Acting · Fairport, New York, USA · Born July 23, 1967
Philip Seymour Hoffman (July 23, 1967 – February 2, 2014) was an American actor, director, and producer. Best known for his distinctive supporting and character roles–typically lowlifes, eccentrics, bullies, and misfits—Hoffman acted in many films, including leading roles, from the early 1990s until his death in 2014. Drawn to theater as a teenager, Hoffman studied acting at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He began his screen career in a 1991 episode of Law & Order and started to appear in films in 1992. He gained recognition for his supporting work, notably in Scent of a Woman (1992), Boogie Nights (1997), Happiness (1998), Patch Adams (1998), The Big Lebowski (1998), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Almost Famous (2000), Punch-Drunk Love (2002), and Along Came Polly (2004). He began to occasionally play leading roles, and for his portrayal of the author Truman Capote in Capote (2005), won multiple accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Actor. Hoffman's profile continued to grow and he received three more Oscar nominations for his supporting work as a brutally frank CIA officer in Charlie Wilson's War (2007), a priest accused of pedophilia in Doubt (2008), and the charismatic leader of a Scientology-type movement in The Master (2012). While he mainly worked in independent films, including The Savages (2007) and Synecdoche, New York (2008), Hoffman also appeared in Flawless (1999), and Hollywood blockbusters such as Twister (1996) and Mission: Impossible III (2006), and in one of his final roles, as Plutarch Heavensbee in the Hunger Games series (2013–15). The feature Jack Goes Boating (2010) marked his debut as a filmmaker. Hoffman was also an accomplished theater actor and director. He joined the off-Broadway LAByrinth Theater Company in 1995, where he directed, produced, and appeared in numerous stage productions. His performances in three Broadway plays—True West in 2000, Long Day's Journey into Night in 2003, and Death of a Salesman in 2012—all led to Tony Award nominations.
MovieThe Hunger Games Series
2026
as Plutarch Heavensbee
MovieStarring Austin Pendleton
2016
as Self
MovieThe Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
2015
as Plutarch Heavensbee
Straight from the Heart: A Tribute to Philip Seymour Hoffman
2015
as Self (Archive Footage)
MovieThe Making of A Most Wanted Man
2015
as Self
MovieThe Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
2014
as Plutarch Heavensbee
MovieA Most Wanted Man
2014
as Günther Bachmann
MovieGod's Pocket
2014
as Mickey Scarpato
MovieThe Hunger Games: Catching Fire
2013
as Plutarch Heavensbee
MovieSalinger
2013
as Self - Actor
TVThe Frame
2013
as Plutarch Heavensbee
MovieA Late Quartet
2012
as Robert Gelbart
MovieThe Master
2012
as Lancaster Dodd
TVToo Young to Die
2012
as Self (archive footage)
MovieThe Ides of March
2011
as Paul Zara
MovieMoneyball
2011
as Art Howe
MovieA Child's Garden of Poetry
2011
as Self (voice)
MovieJack Goes Boating
2010
as Jack
MovieRestoring a Masterpiece: The Renovation of Eastman Theatre
2010
as Narrator (voice)
MovieThe Invention of Lying
2009
as Jim the Bartender
MovieMary and Max
2009
as Max (voice)
MovieDoubt: Stage to Screen
2009
as Self
MovieThe Boat That Rocked
2009
as The Count
MovieI Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale
2009
as Self
MovieDoubt
2008
as Father Brendan Flynn
MovieSynecdoche, New York
2008
as Caden Cotard
MovieDirected by Sidney Lumet: How the Devil Was Made
2008
as Self
MovieCharlie Wilson's War
2007
as Gust Avrakotos
MovieThe Savages
2007
as Jon Savage
MovieBefore the Devil Knows You're Dead
2007
as Andy Hanson
TVChelsea Lately
2007
as Self (archive footage)
MovieStrangers with Candy
2006
as Henry
MovieMission: Impossible III
2006
as Owen Davian
MovieMaking Capote: Concept to Script
2006
as Self
MovieTruman Capote: Answered Prayers
2006
as Self
MovieCapote
2005
as Truman Capote
TVEmpire Falls
2005
as Charlie Mayne
MovieAlong Came Polly
2004
as Sandy Lyle
MovieCold Mountain
2003
as Reverend Veasey
MovieMattress Man Commercial
2003
as Dean Trumbull
MovieThe Evolution of an American Filmmaker
2003
as Self
MovieOwning Mahowny
2003
as Dan Mahowny
MovieA Director's Journey: The Making of 'Red Dragon'
2003
as Self
MovieLove Liza
2002
as Wilson Joel
Movie25th Hour
2002
as Jacob Elinsky
MoviePunch-Drunk Love
2002
as Dean Trumbell
MovieRed Dragon
2002
as Freddy Lounds
HypaSpace
2002
as Self
TVIcons
2002
MovieLast Party 2000
2001
as Self
MovieAlmost Famous
2000
as Lester Bangs
MovieState and Main
2000
as Joseph Turner White
MovieInside 'The Talented Mr. Ripley'
2000
as Self
Reflections on 'the Talented Mr. Ripley'
2000
as Self
MovieThat Moment: Magnolia Diary
2000
as Self
MovieThe Talented Mr. Ripley
1999
as Freddie Miles
MovieMagnolia
1999
as Phil Parma
MovieFlawless
1999
as Rusty
TVThe Early Show
1999
as Self - Guest
TVThe Directors
1999
as Self
MoviePatch Adams
1998
as Mitch Roman
MovieHappiness
1998
as Allen
MovieNext Stop Wonderland
1998
as Sean
MovieThe Big Lebowski
1998
as Brandt
MovieMontana
1998
as Duncan
TVLiberty!
1997
as Joseph Plumb Martin
MovieBoogie Nights
1997
as Scotty J.
MovieCulture
1997
as Bill
MovieHard Eight
1997
as Young Craps Player
MovieAnita Liberty
1997
as Man at Party #3
TVArthur
1996
as William Fillmore Toffman (voice)
TVThe Daily Show
1996
as Self
MovieTwister
1996
as Dusty
MovieThe Fifteen Minute Hamlet
1995
as Bernardo, Horatio & Laertes
MovieIt Is Now Our Time: Peter Sellars’ The Merchant of Venice
1994
as Launcelot Gobbo
MovieNobody's Fool
1994
as Officer Raymer
TVInside the Actors Studio
1994
as Self
MovieWhen a Man Loves a Woman
1994
as Gary
MovieThe Yearling
1994
as Buck
MovieSzuler
1994
as Martin
MovieThe Getaway
1994
as Frank Hansen
TVLate Night with Conan O'Brien
1993
as Self - Guest
MovieMoney for Nothing
1993
as Cochran
MovieMy Boyfriend's Back
1993
as Chuck Bronski
MovieJoey Breaker
1993
as Wiley McCall
MovieScent of a Woman
1992
as George Willis, Jr.
MovieLeap of Faith
1992
as Matt
MovieMy New Gun
1992
as Chris
TVThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992
MovieTriple Bogey On A Par Five Hole
1992
as Klutch
TVLaw & Order
1990
as Steven Hanauer
TVLIVE with Kelly and Mark
1988
as Self
TVTony Awards
1956
as Self - Nominee
TVThe Oscars
1953
as Self
TVGolden Globe Awards
1944
as Self - Nominee
