Philip Seymour Hoffman an American actor who was born on the July 23, 1967. He was a son of a family court judge, lawyer and civil right activist. Philip Seymour Hoffman parents got divorced when he was only nine years old. He has two sisters Emily and Jill and a brother Gordy Hoffman. His brother has scripted the 2002 film Love Liza, in which Philip Seymour Hoffman starred. Hoffman received a BFA in drama in 1989 from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Soon after graduating, he went to rehab for drug and alcohol addiction and has since remained sober. Hoffman is in a relationship with costume designer Mimi O'Donnell. They met while working on the 1999 play In Arabia We'd All Be Kings, which Hoffman directed. They have a son, Cooper Alexander, born in March 2003, and a daughter, Talluhlah, born in November 2006

Philip Seymour Hoffman started off his career as an actor by playing a role as a defendant in a 1990 episode of the television series Law & Order. The kick start for his career was a role of a backstabbing classmate of Chris O'Donnell's character in the 1992 film Scent of a Woman. Philip Seymour Hoffman has made a name in the Hollywood industry as an actor by playing diverse and individual characters in supporting roles. The chances he got to be working with renowned directors includes The Coen Brothers, Cameron Crowe, David Mamet, Robert Benton, Anthony Minghella, Paul Thomas Anderson, Todd Solondz and Spike Lee. He seems to be a favorite actor of Paul Thomas Anderson who starred him in four of his movies (Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and Punch-Drunk Love) out of five.

In the career of Philip Seymour Hoffman he sadly never had a leading role other than two films one of them is “Love Liza” who was scripted by his own brother and in a 2003 film “Owning Mahowny.” Other movies where Philip Seymour Hoffman has played supporting roles are Cold Mountain (2003), Along Came Polly (2004) where he plays Ben Stiller’s ex-actor buddy and Mission: Impossible III (2006). With a number of supporting roles Philip Seymour Hoffman has mixed it up while playing characters of all sorts from gay characters to vicious thugs.
Philip Seymour Hoffman being an American Academy Award Winner received his first Emmy Award nomination for the movie “Empire Falls” but lost to a fellow cast mate and personal idol Paul Newman. In 2005, Hoffman won widespread acclaim for his portrayal of writer Truman Capote in the film Capote. His tremendous acting skills made him win a number of awards including the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama, the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture and Academy Award for Best Actor. Overall, he has 40 wins and 16 nominations.
Other than acting roles in the movies he has done some experimenting while working in theatre. People loved it and due to his skilled performances and talent he was nominated for a Tony Award: as Best Actor (Play) in 2000 for a Broadway revival of Sam Shepard's True West and for Best Actor (Featured Role - Play) in 2003 for a revival of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night. He not just performed but directed some of the projects himself such as The Glory of Living at the MCC Theater and Stephen Adly Guirgis's Jesus Hopped the A Train and The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. Philip Seymour Hoffman is co-artistic director of New York City's LAByrinth Theater Company, along with actor John Ortiz.