Philip Seymour Hoffman
23 July, 1967
| 1.77 m
Actor
Producer
Director
Biography
Film and stage actor and theater director Philip Seymour Hoffman was born in the Rochester, New York, suburb of Fairport to Marilyn (Loucks), a lawyer and judge, and Gordon Stowell Hoffman, a Xerox employee, and was mostly of German, Irish, English and Dutch ancestry. After becoming involved in high school theatrics, he attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, graduating with a B.F.A. degree in Drama in 1989.He made his feature film debut in the indie production Triple Bogey on a Par Five Hole (1991) as Phil Hoffman, and his first role in a major release came the next year in My New Gun (1992). While he had supporting roles in some other major productions like Zapach kobiety (1992) and Twister (1996), his breakthrough role came in Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights (1997).He quickly became an icon of indie cinema, establishing a reputation as one of the screen's finest actors, in a variety of supporting and second leads in indie and major features, including Todd Solondz's Happiness (1998), Bez skazy (1999), Utalentowany pan Ripley (1999), Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia (1999), U progu sławy (2000) and Hollywood atakuje (2000). He also appeared in supporting roles in such mainstream, big-budget features as Czerwony smok (2002), Wzgórze nadziei (2003) and Mission: Impossible III (2006).Hoffman was also quite active on the stage. On Broadway, he has earned two Tony nominations, as Best Actor (Play) in 2000 for a revival of Sam Shepard's "True West" and as Best Actor (Featured Role - Play) in 2003 for a revival of Eugene O'Neill (I)'s "Long Day's Journey into Night." His other acting credits in the New York theater include "The Seagull" (directed by Mike Nichols for The New York Shakespeare Festival), "Defying Gravity," "The Merchant of Venice" (directed by Peter Sellars), "Shopping and F*@%ing"... show more
Movies
An idealistic staffer for a new presidential candidate gets a crash course on dirty politics during his stint on the campaign trail.
In 1976 Melbourne, a lonely 8-year-old girl strikes up a correspondence with an unlikely pen pal: a severely obese 44-year-old New Yorker with Asperger's syndrome.
A Naval veteran arrives home from war unsettled and uncertain of his future - until he is tantalized by a Satanic cult and its charismatic leader.
Cornered by the DEA, convicted New York drug dealer Montgomery Brogan reevaluates his life in the 24 remaining hours before facing a seven-year jail term.
Socially frustrated Barry Egan calls a phone-sex line to curb his loneliness. Little does he know it will land him in deep trouble and will jeopardize his burgeoning romance with the mysterious Lena.
In 1959, Truman Capote learns of the murder of a Kansas family and decides to write a book about the case. While researching for his novel In Cold Blood, Capote forms a relationship with one of the killers, Perry Smith, who is on death row.
A Catholic school principal questions a priest's ambiguous relationship with a troubled young student.
A drama based on a Texas congressman Charlie Wilson's covert dealings in Afghanistan, where his efforts to assist rebels in their war with the Soviets have some unforeseen and long-reaching effects.
A band of rogue DJs that captivated Britain, playing the music that defined a generation and standing up to a government that wanted classical music, and nothing else, on the airwaves.
When two brothers organize the robbery of their parents' jewelry store the job goes horribly wrong, triggering a series of events that sends them, their father and one brother's wife barreling towards a shattering climax.
A theatre director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he creates a life-size replica of New York City inside a warehouse as part of his new play.
A Chechen Muslim illegally immigrates to Hamburg, where he gets caught in the international war on terror.
The lives of several individuals intertwine as they go about their lives in their own unique ways, engaging in acts which society as a whole might find disturbing in a desperate search for human connection.
A sister and brother face the realities of familial responsibility as they begin to care for their ailing father.
A movie crew invades a small town whose residents are all too ready to give up their values for showbiz glitz.
An ultraconservative security guard suffers a debilitating stroke and is assigned to a rehabilitative program that includes singing lessons with the drag queen next door.
Members of a world-renowned string quartet struggle to stay together in the face of death, competing egos, and insuppressible lust.
A bank manager with: (a) a gambling problem and (b) access to a multimillion dollar account gets into a messy situation. Based on the story of the largest one-man bank fraud in Canadian history.
A blue collar worker tries to cover things up when his stepson is killed in a suspicious accident, but a local reporter senses that something's amiss.
A limo driver's blind date sparks a tale of love, betrayal, friendship, and grace centered around two working-class New York City couples.