Philip Seymour Hoffman (1967–2014) was an American actor, director, and producer who made his screen debut on the police procedural Law & Order in 1991.[1] He made his film debut later in the same year by appearing in a minor role in Triple Bogey on a Par Five Hole.[2] Hoffman followed this with supporting roles as a student in Scent of a Woman (1992),[3] and a storm chaser in Twister (1996) before his breakthrough role as a gay boom operator in Paul Thomas Anderson's drama Boogie Nights (1997), for which he received critical acclaim.[4] In the same year, he appeared in the Revolutionary War documentary series Liberty! (1997). Two years later, he played a kind nurse in Anderson's Magnolia and an arrogant playboy in The Talented Mr. Ripley, for which he received the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor.[5] Hoffman made his Broadway debut the following year with his lead role in True West which garnered him a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.[6]
Hoffman received the Academy Award for Best Actor, BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama for his portrayal of writer Truman Capote in the 2005 biographical film Capote.[7][8] He followed this by playing a ruthless arms dealer in the action spy film Mission: Impossible III (2006) and CIA agent Gust Avrakotos in the Mike Nichols-directed Charlie Wilson's War (2007).[9] Hoffman's performance as a priest suspected of child abuse in the period drama Doubt (2008) with Meryl Streep and Amy Adams received critical acclaim and multiple award nominations in the Best Supporting Actor category.[9][10][11][12] In the same year, he played a troubled theatre director in Charlie Kaufman's Synecdoche, New York.[13]
In 2010, he made his directorial debut with the romantic comedy Jack Goes Boating, an adaptation of the 2007 play in which he had also starred. Two years later, he played a cult leader in Anderson's psychological drama The Master and Willy Loman in the play Death of a Salesman.[14] For the former, Hoffman was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, and for the latter he received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.[15][16] He died of an accidental mixed drug overdose on February 2, 2014, at the age of 46.[17] In his New York Times obituary, he was described as "perhaps the most ambitious and widely admired American actor of his generation".[18] Broadway theatres dimmed their lights for one minute in tribute.[19]
Film
Television
Year(s) | Title | Role(s) | Notes | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1991 | Law & Order | Steven B. Hanauer | Episode: "The Violence of Summer" Credited as Philip Hoffman | [43] |
1994 | The Yearling | Buck | Television film | [44] |
1997 | Liberty! | Joseph Plumb Martin (voice) | 4 episodes Documentary | [32] |
2005 | Empire Falls | Charlie Mayne | 2 episodes Miniseries | [45] |
2009 | Arthur | Will Toffman (voice) | Episode: "No Acting Please" | [46] |
2014 | Happyish | Thom Payne | Unaired pilot | [47] |
Stage
Year(s) | Title | Theater | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1996 | The Skriker | The Public Theater | RawHeadAndBloodyBones | April 23 – May 26 | [48] |
1997–1998 | Defying Gravity | The American Place Theatre | C.B. | November 2, 1997 – January 4, 1998 | [49] |
1998 | Shopping and Fucking | New York Theatre Workshop | Mark | March 17 – April 11 | [50] |
1999 | The Author's Voice & Imagining Brad | Greenwich House Theater | Gene | May 11–29 | [51][52] |
2000 | True West | Circle in the Square Theatre | Lee / Austin | March 2 – June 18 | [6] |
Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train | Classic Stage Company | — | Director; November 29 – December 31 | [53] | |
2001 | The Seagull | Delacorte Theater | Konstantin | August 12–26 | [54] |
The Glory of Living | MCC Theater | — | Director; October 30 – December 1 | [55] | |
2003 | Our Lady of 121st Street | Union Square Theatre | — | Director; March 6 – July 27 | [56] |
Long Day's Journey into Night | Plymouth Theatre | James Tyrone, Jr. | May 6 – August 31 | [57] | |
Dutch Heart of Man | The Public Theater | — | Artistic director; September 25 – October 19 | [58] | |
2004 | Guinea Pig Solo | The Public Theater | — | Artistic director; May 9 – June 6 | [59] |
Sailor's Song | The Public Theater | — | Executive director; November 7–21 | [60] | |
2005 | The Last Days of Judas Iscariot | The Public Theater | — | Director and artistic director; March 2 – April 3 | [61] |
Sawbones | St. Ann's Warehouse Royal Festival Hall | Frontier Veterinarian | April 28–30, May 13 | [62] | |
2006 | School of the Americas | The Public Theater | — | Artistic director; July 6–23 | [63] |
A Small, Melodramatic Story | The Public Theater | — | Artistic director; October 24 – November 5 | [64] | |
2007 | Jack Goes Boating | The Public Theater | Jack | Artistic director; March 18 – April 29 | [65] |
A View from 151st Street | The Public Theater | — | Artistic director; October 18 – November 4 | [66] | |
2008 | Unconditional | The Public Theater | — | Artistic director; February 18 – March 9 | [67] |
The Little Flower of East Orange | The Public Theater | — | Director; April 6 – May 4 | [68] | |
2009 | Othello | Skirball Center for the Performing Arts | Iago | September 27 – October 4 | [69] |
2010 | The Long Red Road | Goodman Theatre | — | Director; February 22 – March 21 | [70] |
2012 | Death of a Salesman | Ethel Barrymore Theatre | Willy Loman | March 15 – June 2 | [71] |
2013 | A Family for All Occasions | Bank Street Theater | — | Director; May 12–26 | [72] |
References
General
- Shelley, Peter (January 9, 2017). Philip Seymour Hoffman: The Life and Work. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-6243-5.
Specific