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]