Bio
Philip Seymour Hoffman (23 July, 1967 – 2 February, 2014) was an American actor and director known for his roles in feature films such as The Big Lebowski (1998), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) and Capote (2005).
Hoffman began his professional acting career in television in 1991, and the following year began appearing in films. His work in a diverse range of supporting films roles brought him recognition over the following decade, and he achieved success in theatre.
He was nominated for a Tony Award for his performances in True West (2000) and Long Day's Journey into Night (2003).
His performance as Truman Capote in Capote (2005) earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor, the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role - Motion Picture.
Subsequent roles in The Savages (2007) and Charlie Wilson's War (2007) were well received, and he was nominated for several acting awards for his work in Doubt (2008).
Although he appeared to friends to have his drug problems under control, on 2 February, 2014, playwright and screenwriter David Bar Katz found Hoffman dead in the bathroom of Hoffman's fourth-floor apartment in Manhattan's West Village. Hoffman was 46 years old.
Detectives searching the apartment found heroin and prescription medications at the scene, and revealed that Hoffman was discovered with a needle in his arm.
On 28 February, 2014, the New York City medical examiner's office ruled Hoffman's death an accident caused by "acute mixed drug intoxication, including heroin, cocaine, benzodiazepines and amphetamine".