Through The Years With The Late Philip Seymour Hoffman

Philip Seymour Hoffmann

Hollywood can be an incredible and somewhat depressing place. We see some of the greatest actors come to life on the big screen and more often than not, we see them crash and burn in a fiery blaze of drugs, sex, and partying. Though an amazing actor, Philip Seymour Hoffman was no exception to the rule. Nevertheless, we would still like to take this moment to look at this amazing and inspirational actor's career.

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Philip Seymour Hoffman was born on July 23, 1967, in Fairport, New York. He came from a humble family background with his mom being an elementary school teacher and his father working at the Xerox Corporation. He grew up alongside his two sisters, Jill and Emily, wrestling and playing baseball but became fixated on acting when he was a theater performance of Arthur Miller's All My Sons when he was 12 years old.

'Boogie Nights'

After graduating from the NYU Tisch School of the Arts Philip had a few small roles in Law & Order, My New Gun and Leap of Faith before he landed a spot on the 1992 Golden Globe and Academy Award-winning film Scent of a Woman with Al Pacino.

After this big break, he went on to land roles in 1998's Happiness and The Big Lebowski and is a part of cult-favorite Boogie Nights. His iconic character is encased in cinephile memories as the young boom operator whos belly is exposed while working.

Philip Seymour Hoffman and Robert Dinero in 'Flawless'

Through the late '90s and the early 2000s Philip really began to break through and get bigger roles like in Patch Adams and opposite Robert De Niro as drag queen "Rusty Zimmerman" in Flawless. He did his best to avoid cliches in the role even getting the attention of esteemed film critic Roger Ebert who said Hoffman was "one of the best new character actors."

Oddly enough, after many Twitter and Facebook polls, his fun role in Twister with Bill Paxton is the movie he is most recognized for.

Philip Seymour Hoffman in 'Magnolia'

Hoffman returned to work with critically acclaimed Paul Thomas Anderson in the unbelievably memorable ensemble film Magnolia. His part in this 1999 film is one of his personal favorite in his long and impressive filmography.

Critically acclaimed Paul Thomas Anderson ended up casting him in a whopping 5 out of 6 of his first 6 films!

Philip Seymour Hoffman in 'Capote'

Philip starred as the titular role in Capote which took quite a bit of work to get to the correct weight and 4 months of studying the writer's specifically effeminate voice. Throughout filming, he would stay in character as Truman Capote so he would not lose the voice.

Philip Seymour Hoffman

For his hard and impressive work in Capote, he earned an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA! Premiere magazine even listed his role as the 35th greatest movie performance of all time!

At this point, his career was skyrocketing, starring in Almost Famous, Punch -Drunk Love, Red Dragon, Spike Lee's 25th Hour, Cold Mountain and even earning Tony Award nominations for his stage work in True West.

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Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams in 'Doubt' 2008

Hoffman was frequently praised for his work big or small, earning Golden Globe, Oscar, and BAFTA award nominations for his parts in The Savages, Charlie Wilsons War, and Synecdoche, New York.

In 2009 he played a suspected pedophile priest opposite Hollywood superstars Meryl Streep and Amy Adams in Doubt. Meryl had been wanting to work with Philip for years since being blown away by his performance in The Talented Mr. Ripley where she said "I sat up straight in my seat and said, 'Who is that?' I thought to myself: My God, this actor is fearless. He's done what we all strive for – he's given this awful character the respect he deserves, and he's made him fascinating."

Philip Seymour Hoffman and Nick Frost in 'The Boat That Rocked'

Philip left a wake of memorable roles like that of his part in The Boat That Rocked based on the infamous Pirate Radion station of the '60s. He portrayed a character based on Emperor Rosko, the beloved rogue disc jockey.

Philip Seymour Hoffman is considered one of the best actors of his generation and left an impressive legacy behind.

Through The Years With Philip Seymour Hoffman

With multiple success in movies like Capote, Magnolia, and Scent Of A Woman, this great character actor seemed unstoppable...Let's take a trip down memory lane and take a look back at Mr. Hoffman's amazing career!

The New York Times described him as "perhaps the most ambitious and widely admired American actor of his generation" and they were right. His incredibly versatile talent made him the most memorable part of every show, film or stage performance he was in.

Rolling Stone's David Fear said, "No modern actor was better at making you feel sympathy for fucking idiots, failures, degenerates, sad sacks and hangdogs dealt a bum hand by life, even as - no, especially when - he played them with all of their worst qualities front and center." He added, "He was a transformative performer who worked from the inside out, blessed with an emotional transparency that could be overwhelming, invigorating, compelling, devastating."

Philip's work is one to behold and raised the bar for all who followed in his footsteps.

Through The Years With The Late Philip Seymour Hoffman

Philip Seymour Hoffmann

Philip Seymour Hoffman

'Boogie Nights'

Philip Seymour Hoffman and Robert Dinero in 'Flawless'

Philip Seymour Hoffman in 'Magnolia'

Mimi O'Donnell and Philip Seymour Hoffmann

Philip Seymour Hoffman in 'Capote'

Philip Seymour Hoffman

Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams in 'Doubt' 2008

Philip Seymour Hoffman and Nick Frost in 'The Boat That Rocked'

Through The Years With Philip Seymour Hoffman