In Memory of Philip Seymour Hoffman (1967-2014)

Philip Seymour Hoffman (1967-2014)

I have never seen any of Philip's movies. It is with sorrow that the Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was reportedly found dead of a drug overdose in his office apartment in the West Village. He was 46 years old on February 2nd, 2014. Philip began acting as a student at Fairport High School. At age 17, he chose to attend the 84 Theatre School at the New York State Summer School of the Arts. In the same place, he met the two people he would later work with in his later years, director Bennett Miller and screenwriter Dan Futterman.

After Hoffman graduated from Fairport High, he attended a summer program at the Circle in the Square Theatre and continued to craft his acting skills. He attended the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, earning a BFA in drama in 1989. In 1991, he made his acting debut in an episode of "Law and Order" as a defendant. Philip would not appear in films until 1992. He made his breakthrough in four movies, including "Scent of a Woman." Over many years, Hoffman would make his career as a supporting actor, playing roles and working with many notable directors. One of the directors was Paul Thomas Anderson, who cast him in five of his six motion pictures. He then does both the narration and interviews himself in a 2000 documentary named "The Party's Over." Philip breaks the supporting role cliché and moves in for his first leading role in the tragic comedy "Love Liza." In 2003, he also had another starring role, playing a gambling-addicted bank employee in "Owning Mahowny." Hoffman's career was defined by both supporting and leading parts over the years, with notable flicks such as "Cold Mountain," "Along Came Polly," and the third instalment of "Mission: Impossible." Philip went for gold acclaim in the title role of "Capote," for which he received numerous awards, including an Academy Award for Best Actor.

After the commendable success of his performance in "Capote," the newly A-listed Philip went on to take on more diverse roles, including the title character in "Charlie Wilson's War." The following year, he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He was working on the two parts of "The Hunger Games" feature "Mockingjay" to a role he once played in the recent instalment "Catching Fire" before his untimely death.

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