. Ripley'
Movie • 2000
Self
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
Movie • 2014
Plutarch Heavensbee
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
Movie • 2015
Plutarch Heavensbee
A Most Wanted Man
Movie • 2014
Günther Bachmann
Mattress Man Commercial
Movie • 2003
Dean Trumbull
Making Capote: Concept to Script
Movie • 2006
Self
Discord and Harmony: Creating a Late Quartet
Movie • 2013
Self
The Evolution of an American Filmmaker
Movie • 2003
Self
Truman Capote: Answered Prayers
Movie • 2006
Self
Triple Bogey On A Par Five Hole
Movie • 1992
Klutch
God's Pocket
Movie • 2014
Mickey Scarpato
Culture
Movie • 1997
Bill
Anita Liberty
Movie • 1997
Man at Party #3
A Director's Journey: The Making of 'Red Dragon'
Movie • 2003
Self
A Child's Garden of Poetry
Movie • 2011
Self (voice)
The Yearling
Movie • 1994
Buck
The Fifteen Minute Hamlet
Movie • 1995
Bernardo, Horatio & Laertes
Straight from the Heart: A Tribute to Philip Seymour Hoffman
Movie • 2015
Self (Archive Footage)
The Making of A Most Wanted Man
Movie • 2015
Self
Joey Breaker
Movie • 1993
Wiley McCall
I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale
Movie • 2009
Self
Szuler
Movie • 1994
Martin
That Moment: Magnolia Diary
Movie • 2000
Self
Starring Austin Pendleton
Movie • 2016
Self
Restoring a Masterpiece: The Renovation of Eastman Theatre
Movie • 2010
Narrator (voice)
Directed by Sidney Lumet: How the Devil Was Made
Movie • 2008
Self
Salinger
Movie • 2013
Self - Actor
Inside the Actors Studio
TV • 1994
Self
Law & Order
TV • 1990
Steven Hanauer
The Daily Show
TV • 1996
Self
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
TV • 1988
Self
Icons
TV • 2002
HypaSpace
TV • 2002
Self
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
TV • 1992
The Early Show
TV • 1999
Self - Guest
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
TV • 1993
Self - Guest
Empire Falls
TV • 2005
Charlie Mayne
The Directors
TV • 1999
Self
The Oscars
TV • 1953
Self
Liberty!
TV • 1997
Joseph Plumb Martin
Arthur
TV • 1996
William Fillmore Toffman (voice)
Too Young to Die
TV • 2012
Self (archive footage)
The Frame
TV • 2013
Plutarch Heavensbee
Golden Globe Awards
TV • 1944
Self - Nominee
Chelsea Lately
TV • 2007
Self (archive footage)