Philip Seymour Hoffman

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Philip Seymour Hoffman

Philip Seymour Hoffman
Born July 23, 1967 (1967-07-23) (age 40)
Fairport, New York, U.S.
Occupation actor, theater director
Years active 1991 - present
Domestic partner(s) Mimi O'Donnell

Philip Seymour Hoffman (born July 23, 1967) is an Academy Award-winning American actor.

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Hoffman was born in Fairport, New York, the son of Marilyn L. O'Connor, a family court judge, lawyer, and civil rights activist, and Gordon S. Hoffman, a former Xerox executive.[1] He has two sisters, Jill and Emily, and a brother, Gordy Hoffman, who scripted the 2002 film Love Liza, in which Philip starred. Hoffman has Irish ancestry;[2] his father was Protestant and his mother was Catholic, and Hoffman was not raised with a deep commitment to either religious tradition.[3] Hoffman's parents divorced when he was nine years old.[4] His first acting role was as Radar O'Riley in Fairport High School's production of MASH directed by Marjorie Marshall in 1982.

Hoffman received a BFA in drama in 1989 from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Soon after graduating, he went to rehab for drug and alcohol addiction and has since remained sober.[5]

One of Hoffman's earliest major roles was as a defendant in a 1990 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 backstabbing classmate of Chris O'Donnell's character. He had been stocking shelves at a city grocery at the time before landing the role and credits the film to 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 Paul Thomas Anderson, The Coen Brothers, Cameron Crowe, Spike Lee, David Mamet, Robert Benton, Todd Solondz and Anthony Minghella; 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 U.S. 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 parts 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. Hoffman has distinguished himself by playing a wide contrast of characters including gay characters (Boogie Nights, Flawless and Capote), lonely losers (Happiness), spoiled rich brats (Scent of a Woman and The Talented Mr. Ripley), caring and nurturing figures (Magnolia and Almost Famous), vicious thugs (Punch-Drunk Love and Mission: Impossible III), sensitive artists (State and Main), outlandish CIA agents Charlie Wilson's War, and so on.

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.

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 agent who helps Congressman Charles Wilson (politician) support a covert war in Afghanistan in the movie Charlie Wilson's War.

In addition to his television and film career, Hoffman has been recognized for his work in theater. He has twice been nominated for a Tony Award: as Best Actor (Play) in 2000 for a Broadway revival of Sam Shepard's True West opposite John C. Reilly, and for Best Actor (Featured Role - Play) in 2003 for a revival of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night. Hoffman has also distinguished himself as a director with off-Broadway projects such as Rebecca Gilman's The Glory of Living at the MCC Theater, and Stephen Adly Guirgis's Jesus Hopped the A Train and The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. Hoffman is co-artistic director of New York City's LAByrinth Theater Company, along with actor John Ortiz.

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 a daughter, Talluhlah, born in November 2006.[6][7] Hoffman is also a supporter of the New York Mets baseball team.

Year Title Role Notes
1991 Triple Bogey on a Par Five Hole Klutch
1992 Szuler
My New Gun Chris
Leap of Faith Matt
Scent of a Woman George Willis, Jr.
1993 Joey Breaker Wiley McCall
My Boyfriend's Back Chuck Bronski
Money for Nothing Cochran
1994 The Getaway Frank Hansen
The Yearling Buck (TV)
When a Man Loves a Woman Gary
Nobody's Fool Officer Raymer
1995 The Fifteen Minute Hamlet Bernardo, Horatio & Laertes
1996 Hard Eight young craps player
Twister Dustin Davis
1997 Boogie Nights Scotty J.
1998 Culture Bill
Montana Duncan
Next Stop Wonderland Sean
The Big Lebowski Brandt
Happiness Allen
Patch Adams Mitch Roman
1999 Flawless Rusty Zimmerman
Magnolia Phil Parma
The Talented Mr. Ripley Freddie Miles
2000 Last Party 2000 himself
State and Main Joseph Turner White
Almost Famous Lester Bangs
2002 Love Liza Wilson Joel
Punch-Drunk Love Dean Trumbell
Red Dragon Freddy Lounds
25th Hour Jacob Elinsky
2003 Owning Mahowny Dan Mahowny
Cold Mountain Reverend Veasey
2004 Along Came Polly Sandy Lyle
2005 Strangers with Candy Henry, Board Of Education
Empire Falls Charlie Mayne (miniseries)
Capote Truman Capote Oscar-Winning Performance
2006 Mission: Impossible III Owen Davian
2007 Before the Devil Knows You're Dead Andy
The Savages Jon Savage
Charlie Wilson's War Gust Avrakotos
2008 Synecdoche, New York Caden post-production
Doubt Father Flynn filming
Awards
Preceded by
Jamie Foxx
for Ray
Academy Award for Best Actor
2005
for Capote
Succeeded by
Forest Whitaker
for The Last King of Scotland
Preceded by
Leonardo DiCaprio
for The Aviator
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
2005
for Capote
Succeeded by
Forrest Whitaker
for The Last King of Scotland
Preceded by
Jamie Foxx
for Ray
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
2005
for Capote
Succeeded by
Forrest Whitaker
for The Last King of Scotland

Persondata
NAME
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Actor
DATE OF BIRTH July 23, 1967
PLACE OF BIRTH Fairport, New York
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
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