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Philip Seymour Hoffman, the
stage and screen actor who pro-
gressed from scene-stealing sup-
portingrolestoanOscar-winning
portrayal of writer Truman Ca-
potein“Capote,”hasdied.Hewas
46.
Mr.Hoffmanwasfounddeadin
his apartment in Lower Manhat-
tan shortly before noon Sunday,
andhisdeathisbeinginvestigated
as a possible drug overdose, said
Det.JamesDuffy,aspokesmanfor
the New York Police Department.
The New York City medical exam-
iner’sofficeisexpectedtoperform
anautopsyasearlyasMonday,and
that examination will include a
toxicologyreport.
Police said they received a 911
callabout11:36a.m.Sunday.When
theyarrivedattheapartment,they
found Mr. Hoffman unconscious
andunresponsiveonthefloorofa
bathroom. According to an un-
named police official who was not
authorized to comment publicly,
Mr. Hoffman was found with a
needleinhisarmandseveralbags
ofwhatappearedtobeheroin.The
officialsaidMr.Hoffmanwassup-
posed to meet a colleague Sunday
morning and did not show. An
associate went to his home and
found him there. Police were still
atthesceneSundayafternoon.
In interviews, Mr. Hoffman ac-
knowledged a history of drug
abuse.
“IgotsoberwhenIwas22years
old”andwentintoadrugrehabili-
tation program at the time, Mr.
Hoffman told CBS’s “60 Minutes”
in2006.Askedwhetherheabused
drugs or alcohol, Mr. Hoffman
said: “It was all that stuff. Yeah. It
wasanythingIcouldgetmyhands
on.Yeah.Ilikeditall.”
Mr. Hoffman went on to say in
the interview: “I have so much
empathy for these young actors
that are 19 and all of a sudden
they’re beautiful and famous and
rich,” Hoffman said. “I’m like, ‘Oh
my God. I’d be dead.’ You know
what I mean? I’d be 19, beautiful,
famousandrich.Thatwouldbeit.I
think back at that time. I think if I
hadthemoney,thatkindofmoney
and stuff. So, yeah [I would have
died].”
Inotherinterviews,heindicated
thathehadremainedcleanformore
than two decades before relapsing
in 2012, when he again entered a
drug rehabilitation program, ac-
cordingtopublishedreports.
Mr. Hoffman, who specialized
inoff-kilterroles,wonthebest-ac-
torOscarforhis2005portrayalof
Capote in the biographical film
that chronicled the writer’s re-
search — and ethical transgres-
sions — for the nonfiction crime
novel“InColdBlood.”
Itwasoneoffourperformances
thatearnedMr.HoffmananOscar
nomination. He was nominated
for best supporting actor three
times: for playing a CIA agent in
“CharlieWilson’sWar,”anabusive
priest in “Doubt” and Lancaster
Dodd,acharacterlooselybasedon
Church of Scientology founder L.
RonHubbard,in“TheMaster.”
His work in “The Master,” re-
leased in 2012, was for director
Paul Thomas Anderson. In total,
the actor appeared in five Ander-
son films — all but one of the
director’s six feature-length films.
“Hewasanextraordinaryactor
with tremendous range and the
gift of fully and deeply realizing
his amazing characters in films
from ‘Magnolia’ and ‘Capote’ to
‘Charlie Wilson’s War’ and
‘Doubt,’ ” said Ken Howard, presi-
dent of the Screen Actors Guild-
American Federation of Televi-
sion and Radio Artists. “He was
such a great talent and his loss is
just deeply sad. On behalf of his
fellow actors and all members of
SAG-AFTRA, our condolences go
outtohisfamilyandfriends.”
Mr. Hoffman got his start in
Hollywood playing supporting
roles in several movies in the
1990s, including “Twister,” “Patch
Adams” and “Magnolia.” His
breakthrough roles came as a gay
member of a porn film crew in
Anderson’s“BoogieNights”andas
an obscene phone caller in direc-
torToddSolondz’s“Happiness.”
Most recently, Mr. Hoffman
played Plutarch Heavensbee in
the “Hunger Games” movies and
appeared at the Sundance Film
Festival last month to talk about
his role in the film “God’s Pocket,”
slatedforreleaselaterthisyear.
In many of his performances,
Hoffman’scharactersborderedon
either the manic or depressive,
but he brought a depth and intel-
lectual honesty to each of them
beyondthelinesofthescript.
Inhisstarringroles,hischarac-
ters often took a darker course, in
manycasesbeingtheantihero.
“Hoffman isn’t someone we
wanttobe,”ClaireDedererwroteof
Mr.Hoffman’srolesinSalon.“He’s
someonewewanttobebetterthan.
Here is an actor whose entire oeu-
vre can be described in one sen-
tence:‘AtleastI’mnotthatguy.’ ”
OnBroadway,Mr.Hoffmanwas
nominated three times for a Tony
award, including for his portrayal
of the worn traveling salesman
WillyLomaninanacclaimed2012
revivalofArthurMiller’s“Deathof
a Salesman.” His other Broadway
rolesincludedtheoldestsonofthe
Tyrone family in a 2003 produc-
tion of Eugene O’Neill’s “Long
Day’sJourneyIntoNight.”
Mr. Hoffman, who frequently
dyed his hair and lost or gained
weight for parts, was known for a
sometimes painful dedication to
hiscraft.
“WithCapote,thepartrequired
me to be a little unbalanced, and
thatwasn’treallygoodformymen-
tal health,” he told the New York
Times in 2008. “It was also a tech-
nicallydifficultpart.BecauseIwas
holdingmybodyinawayitdoesn’t
want to be held and because I was
speaking in a voice that my vocal
cords did not want to do, I had to
stayincharacterallday.”
“Otherwise, I would give my
bodythechancetobailonme.”
Philip Seymour Hoffman was
bornJuly23,1967inFairport,N.Y.,
nearRochester.Hisfatherworked
for Xerox and his mother was an
attorney, civil rights activist and,
later, a family-court judge. His
parents divorced while he was in
histeens.
Mr. Hoffman wrestled in high
school until a neck injury forced
him to quit contact sports. He
discovered acting almost by acci-
dent when he followed a young
woman—onehehadacrushon—
toanauditionandwoundupjoin-
ingtheschool’sdramaclub.
At 17, he was selected for New
York State Summer School of the
ArtsinSaratogaSpringswherehe
met director Bennett Miller and
writer Dan Futterman, who later
worked with him on “Capote.” He
received a bachelor’s degree in
drama from New York University.
Survivorsincludehispartnerof
15 years, Mimi O’Donnell; three
children;twosisters;andhisolder
brother,screenwriteranddirector
GordyHoffman.
“We are devastated by the loss
ofourbelovedPhilandappreciate
the outpouring of love and sup-
portwehavereceivedfromevery-
one,” Mr. Hoffman’s family said in
a statement. They asked that the
public keep Mr. Hoffman “in your
thoughtsandprayers.”
Mr. Hoffman fully immersed
himselfinhiscraftandtookpride
in its creative challenge. “In my
mid-20s, an actor told me, ‘Acting
ain’tnopuzzle,’Mr.Hoffmanonce
said. “I thought: ‘Ain’t no puzzle?’
You must be bad! You must be
really bad, because it is a puzzle.
. . .Youstartstabbingout,andyou
make a mistake, and it’s not right,
andthenyoutryagainandagain.
“Thekeyisyouhavetocommit.
And that’s hard because you have
to find what it is you are commit-
tingto.”
terence.mcardle@washpost.com
deneen.brown@washpost.com