Philip Seymour Hoffmann

The man of the 21st century aspires to be like the characters played by  Russell Crowe , but is in danger of becoming one of those played by  Philip Seymour Hoffman . In the 1970s, another Hoffman, Dustin, paved the way to stardom for ordinary guys whose appeal was primarily found within. Philip Seymour gives a new twist to actors like  Woody Allen , Robert De Niro or  Al Pacino . It was difficult to find traits of humanity in the characters of his that he played. Sometimes they seem incapable of overcoming tremendous flaws, and sometimes they are sexually obsessed that make them a little creepy. More and more ‘weirdos’ are being sought, difficult to interpret.

In Fairport, a well-known New York suburb, Philip Seymour Hoffman was born on July 23, 1967. The son of Gordon, a Protestant executive of a large company, and Marilyn, a Catholic trial judge, Philip had two siblings, Emily and Gordy, screenwriter of  With Love, Liza, which the actor starred in in 2002. When he was nine years old, his parents divorced, leaving Philip in the care of his mother, who encouraged his artistic vocation. Although in the school theater group he was already taking part in productions of works such as ‘Long journey into the night’, he really aspired to become a star of ‘wrestling’, American wrestling, so rigged that it has a lot to do with the theater. An accident put an end to this curious vocation, so he decided to study acting “to impress the girls.” He received a scholarship to the Tisch School of Art, New York University.

Follies of youth made him fall into alcoholism and drugs, so when he graduated he had to enter a detoxification clinic. “He was 22 years old and life scared me,” explained the actor, who since then had tried not to even try alcohol. When he recovered, Hoffman had to earn his lentils by working as a waiter – according to his statements, the job he hates the most – while appearing in the most diverse castings. He made his debut playing a defense lawyer in the famous series  Law and Order. From that moment on, she alternated her performances in the New York off-Broadway theater with small jobs in the movies, but always impeccable. After playing Chris O’Donnell’s schoolmate, whom he accused of a prank he had not committed in Essence of a Woman, he played a shot robber in  The Getaway , and a goofy policeman in  Not a Fool’s Hair .

One of the pivotal moments in Philip Seymour Hoffman’s career was his meeting with director  Paul Thomas Anderson , who gave him a brief role as a gambling addict in Sydney, his debut. He was so pleased with his work that he turned to him again for a larger role in  Boogie Nights . His remarkable work as a lovesick soundman caught the attention of the Coen brothers, who turned him into a thug in  The Big Lebowski , and  Todd Solondz , who turned him into the sleazy, sex-obsessed jerk who made obscene calls to his neighbor. in  Happiness . So convincing was Hoffman in this latter interpretation that he was genuinely repulsed.

Meanwhile, he was building a solid reputation on the stage directing plays like ‘In Arabia We’d All Be Kings’. While preparing the set, he fell in love with the costume designer, Mimi O’Donnell, who is currently expecting the couple’s second child. Paul Thomas Anderson signed him for almost all of his tapes, even in the disconcerting  Drunken with love. His best collaboration was  Magnolia , where Hoffman composed a nurse trying to reunite a dying man with his son. And there would still be a new job with Anderson on  The Master .

There is no small role for him. “I never measure my roles by the number of minutes, but by the psychological complication of it,” he explained. This is demonstrated by his work in  Patch Adams ,  Nobody is perfect ,  The Red Dragon ,  Last Night ,  Cold Mountain and David Mamet  ‘s acid portrait of the world of cinema  State and Main, where he was a principled screenwriter, surrounded by idiots. And it is that he seems a tireless worker, incapable of saying no when offered curious characters. “Standing is not good for an actor. It doesn’t matter how famous you are. I always remember how bad I felt when I went to the employment office, and how terrible it was to get fired in all those restaurants,” Hoffman said.

The Academy fine-tuned by awarding him the Oscar for best actor precisely for  Truman Capote , where he imitates to the millimeter the way of speaking and the gestures of the eccentric writer. “Every day I had to train, for six months, like an athlete,” he has said. Made one of the hottest actors for this job, Hoffman didn’t go to sleep, but immediately turned into a memorable villainous role in  Mission: Impossible III . In this line of quality commercial cinema, he did not hesitate to sign up for  The Hunger Games: Catching Fire .

No role resisted him, and none of the ones he undertook was easy. She did veteran  Sidney Lumet ‘s last film ,  Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead , and for  Mike Nichols ,  Charlie  Wilson’s War . He shone with  George Clooney  in the political film  The Ides of March , he played a priest in  Doubt , and a baseball coach in  Moneyball . A thoroughbred actor, also on the theater scene, his premature death has deprived the cinema of what would undoubtedly have been great performances for the screen.