Photo: Georges Biard / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
I consider Philip Seymour Hoffman the finest screen actor of his generation, and I do not say that lightly. He had no vanity whatsoever — he played weaklings, creeps, blowhards, and lonely men with total commitment, and somehow made each one achingly human. The Academy Award was deserved, but his genius lived in the supporting turns, where he could shift a film's entire gravity in two scenes. His death in 2014 at forty-six still feels like an open wound for cinema; I genuinely wonder what late-career masterpieces we lost. When The Independent named him the century's greatest actor, I simply nodded.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Philip Seymour Hoffman
- Name (Japanese)
- フィリップ・シーモア・ホフマン
- Reading
- ふぃりっぷ・しーもあ・ほふまん
- Born
- July 23, 1967 – February 2, 2014
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Leo / Goat
- Origin
- Fairport, New York, United States
- Occupation
- film director / film producer / voice actor / character actor / stage actor
2. Background
- High school
- Fairport High School
- University
- New York University Tisch School of the Arts
Awards & achievements
- 2001 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play
- 2003 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play
- 2006 Academy Award for Best Actor
- 2000 Theatre World Award
- 2006 Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
- 2012 Volpi Cup for Best Actor
- 2006 BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Philip Seymour Hoffman born?
July 23, 1967 – February 2, 2014.
Where is Philip Seymour Hoffman from?
Philip Seymour Hoffman is from Fairport, New York, United States.
What does Philip Seymour Hoffman do?
Philip Seymour Hoffman works as film director, film producer, voice actor, character actor, stage actor.
Film director — see all → · Film producer — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-11
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.