Philip Seymour Hoffman
Encyclopedia
Philip Seymour Hoffman (born July 23, 1967) is an American actor and director. Hoffman began acting in television in 1991, and the following year started to appear in films. He gradually gained recognition for his supporting work in a series of notable films, including Scent of a Woman
(1992), Twister (1996), Boogie Nights
(1997), Happiness (1998), The Big Lebowski
(1998), Magnolia
(1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley
(1999), Almost Famous
(2000), 25th Hour
(2002), Punch-Drunk Love
(2002), Cold Mountain
(2003), Along Came Polly
(2004) and Mission: Impossible III
(2006).
In 2005, Hoffman played the title role in the biographical film
Capote
(2005), for which he won multiple acting awards including an Academy Award for Best Actor
. He received another two Academy Award nominations for his supporting work in Charlie Wilson's War
(2007) and Doubt (2008). Other critically acclaimed films in recent years have included Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
(2007) and The Savages
(2007). In 2010, Hoffman made his feature film directorial debut with Jack Goes Boating
.
Hoffman is also an accomplished theater actor and director. He joined the LAByrinth Theater Company
in 1995, and has directed and performed in numerous Off-Broadway
productions. His performances in two Broadway
plays led to two Tony Award
nominations: one for Best Leading Actor
in True West
(2000), and another for Best Featured Actor
in Long Day's Journey into Night
(2003).
, the son of Marilyn L. O'Connor, a family court
judge, lawyer, and civil rights
activist, and Gordon Stowell Hoffman, a former Xerox
executive. He has two sisters, Jill and Emily, and a brother, Gordy Hoffman
, who scripted the 2002 film Love Liza
, in which Philip starred. His father was a Protestant
of part German ancestry and his mother was of Irish Catholic
background; Hoffman was not raised with a deep commitment to either religion. Hoffman's parents divorced when he was nine years old.
Hoffman attended the 1984 Theater School at the New York State Summer School of the Arts
. After graduating from Fairport High School, Hoffman attended the Circle in the Square Theatre
's summer program, continuing his acting training with the acting teacher Alan Langdon. He received a BFA
in drama in 1989 from New York University
's Tisch School of the Arts
. At NYU, he was a founding member of the notoriously short-lived and volatile theater company the Bullstoi Ensemble with actor Steven Schub and director Bennett Miller
. Soon after graduating, he went to rehab
for drug and alcohol addiction
and has since remained sober.
Hoffman has had success directing in the theater as well, putting on shows for LAByrinth Theater Company. Of the difference between acting and directing in a play, Hoffman has said that "the director’s experience is not the real experience...You are the most subjective person in the room. You have no objectivity. You have to take a couple of weeks off and then come back to watch it without telling anyone, and you will see it with different eyes."
Hoffman's first role was as a defendant in a 1991 episode of the television series Law & Order
. He made his film breakthrough in 1992 when he appeared in four feature films, with the most successful film being Scent of a Woman
, in which he played a rather unscrupulous classmate of Chris O'Donnell
's character. He had been stocking shelves at a city grocery store at the time before landing the role and credits the film with kickstarting his career.
Hoffman has established a successful and respected film career playing diverse and idiosyncratic characters in supporting roles, working with a wide variety of noted directors, including Todd Solondz
, The Coen Brothers, Spike Lee
, Cameron Crowe
, David Mamet
, Robert Benton
, Anthony Minghella
and Paul Thomas Anderson
; notably, he has appeared in four out of five of Anderson's feature films to date (Hard Eight
, Boogie Nights
, Magnolia
, and Punch-Drunk Love
).
He appeared in Last Party 2000, a documentary about the 2000 US elections
. Throughout his career he has rarely been given a chance to play the lead role. In 2002, however, Hoffman starred as a widower coping with his wife's suicide in Love Liza
, for which his brother, Gordy Hoffman
, wrote the screenplay. In 2003, he played the lead role in Owning Mahowny
as a bank employee who embezzles money to feed his gambling addiction.
Hoffman has continued to play supporting roles in such films as Cold Mountain
, as a carnally obsessed preacher, Along Came Polly
, as Ben Stiller
's crude, has-been actor buddy, and Mission: Impossible III
, as villainous arms dealer Owen Davian out to kill Ethan Hunt
.
He received his first Emmy Award
nomination for the HBO miniseries Empire Falls, but lost to castmate and personal idol Paul Newman
. One of Hoffman's earliest roles was as a police deputy who gets punched in the face by Newman in 1994's Nobody's Fool. He received a second Emmy Award nomination for the Daytime Emmy Awards for his vocal work on the TV Series Arthur.
In 2005, Hoffman won widespread acclaim for his portrayal of writer Truman Capote
in the film Capote
. His performance received numerous high-profile accolades and awards, including the Academy Award for Best Actor
, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
, the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture, and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
. In addition, he was also awarded Best Actor by at least ten film critic associations, including the National Board of Review, Toronto Film Critics
, and Los Angeles Film Critics.
In 2007, Hoffman was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for playing Gust Avrakotos
, a CIA officer who helps Congressman Charlie Wilson
support a covert war in Afghanistan in the movie Charlie Wilson's War
. In 2008, he was also nominated for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
for the same role, which he lost to Javier Bardem
for No Country for Old Men
.
In 2008, he appeared in Synecdoche, New York
, in which he played Caden Cotard, a man who attempts to build a scale replica of New York inside a warehouse for a play, and Doubt, in which he played Father Brendan Flynn, a priest accused of sexually abusing
a student. He received Golden Globe
and Screen Actors Guild nominations for the latter. He also received a second consecutive nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
for his performance in Doubt.
Scent of a Woman
This article is about the American film. For the Korean drama, see Scent of a Woman .Scent of a Woman is a 1992 drama film directed by Martin Brest that tells the story of a preparatory school student who takes a job as an assistant to an irascible, blind, medically retired Army officer...
(1992), Twister (1996), Boogie Nights
Boogie Nights
Boogie Nights is a 1997 drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Set in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley, the script focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes a popular star of pornographic films, and chronicles his rise and fall from the Golden Age of Porn of the 1970s...
(1997), Happiness (1998), The Big Lebowski
The Big Lebowski
The Big Lebowski is a 1998 comedy film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Jeff Bridges stars as Jeff Lebowski, an unemployed Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler, who is referred to as "The Dude". After a case of mistaken identity, The Dude is introduced to a millionaire also named...
(1998), Magnolia
Magnolia (film)
Magnolia is a 1999 American drama film written, produced, and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, narrated by Ricky Jay, and starring Tom Cruise, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, and Jason Robards in his last feature film appearance...
(1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley
The Talented Mr. Ripley (film)
The Talented Mr. Ripley is a 1999 American psychological thriller written for the screen and directed by Anthony Minghella. It is an adaptation of the Patricia Highsmith 1955 novel of the same name, which was previously filmed as Plein Soleil .The film stars Matt Damon as Tom Ripley, Gwyneth...
(1999), Almost Famous
Almost Famous
Almost Famous is a 2000 musical comedy-drama film written and directed by Cameron Crowe and telling the fictional story of a teenage journalist writing for Rolling Stone magazine while covering the fictitious rock band Stillwater , and his efforts to get his first cover story published...
(2000), 25th Hour
25th Hour
25th Hour is a 2002 American drama film directed by Spike Lee and is based on the novel The 25th Hour written by David Benioff, who also wrote the screenplay. The film stars Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper, Rosario Dawson, Anna Paquin, and Brian Cox...
(2002), Punch-Drunk Love
Punch-Drunk Love
Punch-Drunk Love is a 2002 romantic comedy-drama written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, starring Adam Sandler and Emily Watson. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Luis Guzmán also appear....
(2002), Cold Mountain
Cold Mountain (film)
Cold Mountain is a 2003 war drama film written and directed by Anthony Minghella. The film is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Charles Frazier...
(2003), Along Came Polly
Along Came Polly
Along Came Polly is a 2004 American romantic comedy film written and directed by John Hamburg, starring Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston in the lead roles.-Plot:...
(2004) and Mission: Impossible III
Mission: Impossible III
Mission: Impossible III is a 2006 spy film, the third based on the spy-themed television series Mission: Impossible starring Tom Cruise who reprises his role of IMF agent Ethan Hunt....
(2006).
In 2005, Hoffman played the title role in the biographical film
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
Capote
Capote (film)
Capote is a 2005 biographical film about Truman Capote, following the events during the writing of Capote's non-fiction book In Cold Blood. Philip Seymour Hoffman won several awards, including the Academy Award for Best Actor, for his critically acclaimed portrayal of the title role. The movie was...
(2005), for which he won multiple acting awards including an Academy Award for Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
. He received another two Academy Award nominations for his supporting work in Charlie Wilson's War
Charlie Wilson's War
Charlie Wilson's War is a 2007 American biographical comedy drama film recounting the true story of U.S. Congressman Charlie Wilson who partnered with "bare knuckle attitude" CIA operative Gust Avrakotos to launch Operation Cyclone, a program to organize and support the Afghan mujahideen in their...
(2007) and Doubt (2008). Other critically acclaimed films in recent years have included Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead is a 2007 crime drama directed by Sidney Lumet and written by Kelly Masterson. It stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei, and Albert Finney. The title comes from the Irish saying: "May you be in heaven a full half-hour before the devil knows...
(2007) and The Savages
The Savages (film)
The Savages is a 2007 American comedy-drama film, written and directed by Tamara Jenkins. It stars Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.-Plot:...
(2007). In 2010, Hoffman made his feature film directorial debut with Jack Goes Boating
Jack Goes Boating (film)
Jack Goes Boating is a 2010 romantic comedy film from Overture Films and Relativity Media. Philip Seymour Hoffman makes his directorial debut as he stars alongside Amy Ryan, John Ortiz, and Daphne Rubin-Vega. The film's script was adapted by Robert Glaudini from the 2007 play entitled Jack Goes...
.
Hoffman is also an accomplished theater actor and director. He joined the LAByrinth Theater Company
LAByrinth Theater Company
LAByrinth Theater Company is a non-profit, Off-Broadway theater company based in New York City.An inclusive, multicultural ensemble of almost 100 established and emerging theater artists led by Artistic Directors Stephen Adly Guirgis, Mimi O'Donnell and Yul Vasquez, LAByrinth Theater Company...
in 1995, and has directed and performed in numerous Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
productions. His performances in two Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
plays led to two Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nominations: one for Best Leading Actor
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play presented since 1947, is awarded to actors in productions of new or revival plays.-1940s:*1947 - José Ferrer – Cyrano de Bergerac / Fredric March – Years Ago...
in True West
True West (play)
True West is a play by American playwright Sam Shepard. Like most of his works it is inspired by myths of American life and popular culture. The play is a more traditional narrative than most of the plays that Shepard has written.-Plot:...
(2000), and another for Best Featured Actor
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play
This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play. The award has been presented since 1949.-1950s:* 1951: Eli Wallach – The Rose Tattoo* 1952: John Cromwell – Point of No Return...
in Long Day's Journey into Night
Long Day's Journey Into Night
Long Day's Journey Into Night is a 1956 drama in four acts written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. The play is widely considered to be his masterwork...
(2003).
Early life
Hoffman was born in Fairport, New YorkFairport, New York
Fairport is a village located in the town of Perinton which is part of Monroe County, New York. Fairport is a suburb east of Rochester. It is also known as the "Crown Jewel of the Erie Canal"...
, the son of Marilyn L. O'Connor, a family court
Family court
A family court is a court convened to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, such as custody of children. In common-law jurisdictions "family courts" are statutory creations primarily dealing with equitable matters devolved from a court of inherent jurisdiction, such as a...
judge, lawyer, and civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
activist, and Gordon Stowell Hoffman, a former Xerox
Xerox
Xerox Corporation is an American multinational document management corporation that produced and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...
executive. He has two sisters, Jill and Emily, and a brother, Gordy Hoffman
Gordy Hoffman
Gordy Hoffman is a US writer and director.Gordy is the older brother of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, and the son of Marilyn O'Connor, a judge in Rochester, New York...
, who scripted the 2002 film Love Liza
Love Liza
Love Liza is a 2002 tragicomedy film directed by Todd Louiso and starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kathy Bates, Jack Kehler, Wayne Duvall, Sarah Koskoff and Stephen Tobolowsky. The film inspired the song "Benzin" by Rammstein.-Plot summary:...
, in which Philip starred. His father was a Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
of part German ancestry and his mother was of Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Roman Catholic and Irish .Note: the term is not used to describe a variant of Catholicism. More particularly, it is not a separate creed or sect in the sense that "Anglo-Catholic", "Old Catholic", "Eastern Orthodox Catholic" might be...
background; Hoffman was not raised with a deep commitment to either religion. Hoffman's parents divorced when he was nine years old.
Hoffman attended the 1984 Theater School at the New York State Summer School of the Arts
New York State Summer School of the Arts
The New York State Summer School of the Arts is a series of summer residential programs for New York State high school students. It provides intensive pre-professional training with internationally acclaimed artists and artistic companies. It is open to all New York State high school age students...
. After graduating from Fairport High School, Hoffman attended the Circle in the Square Theatre
Circle in the Square Theatre
The Circle in the Square Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre in midtown Manhattan on 50th Street in the Paramount Plaza building.The original Circle in the Square was founded by Paul Libin, Theodore Mann and Jose Quintero in 1951 and was located at 5 Sheridan Square in Greenwich Village...
's summer program, continuing his acting training with the acting teacher Alan Langdon. He received a BFA
Bachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...
in drama in 1989 from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
's Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts is one of the 15 schools that make up New York University ....
. At NYU, he was a founding member of the notoriously short-lived and volatile theater company the Bullstoi Ensemble with actor Steven Schub and director Bennett Miller
Bennett Miller
Bennett Miller is an American film director.Miller is the director of the feature Capote , a film for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Director. He also directed the documentary film The Cruise...
. Soon after graduating, he went to rehab
Drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation is a term for the processes of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines...
for drug and alcohol addiction
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
and has since remained sober.
Hoffman has had success directing in the theater as well, putting on shows for LAByrinth Theater Company. Of the difference between acting and directing in a play, Hoffman has said that "the director’s experience is not the real experience...You are the most subjective person in the room. You have no objectivity. You have to take a couple of weeks off and then come back to watch it without telling anyone, and you will see it with different eyes."
Film and television work
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
. He made his film breakthrough in 1992 when he appeared in four feature films, with the most successful film being Scent of a Woman
Scent of a Woman
This article is about the American film. For the Korean drama, see Scent of a Woman .Scent of a Woman is a 1992 drama film directed by Martin Brest that tells the story of a preparatory school student who takes a job as an assistant to an irascible, blind, medically retired Army officer...
, in which he played a rather unscrupulous classmate of Chris O'Donnell
Chris O'Donnell
Christopher Eugene "Chris" O'Donnell is an American actor. He has played Robin in two Batman films, Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, Charlie Simms in Scent of a Woman, Finn Dandridge in Grey's Anatomy, Peter Garrett in Vertical Limit, and more recently, Jack McAuliffe in The Company. O'Donnell...
's character. He had been stocking shelves at a city grocery store at the time before landing the role and credits the film with kickstarting his career.
Hoffman has established a successful and respected film career playing diverse and idiosyncratic characters in supporting roles, working with a wide variety of noted directors, including Todd Solondz
Todd Solondz
Todd Solondz is an American independent film screenwriter and director known for his style of dark, thought-provoking, socially conscious satire. Solondz has been critically acclaimed for his examination of the "dark underbelly of middle class American suburbia", a reflection of his own background...
, The Coen Brothers, Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
, Cameron Crowe
Cameron Crowe
Cameron Bruce Crowe is an American screenwriter and film director. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, for which he still frequently writes....
, David Mamet
David Mamet
David Alan Mamet is an American playwright, essayist, screenwriter and film director.Best known as a playwright, Mamet won a Pulitzer Prize and received a Tony nomination for Glengarry Glen Ross . He also received a Tony nomination for Speed-the-Plow . As a screenwriter, he received Oscar...
, Robert Benton
Robert Benton
Robert Douglas Benton is an American screenwriter and film director.Benton was born in Waxahachie, Texas, the son of Dorothy and Ellery Douglass Benton, a telephone company employee. He attended the University of Texas and Columbia University. Benton has won numerous awards for both writing and...
, Anthony Minghella
Anthony Minghella
Anthony Minghella, CBE was an English film director, playwright and screenwriter. He was Chairman of the Board of Governors at the British Film Institute between 2003 and 2007....
and Paul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He has written and directed five feature films: Hard Eight , Boogie Nights , Magnolia , Punch-Drunk Love and There Will Be Blood...
; notably, he has appeared in four out of five of Anderson's feature films to date (Hard Eight
Hard Eight (film)
Hard Eight is a 1996 American crime thriller film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, starring Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow and Samuel L. Jackson...
, Boogie Nights
Boogie Nights
Boogie Nights is a 1997 drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Set in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley, the script focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes a popular star of pornographic films, and chronicles his rise and fall from the Golden Age of Porn of the 1970s...
, Magnolia
Magnolia (film)
Magnolia is a 1999 American drama film written, produced, and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, narrated by Ricky Jay, and starring Tom Cruise, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, and Jason Robards in his last feature film appearance...
, and Punch-Drunk Love
Punch-Drunk Love
Punch-Drunk Love is a 2002 romantic comedy-drama written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, starring Adam Sandler and Emily Watson. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Luis Guzmán also appear....
).
He appeared in Last Party 2000, a documentary about the 2000 US elections
United States presidential election, 2000
The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....
. Throughout his career he has rarely been given a chance to play the lead role. In 2002, however, Hoffman starred as a widower coping with his wife's suicide in Love Liza
Love Liza
Love Liza is a 2002 tragicomedy film directed by Todd Louiso and starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kathy Bates, Jack Kehler, Wayne Duvall, Sarah Koskoff and Stephen Tobolowsky. The film inspired the song "Benzin" by Rammstein.-Plot summary:...
, for which his brother, Gordy Hoffman
Gordy Hoffman
Gordy Hoffman is a US writer and director.Gordy is the older brother of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, and the son of Marilyn O'Connor, a judge in Rochester, New York...
, wrote the screenplay. In 2003, he played the lead role in Owning Mahowny
Owning Mahowny
Owning Mahowny is a 2003 movie about gambling addiction with a cast that includes Philip Seymour Hoffman, Minnie Driver, Maury Chaykin and John Hurt.-Plot:...
as a bank employee who embezzles money to feed his gambling addiction.
Hoffman has continued to play supporting roles in such films as Cold Mountain
Cold Mountain (film)
Cold Mountain is a 2003 war drama film written and directed by Anthony Minghella. The film is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Charles Frazier...
, as a carnally obsessed preacher, Along Came Polly
Along Came Polly
Along Came Polly is a 2004 American romantic comedy film written and directed by John Hamburg, starring Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston in the lead roles.-Plot:...
, as Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
's crude, has-been actor buddy, and Mission: Impossible III
Mission: Impossible III
Mission: Impossible III is a 2006 spy film, the third based on the spy-themed television series Mission: Impossible starring Tom Cruise who reprises his role of IMF agent Ethan Hunt....
, as villainous arms dealer Owen Davian out to kill Ethan Hunt
Ethan Hunt
Ethan Hunt is the central protagonist in the Mission: Impossible film series.-Mission: Impossible:In Mission: Impossible, Hunt acts as the IMF point man for an established and experienced field team, led by veteran Jim Phelps, with whom he has a particularly close bond...
.
He received his first Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nomination for the HBO miniseries Empire Falls, but lost to castmate and personal idol Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
. One of Hoffman's earliest roles was as a police deputy who gets punched in the face by Newman in 1994's Nobody's Fool. He received a second Emmy Award nomination for the Daytime Emmy Awards for his vocal work on the TV Series Arthur.
In 2005, Hoffman won widespread acclaim for his portrayal of writer Truman Capote
Truman Capote
Truman Streckfus Persons , known as Truman Capote , was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At...
in the film Capote
Capote (film)
Capote is a 2005 biographical film about Truman Capote, following the events during the writing of Capote's non-fiction book In Cold Blood. Philip Seymour Hoffman won several awards, including the Academy Award for Best Actor, for his critically acclaimed portrayal of the title role. The movie was...
. His performance received numerous high-profile accolades and awards, including the Academy Award for Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture - Drama was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951...
, the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture, and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Best Actor in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.-Superlatives:...
. In addition, he was also awarded Best Actor by at least ten film critic associations, including the National Board of Review, Toronto Film Critics
Toronto Film Critics Association
The Toronto Film Critics Association is an organization of film reviewers from Toronto-based publications. As of 1999, the TFCA is member of FIPRESCI.-History:...
, and Los Angeles Film Critics.
In 2007, Hoffman was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for playing Gust Avrakotos
Gust Avrakotos
Gustav Lascaris "Gust" Avrakotos was an American case officer and Afghan Task Force Chief for the United States Central Intelligence Agency....
, a CIA officer who helps Congressman Charlie Wilson
Charles Wilson (politician)
Charles "Charlie" Nesbitt Wilson was a United States naval officer and former 12-term Democratic United States Representative from the 2nd congressional district in Texas....
support a covert war in Afghanistan in the movie Charlie Wilson's War
Charlie Wilson's War
Charlie Wilson's War is a 2007 American biographical comedy drama film recounting the true story of U.S. Congressman Charlie Wilson who partnered with "bare knuckle attitude" CIA operative Gust Avrakotos to launch Operation Cyclone, a program to organize and support the Afghan mujahideen in their...
. In 2008, he was also nominated for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
for the same role, which he lost to Javier Bardem
Javier Bardem
Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem is a Spanish actor. In 2007 he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as sociopathic assassin Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, and has also garnered critical acclaim for roles in films such as Jamón, jamón, Carne trémula, Boca a boca, Los...
for No Country for Old Men
No Country for Old Men (film)
No Country for Old Men is a 2007 American crime thriller directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, and starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin. The film was adapted from the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name...
.
In 2008, he appeared in Synecdoche, New York
Synecdoche, New York
Synecdoche, New York is a 2008 American drama film written and directed by Charlie Kaufman, and starring Philip Seymour Hoffman. It was Kaufman's directorial debut.The film premiered in competition at the 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 23, 2008...
, in which he played Caden Cotard, a man who attempts to build a scale replica of New York inside a warehouse for a play, and Doubt, in which he played Father Brendan Flynn, a priest accused of sexually abusing
Child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include asking or pressuring a child to engage in sexual activities , indecent exposure with intent to gratify their own sexual desires or to...
a student. He received Golden Globe
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1944 for a performance in a motion picture released in the previous year....
and Screen Actors Guild nominations for the latter. He also received a second consecutive nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
for his performance in Doubt.
Personal life
Hoffman is in a relationship with costume designer Mimi O'Donnell. They met while working on the 1999 play In Arabia We'd All Be Kings, which Hoffman directed. They have a son, Cooper Alexander, born in March 2003, and two daughters, Tallulah, born in November 2006, and Willa, born in October 2008.Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Law & Order Law & Order Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,... |
Steven Hanauer | Television series; Episode: "The Violence of Summer The Violence of Summer (Law & Order episode) "The Violence of Summer" is the fourteenth episode of NBC's legal drama Law & Order. It originally aired on February 5, 1991.-Plot:A television news reporter is gang-raped, and the defendants begin accusing each other. Stone and Robinette try to persuade the victim to testify even though she... " |
| 1991 | Triple Bogey on a Par Five Hole | Klutch | |
| 1992 | Szuler | ||
| 1992 | My New Gun | Chris | |
| 1992 | Leap of Faith Leap of Faith (film) Leap of Faith is a 1992 American dramedy film, directed by Richard Pearce and starring Steve Martin, Liam Neeson and Debra Winger. The film is about Jonas Nightengale, a fraudulent Christian faith healer who uses his revival meetings, in Rustwater, Kansas, to bilk believers out of their money.-Plot... |
Matt | |
| 1992 | Scent of a Woman Scent of a Woman This article is about the American film. For the Korean drama, see Scent of a Woman .Scent of a Woman is a 1992 drama film directed by Martin Brest that tells the story of a preparatory school student who takes a job as an assistant to an irascible, blind, medically retired Army officer... |
George Willis, Jr. | |
| 1993 | Joey Breaker Joey Breaker Joey Breaker is a 1993 American romance film starring Richard Edson and Cedella Marley. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Erik King also appear in the movie. The movie contains some autobiographical elements of its writer and director Steven Starr.-Plot:... |
Wiley McCall | |
| 1993 | My Boyfriend's Back My Boyfriend's Back (film) My Boyfriend's Back is a 1993 American romantic black comedy/fantasy/horror film directed by Bob Balaban which tells the story of Johnny Dingle, a teenage boy who returns from the dead as a zombie to meet Missy McCloud, the girl he's in love with, for a date... |
Chuck Bronski | |
| 1993 | Money for Nothing Money for Nothing (film) Money for Nothing is a 1993 comedy/crime film directed by Ramón Menéndez. It is based on the life of Joey Coyle, an unemployed longshoreman in Philadelphia who, in February 1981, found $1.2 million in the middle of the street after it had fallen out of the back of an armored car. The screenplay,... |
Cochran | |
| 1994 | Frank Hansen | ||
| 1994 | Buck | Television film | |
| 1994 | When a Man Loves a Woman When a Man Loves a Woman (film) When a Man Loves a Woman is a 1994 American romantic drama film written by Al Franken and Ronald Bass, starring Andy García, Meg Ryan, Tina Majorino, Mae Whitman, Ellen Burstyn, Lauren Tom and Philip Seymour Hoffman.... |
Gary | |
| 1994 | Nobody's Fool | Officer Raymer | |
| 1995 | Bernardo, Horatio & Laertes | ||
| 1996 | Hard Eight Hard Eight (film) Hard Eight is a 1996 American crime thriller film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, starring Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow and Samuel L. Jackson... |
Young Craps Player | |
| 1996 | Twister | Dustin "Dusty" Davis | |
| 1997 | Boogie Nights Boogie Nights Boogie Nights is a 1997 drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Set in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley, the script focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes a popular star of pornographic films, and chronicles his rise and fall from the Golden Age of Porn of the 1970s... |
Scotty J. | |
| 1997 | Liberty! The American Revolution | Joseph Plumb Martin | |
| 1998 | Culture | Bill | |
| 1998 | Montana Montana (film) Montana is an American crime film released in 1998, directed by Jennifer Leitzes, written by Erich Hoeber and Jon Hoeber, and produced by Sean Cooley, Zane W. Levitt, and Mark Yellen.... |
Duncan | |
| 1998 | Next Stop Wonderland Next Stop Wonderland Next Stop Wonderland is a 1998 romantic comedy film directed by Brad Anderson and written by Anderson and Lyn Vaus. * This film was an audience favorite at the Sundance Film Festival in 1998 and set off a bidding war among studio distributors, with Miramax Films paying $6 million for the $1 million... |
Sean | Nominated — Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actor Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actor The Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award given by the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film to the actor or actors whose winning performance is voted by participating members. The Chlotrudis Awards is an annual ceremony where the best of the previous year's independent and... |
| 1998 | Brandt | ||
| 1998 | Happiness | Allen | |
| 1998 | Patch Adams Patch Adams (film) Patch Adams is a 1998 comedy-drama film starring Robin Williams. Directed by Tom Shadyac, it is based on the life story of Dr. Hunter "Patch" Adams and the book Gesundheit: Good Health is a Laughing Matter by Adams and Maureen Mylander. The film is generally considered a box-office success,... |
Mitch Roman | |
| 1999 | Flawless | Rusty Zimmerman | |
| 1999 | Magnolia Magnolia (film) Magnolia is a 1999 American drama film written, produced, and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, narrated by Ricky Jay, and starring Tom Cruise, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, and Jason Robards in his last feature film appearance... |
Phil Parma | |
| 1999 | Freddie Miles | ||
| 2000 | Titanic 2000 | Himself | |
| 2000 | State and Main State and Main State and Main is a 2000 comedy film, written and directed by David Mamet and starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Rebecca Pidgeon, about the on-location production in Waterford, Vermont of a film called The Old Mill... |
Joseph Turner White | |
| 2000 | Almost Famous Almost Famous Almost Famous is a 2000 musical comedy-drama film written and directed by Cameron Crowe and telling the fictional story of a teenage journalist writing for Rolling Stone magazine while covering the fictitious rock band Stillwater , and his efforts to get his first cover story published... |
Lester Bangs Lester Bangs Leslie Conway "Lester" Bangs was an American music journalist, author and musician. He wrote for Creem and Rolling Stone magazines, and was known for his leading influence in rock 'n' roll criticism.... |
|
| 2002 | Love Liza Love Liza Love Liza is a 2002 tragicomedy film directed by Todd Louiso and starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kathy Bates, Jack Kehler, Wayne Duvall, Sarah Koskoff and Stephen Tobolowsky. The film inspired the song "Benzin" by Rammstein.-Plot summary:... |
Wilson Joel | |
| 2002 | Punch-Drunk Love Punch-Drunk Love Punch-Drunk Love is a 2002 romantic comedy-drama written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, starring Adam Sandler and Emily Watson. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Luis Guzmán also appear.... |
Dean Trumbell | Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture The Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor is one of the annual Satellite Awards given by the International Press Academy.-Drama :2000: Bruce Greenwood – Thirteen Days*Jeff Bridges – The Contender as Jackson Evans... |
| 2002 | Red Dragon Red Dragon (film) Red Dragon is a 2002 thriller film based on Thomas Harris' novel of the same name and featuring psychiatrist and serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter. It is a prequel to The Silence of the Lambs.... |
Freddy Lounds | |
| 2002 | 25th Hour 25th Hour 25th Hour is a 2002 American drama film directed by Spike Lee and is based on the novel The 25th Hour written by David Benioff, who also wrote the screenplay. The film stars Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Barry Pepper, Rosario Dawson, Anna Paquin, and Brian Cox... |
Jacob Elinsky | |
| 2003 | Owning Mahowny Owning Mahowny Owning Mahowny is a 2003 movie about gambling addiction with a cast that includes Philip Seymour Hoffman, Minnie Driver, Maury Chaykin and John Hurt.-Plot:... |
Dan Mahowny | |
| 2003 | Cold Mountain Cold Mountain (film) Cold Mountain is a 2003 war drama film written and directed by Anthony Minghella. The film is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Charles Frazier... |
Reverend Veasey | |
| 2004 | Along Came Polly Along Came Polly Along Came Polly is a 2004 American romantic comedy film written and directed by John Hamburg, starring Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston in the lead roles.-Plot:... |
Sandy Lyle | |
| 2005 | Strangers with Candy Strangers with Candy (film) Strangers with Candy is a 2005 comedy film released by THINKFilm, first screened at the Sundance Film Festival. It serves as a prequel to the TV series of the same name... |
Henry, Board Of Education | |
| 2005 | Empire Falls | Charlie Mayne | |
| 2005 | Capote Capote (film) Capote is a 2005 biographical film about Truman Capote, following the events during the writing of Capote's non-fiction book In Cold Blood. Philip Seymour Hoffman won several awards, including the Academy Award for Best Actor, for his critically acclaimed portrayal of the title role. The movie was... |
Truman Capote Truman Capote Truman Streckfus Persons , known as Truman Capote , was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At... |
|
| 2006 | Mission: Impossible III Mission: Impossible III Mission: Impossible III is a 2006 spy film, the third based on the spy-themed television series Mission: Impossible starring Tom Cruise who reprises his role of IMF agent Ethan Hunt.... |
Owen Davian | Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor |
| 2007 | Before the Devil Knows You're Dead Before the Devil Knows You're Dead Before the Devil Knows You're Dead is a 2007 crime drama directed by Sidney Lumet and written by Kelly Masterson. It stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Marisa Tomei, and Albert Finney. The title comes from the Irish saying: "May you be in heaven a full half-hour before the devil knows... |
Andy Hanson | |
| 2007 | Jon Savage | ||
| 2007 | Charlie Wilson's War Charlie Wilson's War Charlie Wilson's War is a 2007 American biographical comedy drama film recounting the true story of U.S. Congressman Charlie Wilson who partnered with "bare knuckle attitude" CIA operative Gust Avrakotos to launch Operation Cyclone, a program to organize and support the Afghan mujahideen in their... |
Gust Avrakotos Gust Avrakotos Gustav Lascaris "Gust" Avrakotos was an American case officer and Afghan Task Force Chief for the United States Central Intelligence Agency.... |
|
| 2008 | Synecdoche, New York Synecdoche, New York Synecdoche, New York is a 2008 American drama film written and directed by Charlie Kaufman, and starring Philip Seymour Hoffman. It was Kaufman's directorial debut.The film premiered in competition at the 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival on May 23, 2008... |
Caden Cotard | |
| 2008 | Doubt | Father Brendan Flynn | |
| 2009 | Mary and Max Mary and Max Mary and Max is a 2009 Australian clay-animated black comedy-drama film written and directed by Adam Elliot and produced by Melanie Coombs. The voice cast included Philip Seymour Hoffman, Toni Collette, Eric Bana, Bethany Whitmore, with narration by Barry Humphries. The film premiered on the... |
Max Jerry Horovitz | |
| 2009 | The Count | Released as Pirate Radio in the United States | |
| 2009 | Bartender | ||
| 2010 | Jack Goes Boating Jack Goes Boating (film) Jack Goes Boating is a 2010 romantic comedy film from Overture Films and Relativity Media. Philip Seymour Hoffman makes his directorial debut as he stars alongside Amy Ryan, John Ortiz, and Daphne Rubin-Vega. The film's script was adapted by Robert Glaudini from the 2007 play entitled Jack Goes... |
Jack | |
| 2011 | Moneyball Moneyball (film) Moneyball is a 2011 biographical sports drama film directed by Bennett Miller and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The film is based on Michael Lewis' 2003 book of the same name, an account of the Oakland Athletics baseball team's 2002 season and their general manager Billy Beane's attempts to... |
Art Howe Art Howe Arthur Henry Howe Jr. is a former Major League Baseball infielder, coach, scout and manager. He is an alumnus of the University of Wyoming... |
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| 2011 | The Ides of March The Ides of March (film) The Ides of March is a 2011 American political drama thriller film directed by George Clooney from a screenplay written by Clooney, along with Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon. The film is an adaptation of Willimon's 2008 play Farragut North... |
Paul Zara | |
| 2012 | The Master The Master (2012 film) The Master is an upcoming drama film written, directed and co-produced by Paul Thomas Anderson. It was given the green-light in May 2011, and began filming in June. The film will star Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams and Laura Dern... |
Lancaster Dodd | post-production |
External links
- Philip Seymour Hoffman Biography
- NPR Interview (09/2005)
- Philip Seymour Hoffman talks about his role in Capote on the Tavis SmileyTavis SmileyTavis Smiley is a talk show host, author, liberal political commentator, entrepreneur, advocate and philanthropist. Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi and grew up in Kokomo, Indiana. After attending Indiana University, he worked during the late 1980s as an aide to Tom Bradley, the mayor of...
show - Brandt Tribute Lebowski Podcast's tribute to Hoffman's character in The Big Lebowski.