Philip Seymour Hoffman was born in Fairport, New York, a suburb of Rochester, to Marilyn Loucks, a lawyer and judge, and Gordon Stowell Hoffman, a Xerox employee. He was mostly of German, Irish, English, and Dutch ancestry. Hoffman's early involvement in high school theatrics led him to attend New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Drama in 1989.
Hoffman made his feature film debut in the indie production Triple Bogey on a Par Five Hole in 1991, followed by his first major release role in My New Gun in 1992. He gained recognition for his supporting roles in Scent of a Woman and Twister, before landing his breakthrough role in Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights in 1997.
Hoffman established himself as an icon of indie cinema, with a reputation for delivering exceptional performances in a variety of supporting and second leads in indie and major features, including Happiness, Flawless, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Magnolia, Almost Famous, and State and Main. He also appeared in mainstream, big-budget features such as Red Dragon, Cold Mountain, and Mission: Impossible III.
In addition to his film work, Hoffman was actively involved in the theater. On Broadway, he earned two Tony nominations for his performances in True West and Long Day's Journey into Night. His other notable stage credits include The Seagull, Defying Gravity, The Merchant of Venice, Shopping and F*@%ing, and The Author's Voice.
Hoffman was the Co-Artistic Director of the LAByrinth Theater Company, where he directed several productions, including Our Lady of 121st Street and Jesus Hopped the A Train. He also directed The Glory of Living at the Manhattan Class Company.
Hoffman's outstanding performance in the title role of Capote earned him the Los Angeles Film Critics Award for Best Actor and the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2006. He was known to struggle with addiction, and was found dead in his apartment in Greenwich Village, New York, on February 2, 2014, with a syringe in his arm and two open envelopes of heroin next to him.
