Background

Ethnicity: Philip's father, Gordon Stowell Hoffman, was of German descent. He also had Irish, English, Dutch and remote Polish roots.

Philip Seymour Hoffman was born on July 23, 1967, in Fairport, New York, United States. He was a son of Gordon Stowell Hoffman and Marilyn O'Connor (Loucks) Hoffman, who worked as an elementary school teacher before becoming a lawyer and eventually a family court judge.

Philip had one brother, Gordy Hoffman, and two sisters, Jill Hoffman and Emily Hoffman. When their parents divorced, Philip was nine years old at the time, the children were raised primarily by their mother.

Education

As a child, Philip was fond of sport, particularly wrestling and baseball, but at the age of twelve, he saw a stage production of Arthur Miller's "All My Sons" and was fascinated by it. Hoffman developed a love for the theater and proceeded to attend it regularly with his mother, who was a lifelong enthusiast.

At the age of fourteen, Philip endured a neck injury, that ended his sporting activity, and he began to consider acting. Encouraged by his mother, he joined a drama club, and initially committed to it because he was attracted to a female member. Hoffman gradually became passionate about acting.

In 1984, Philip enrolled in the New York State Summer School of the Arts in Saratoga Springs. It was there, that he got acquainted with his future colleagues Bennett Miller and Dan Futterman. Later, Philip applied for several drama degree programs and was accepted to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, graduating from the educational establishment with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Drama in 1989. While at the university, he co-founded the Bullstoi Ensemble acting troupe together with actor Steven Schub and film director Bennett Miller.

It's worth noting, that in his earlier years, Hoffman finished Fairport High School and attended the Circle in the Square Theatre's summer program.

Career

Following his graduation from the New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1989, Hoffman began working in the theatre in New York City and Chicago and on tour in Europe. His first notable movie role was as a prep school student in "Scent of a Woman" (1992). Subsequent films, including "Twister" (1996), gained him further audience recognition. His big breakthrough came with his painfully emotional performance in Paul Thomas Anderson's "Boogie Nights" (1997), which was set in the world of adult entertainment. Hoffman went on to add a number of noteworthy credits, among them "The Big Lebowski" (1998), Anderson's "Magnolia" (1999), "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (1999) and "Almost Famous" (2000); in the latter film he played real-life music journalist Lester Bangs. In 2002, Philip continued his collaboration with Anderson in "Punch Drunk Love" and drew praise for his work in Spike Lee's "25th Hour".

It was in 2005, that Hoffman appeared as Truman Capote in "Capote". The film depicted Capote during the time he was researching what became his best-known book, "In Cold Blood" (1965). Already well known for his ability to immerse himself completely in his roles, Hoffman delivered a complex, honest performance, that captured Capote's essence and mannerisms without caricaturing him.

Following "Capote", Hoffman turned in another change-of-pace performance, this time as the villain in "Mission: Impossible III" (2006). In 2007, he appeared in a series of movies, including "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead", directed by Sidney Lumet; "The Savages"; and "Charlie Wilson's War", in which he portrayed a real-life CIA agent, who joins forces with a senator (played by Tom Hanks) to aid rebels, fighting Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980's. He was nominated for an Oscar for that role. Hoffman subsequently starred in Charlie Kaufman's abstruse drama "Synecdoche, New York" (2008), playing an insecure theatre director, who moves to New York City and spends years, attempting to stage a massive production. In "Doubt" (2008), he portrayed a Roman Catholic priest, suspected by a nun (played by Meryl Streep) of abusing children. The performance earned him a second Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

In 2009, Hoffman appeared in "Pirate Radio", a comedy about an illegal radio station, operating on a tanker in the North Sea in the 1960's. He made his cinematic directorial debut with "Jack Goes Boating" (2010), in which he starred as a lonely limo driver, who finds love on a blind date. Hoffman later took supporting roles in the baseball drama "Moneyball" (2011) and the political thriller "The Ides of March" (2011) before appearing in "A Late Quartet" (2012), an ensemble drama about classical musicians. His performance in Anderson's "The Master" (2012), as a charismatic self-made guru in the years after World War II, won much acclaim and another Oscar nomination. Hoffman then appeared as Head Gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee in "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" (2013) and "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1" (2014), based on books in the dystopian series by Suzanne Collins. He played a small-time criminal, whose stepson has been killed in an accident, in "God's Pocket" (2014) and a jaded German intelligence officer in the John le Carré adaptation "A Most Wanted Man" (2014).

In addition to his screen work, Hoffman continued to act in the theatre, garnering Tony Award nominations for revivals of Sam Shepard's "True West" (2000), in which he and co-star John C. Reilly alternated roles; Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey into Night" (2003); and "Death of a Salesman" (2012), in which he starred as Willy Loman.

It's worth noting, that Hoffman also produced and directed for the stage, especially for the LAByrinth Theater Company in New York City, which he joined in 1995 and for which he served as co-artistic director.

Hoffman's television credits included the HBO miniseries "Empire Falls" (2005).

Hoffman, who had a history of drug addiction, died of a heroin overdose in 2014. At the time of his death, he was filming "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2", which was released in 2015.

Achievements

• Philip Seymour Hoffman was a renowned actor, director and producer. He was known for his uncanny ability to morph like a chameleon into almost any role he took on, so much so that his incomparable prowess often overshadowed the movie he was starring in.
  
  As a supporting actor, Philip was known for his roles in such movies, as "Scent of a Woman" (1992), "Twister" (1996), "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), "Along Came Polly" (2004), "Charlie Wilson's War" (2007), "Doubt" (2008) and others. However, he was best known for his leading role in "Capote" (2005), the movie, in which he portrayed the author Truman Capote. This role won him multiple accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Actor.
  
  As mentioned above, Philip was a notable filmmaker. The feature "Jack Goes Boating" (2010) was his debut film. Besides, Hoffman was 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 well-known performances included those in "True West" in 2000, "Long Day's Journey into Night" in 2003 and "Death of a Salesman" in 2012.
  
  During his career, Hoffman received many awards, including the Academy Award, the Golden Globe Award, the BAFTA Film Award, the Gotham Independent Film Award, the Satellite Award, the Screen Actors Guild Award, the Volpi Cup Award and many others.
  
  In addition, Philip was honored with numerous nominations for different awards, including the Academy Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, the Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture and for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical, the Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie and numerous others.
  
  Hoffman was described in his New York Times obituary as "perhaps the most ambitious and widely admired American actor of his generation".

Works

More photos

• movie

  • Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

    (When two brothers organize the robbery of their parents' ...)

    2007
  • Synecdoche, New York

    (A theatre director struggles with his work and the women ...)

    2008
  • The Big Lebowski

    (Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire of t...)

    1998
  • The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

    (Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark become targets of the ...)

    2013
  • 25th Hour

    (Cornered by the DEA, convicted New York drug dealer Montg...)

    2002
  • God's Pocket

    (A blue collar worker tries to cover things up, when his s...)

    2014
  • The Master

    (A Naval veteran arrives home from war unsettled and uncer...)

    2012
  • Jack Goes Boating

    (A limo driver's blind date sparks a tale of love, betraya...)

    2010
  • Mission: Impossible III

    (IMF Agent Ethan Hunt comes into conflict with a dangerous...)

    2006
  • The Ides Of March

    (An idealistic staffer for a new presidential candidate ge...)

    2011
  • Scent of a Woman

    (A prep school student, needing money, agrees to "babysit"...)

    1992
  • Boogie Nights

    (The story of a young man's adventures in the California p...)

    1997
  • Magnolia

    (An epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of lo...)

    1999
  • Triple Bogey on a Par Five Hole

    (The Levys, a glamorous couple, used to make their living,...)

    1991
  • State and Main

    (A movie crew invades a small town, whose residents are al...)

    2000
  • The Fifteen Minute Hamlet

    (Shakespeare films Hamlet on a single reel then, after an ...)

    1995
  • Capote

    (In 1959, Truman Capote learns of the murder of a Kansas f...)

    2005
  • A Most Wanted Man

    (A Chechen Muslim illegally immigrates to Hamburg, where h...)

    2014
  • When A Man Loves A Woman

    (The seemingly perfect relationship between a man and his ...)

    1994
  • Doubt

    (A Catholic school principal questions a priest's ambiguou...)

    2008
  • Montana

    (A mob boss has the tough Claire and Nick pick up the guy,...)

    1998
  • The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

    (Katniss Everdeen is in District 13 after she shatters the...)

    2014
  • Hard Eight

    (Professional gambler Sydney teaches John the tricks of th...)

    1996
  • Money For Nothing

    (An unemployed man finds a money bag of $1.2 million after...)

    1993

Religion

Hoffman was baptized a Roman Catholic and attended Mass as a child, but did not have a heavily religious upbringing.

Politics

Despite the fact, that Hoffman was discreet about his political beliefs, it is known, that he voted for the Green Party candidate Ralph Nader in the 2000 presidential election.

Views

Quotations: "The less you know about me the more interesting it will be to watch me do what I do."

"The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else, when you're uncool."

"You must be really bad, because it is a puzzle. Creating anything is hard. It's a cliché thing to say, but every time you start a job, you just don't know anything. I mean, I can break something down, but ultimately I don't know anything, when I start work on a new movie. You start stabbing out, and you make a mistake, and it's not right, and then you try again and again. The key is you have to commit. And that's hard because you have to find what it is you are committing to."

"Don't let people treat you like a cigarette, they only use you, when they're bored, and step on you, when they're done. Be like drugs, let them die for you."

"I didn't go out, looking for negative characters; I went out looking for people, who have a struggle and a fight to tackle. That's what interests me."

"One person's religion is another person's cult."

"If you're a human being, walking the earth, you're weird, you're strange, you're psychologically challenged."

"I think you should be serious about what you do because this is it. This is the only life you've got."

"Study, find all the good teachers and study with them, get involved in acting to act, not to be famous or for the money. Do plays. It's not worth it if you are just in it for the money. You have to love it."

"To be loved, I think, is the thing, that gets you up in the morning."

"Creating something is all about problem-solving."

"The film is made in the editing room. The shooting of the film is about shopping, almost. It's like going to get all the ingredients together, and you've got to make sure before you leave the store, that you got all the ingredients. And then you take those ingredients and you can make a good cake - or not."

"Actors are responsible to the people we play. I don't label or judge. I just play them as honestly and expressively and creatively as I can."

"Well, I think everyone struggles with self-love."

Personality

Philip was a discreet person, especially when it came to his personal life, as well as religious and political beliefs. He felt, that keeping his personal life private was beneficial to his career.

According to people, who knew him personally, Philip's personality differed a lot from the that of his characters in films. He was an introvert, absolutely not a star-struck one.

Hoffman cited Meryl Streep, Daniel Day-Lewis and Christopher Walken as his favourite actors. "Goodfellas" (1990), directed by Martin Scorsese, was one of his favourite movies. He also liked watching the crime drama series "Breaking Bad" (2008-2013).

Besides, Hoffman was a huge fan of the New York Jets, a professional American football team, based in the New York metropolitan area.

Physical Characteristics: In a 2006 interview with "60 Minutes", Hoffman revealed he had engaged in drug and alcohol abuse during his time at New York University, saying he had used "anything I could get my hands on. I liked it all". Following his graduation in 1989, he entered a drug rehabilitation program at age 22 and remained sober for 23 years. However, he relapsed in 2013 and admitted himself to drug rehabilitation for about ten days in May of that year.

Quotes from others about the person

• The bad news is that Philip won't be a $25-million star. The good news is that he'll work for the rest of his life." - Joel Schumacher, a filmmaker
  
  "Almost every single one of his credits had something special about it." - Peter Bradshaw, film critic
  
  "The more pathetic or deluded the character, the greater Hoffman's relish seemed in rescuing them from the realms of the merely monstrous." - Ryan Gilbey, journalist

Interests

• Sport & Clubs

  wrestling and baseball

Connections

In 1999, Hoffman met costume designer Mimi O'Donnell, when they were both working on the Hoffman-directed play "In Arabia We'd All Be Kings". They lived in New York City and gave birth to three children - a son, Cooper Alexander Hoffman, and two daughters - Tallulah Hoffman and Willa Hoffman. Despite the fact, that some reports claimed, that Hoffman and O'Donnell separated in the fall of 2013, some months before his death, his partner later stated, that she had committed to stand by him, but that they were living separately to protect the children.

According to some reports, after separation with O'Donnell, Hoffman began a romantic relationship with his assistant, Isabella Wing-Davy, the daughter of his close friend, Mark Wing-Davy.

Father:

Gordon Stowell Hoffman

Gordon Stowell Hoffman is a former Xerox executive.

Mother:

Marilyn O'Connor (Loucks) Hoffman

Marilyn O'Connor (Loucks) Hoffman worked as an elementary school teacher before becoming a lawyer and eventually a family court judge.

child:

Cooper Alexander Hoffman

child:

Tallulah Hoffman

child:

Willa Hoffman

ex-partner:

Mimi O'Donnell

Mimi O'Donnell is an American costume designer, director and producer.

Brother:

Gordy Hoffman

Gordy Hoffman is an American screenwriter and director.

Sister:

Jill Hoffman

Sister:

Emily Hoffman

Partner:

Isabella Wing-Davy

Isabella Wing-Davey is an award-winning British filmmaker, based in New York and London.

Friend:

Mark Wing-Davey

Mark Wing-Davey is a British actor and director. He portrayed Zaphod Beeblebrox in the radio and television versions of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy".

Friend:

Paul Thomas Anderson

Paul Thomas Anderson is an American filmmaker. An alumnus of the Sundance Institute, Anderson made his feature film debut with "Hard Eight" in 1996.

Influence:

Paul Newman

Paul Newman was an American actor, film director, producer, race car driver, IndyCar owner, entrepreneur and philanthropist.

Hoffman cited Newman as his role model.

Friend:

Aaron Sorkin

Aaron Sorkin is an American screenwriter, director, producer and playwright.

References

• Philip Seymour Hoffman Success Coloring Book Book by Shannon Hopkins.
  2019
• Philip Seymour Hoffman: The Life and Work This biography covers Hoffman's life and career and provides an appendix, listing his film, television and stage appearances.
  2017
• Philip Seymour Hoffman: Brilliant. Troubled. Tragic. This richly illustrated retrospective celebrates Philip Seymour Hoffman's tragically curtailed life and fearless body of work, paying tribute to a man, who knew the cost of greatness.
  2018
• Philip Seymour Hoffman - 100 Facts You Didn't Know This work examines Hoffman's life.
  2014