Biography

One of the most original, versatile, and steadily employed actors in Hollywood, Philip Seymour Hoffman has made a name for himself playing some of the most dysfunctional characters in movie history. Although he had been acting for years, most audiences were first introduced to the actor in the award-winning Boogie Nights, where he played a nebbishy soundman with a jones for Mark Wahlberg's Dirk Diggler. Imbuing his character with both humor and poignant complexity, Hoffman was one of the more memorable aspects of an unforgettable film.

Born in Fairport, NY, in 1968, Hoffman trained at New York's Tisch School of Drama. Before breaking into film, he did a host of theater work, performing in New York, Chicago, and on a European tour. He made his film debut in the 1992 film Scent of a Woman, a critically acclaimed picture starring Al Pacino and Chris O'Donnell. Roles in a number of films of varying quality followed, including My New Gun (1992) and When a Man Loves a Woman (1994). The actor then nabbed a sizable role in Jan de Bont's 1996 tornado thriller Twister and the same year began an ongoing working relationship with Paul Thomas Anderson by appearing in his directorial debut Hard Eight. The crime drama, which also starred Gwyneth Paltrow and Samuel L. Jackson, received positive critical attention, although it didn't create more than a minor blip at the box office. However, Hoffman's next feature and second collaboration with Anderson, Boogie Nights (1997), was both a critical and financial success, scoring a host of Academy Award nominations and simultaneously reviving the careers of some of its stars, such as Burt Reynolds and Mark Wahlberg, while providing a breakthrough for others, such as Heather Graham and Hoffman himself. He next appeared in the Robin Williams comedy Patch Adams (1998), and the same year starred in two critically acclaimed independent films, Todd Solondz's Happiness and Brad Anderson's Next Stop Wonderland. The prolific actor added an appearance in The Big Lebowski (also 1998) to his already impressive resumé. In addition to his burgeoning acting career, Hoffman won favorable notices for his directing debut with the off-Broadway In Arabia, We'd All Be Kings. Hoffman came into his own with three notable performances in 1999. He reunited with Paul Thomas Anderson to play empathic hospice nurse Phil Parma, one of the emotional anchors in Magnolia. His portrayal of upper-crust snob Freddie Miles in The Talented Mr. Ripley earned him strong notices from many critics. Hoffman's peers awarded him with a Screen Actor's Guild nomination for his role as a cross dresser in Flawless opposite Robert De Niro. He returned to the Broadway stage with fellow Anderson regular John C. Reilly to play very different brothers in Sam Shepard's True West. They took a risk by switching the lead roles every three days. Their hard work earned critical raves, and each was nominated for a Tony award. In 2000, Cameron Crowe cast Hoffman as Crowe's childhood hero Lester Bangs in Almost Famous, and David Mamet tapped him to be part of the impressive ensemble in State and Main. ~ Rebecca Flint, All Movie Guide

Filmography

Cold Mountain (2003)
Untitled John Hamburg Project (2003)
Sweet Spot, The (2003) .... Sammy The Ump
Owning Mahowny (2003) .... Dan Mahowny
25th Hour (2002) .... Jakob Elinsky
Red Dragon (2002) .... Freddy Lounds
... aka Roter Drache (2002) (Germany)
Punch-Drunk Love (2002) .... Dean Trumbell
Love Liza (2002) .... Wilson Joel
Last Party 2000 (2001) .... Himself
Almost Famous (2000) .... Lester Bangs
... aka Untitled: Almost Famous the Bootleg Cut (2001) (USA: director's cut (DVD title))
State and Main (2000) .... Joseph Turner White
... aka Séquences et conséquences (2001) (France)
Talented Mr. Ripley, The (1999) .... Freddie Miles
... aka Mysterious Yearning Secretive Sad Lonely Troubled Confused Loving Musical Gifted Intelligent Beautiful Tender Sensitive Haunted Passionate Talented Mr. Ripley, The (1999) (USA: complete title)
Magnolia (1999) .... Phil Parma, Partridge's male nurse
... aka mag-no'li-a (1999) (USA: promotional title)
Flawless (1999) .... Rusty Zimmerman
Culture (1998) .... Bill
Patch Adams (1998) .... Mitch Roman
Happiness (1998) .... Allen
Big Lebowski, The (1998) .... Brandt
Next Stop Wonderland (1998) .... Sean
Montana (1998) .... Duncan
... aka Nothing Personal (1998) (Australia: video title)
"LIBERTY! The American Revolution" (1997) (mini) TV Series .... Joseph Plumb Martin
Boogie Nights (1997) .... Scotty J.
Twister (1996) .... Dustin 'Dusty' Davis
Sydney (1996) (as Phillip Seymour Hoffman) .... Young Craps Player
... aka Hard Eight (1997) (USA: changed title)
Fifteen Minute Hamlet, The (1995) (as Philip S. Hoffman) .... Bernardo, Horatio & Laertes
Nobody's Fool (1994) .... Officer Raymer
When a Man Loves a Woman (1994) .... Gary
... aka Cuando un hombre ama a una mujer (1994) (Argentina)
... aka To Have and to Hold (1994)
Yearling, The (1994) (TV) .... Buck
Getaway, The (1994) .... Frank Hansen
Joey Breaker (1993) .... Wiley McCall
Money for Nothing (1993/I) .... Cochran
My Boyfriend's Back (1993) (as Philip Hoffman) .... Chuck Bronski
... aka Johnny Zombie (1993)
Szuler (1992)
... aka Cheat (1992)
Scent of a Woman (1992) (as Philip S. Hoffman) .... George Willis, Jr.
Leap of Faith (1992) .... Matt
My New Gun (1992) .... Chris
Triple Bogey on a Par Five Hole (1991)