Philip Seymour Hoffman 1967-2014

Philip Seymour Hoffman, one of the defining actors of his generation, was found dead today in his Greenwich Village apartment of an apparent drug overdose, according to law enforcement officials. Born in Fairpoint, New York, Hoffman had a deep infatuation with the theatrics since he was in high school and attended the Tisch School of the Arts, for which he earned a B.F.A. in Drama. His film career began with the small, but memorable roles, in Leap of Faith and Scent of a Woman. While not playing supporting roles in big budget films, he was walking the planks as an off-broadway actor.

In the mid-Nineties, his friendship with a budding writer-director, Paul Thomas Anderson, blossomed into one of the most fruitful collaborations between actor and director in recent memory. Hoffman gained wide acclaim in 1997 as a gay sound engineer for porn films in the modern classic, Boogie Nights and as the caretaker to a dying Jason Robards and the ensemble drama Magnolia. In Punch-Drunk Love, he went head to head with Adam Sandler as a sleazy mattress salesman. His last collaboration with Anderson occurred in 2012 when he played the flamboyant cult leader, Lancaster Dodd, in The Master.

Hoffman was no actor to be thought of as typecast as his roles spanned the spectrum from playing a sexual deviant in Todd Solondz's Happiness to Lester Bangs in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous. In 2005, Hoffman's portrayal of Truman Capote in Capote earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor as he channelled the iconic writer and his struggle in completing his novel, In Cold Blood. Aside from his only Oscar win, Hoffman was nominated three more times for his performances in Mike Nichols' cold-war satire, Charlie Wilson's War, John Patrick Shanley's Doubt, and in Paul  Thomas Anderson's The Master. In 2010, Hoffman made his directorial debut with the independent romantic comedy, Jack Goes Boating.

In the past year, Hoffman has made critically acclaimed performances on Broadway as Willy Lohman    in Death of A Salesman and in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. In a recent news announcement on IMDB.Com, he signed Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal to star in his second film as a director,  Ezekiel. Sadly, his death struck a blow to the world of film and theatre. He is survived by his three children and his girlfriend, Mimi O' Donnell.

Suffice to say, it's been a tragic year in terms of losing some of the most influential actors of our time, such as Peter O' Toole and Maximilian Schell. Philip Seymour Hoffman was not only one of my favorite actors, but one of the defining actors of my generation as Brando was for his generation or Olivier was for his. Hoffman's ability to immerse himself into a role and delivering such iconic performances will not be forgotten.