Oscar winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead early Sunday morning of an apparent drug overdose. A personal assistant found Hoffman’s body in a bathroom with a hypodermic needle still in his arm.
Hoffman was 46 year old and had publically admitted in 2006 of having a substance abuse problem. Hoffman had battled his addictions from the time he graduated from NYU’s drama school. He had several stints in rehab and seemingly had beaten his demons after a brief time in rehab last year again.
Hoffman had won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Capote. He has also received three Best Supporting nominations from the Academy as well. With his work in theatre, Hoffman also received three Tony award nominations throughout his career.
Hoffman began acting in 1991 and has appeared in some of the biggest movies throughout the years. Of note, Twister, Boogie Nights, The Big Lebowski, Patch Adams, Magnolia, Moneyball, The Ides of March, and many more. Hoffman even tempted his hand at directing, working on the movies Jack Goes Boating.
Hoffman was born in Fairport, New York. His mother was a family court judge, lawyer and civil rights activist while his father was a former Xerox executive. He has 2 sisters and a brother. Hoffman’s brother Gordy is also a talent in Hollywood as he scripted the 2002 film Love Liza, which starred Phillip. Hoffman entered the Circle in the Square Theatre’s summer program to continue his acting training when he finished high school. He later went to New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Hoffman also started his own theatre group in New York, which was quite successful.
Hoffman struggled with drug, alcohol and substance abuse for years and in an interview with TMZ, he claimed that he loved it all, it didn’t matter what it was, he enjoyed the high from it.
Currently, Hoffman was working on several different projects including a television series. Most notably however, Hoffman was in production of the newest Hunger Games films. Mockingjay will be released in two parts, and Hoffman was slated to be a character in both.
We here at Love This City send our condolences to the family of this lost treasure. Hoffman is survived by his longtime partner and their 3 children.
Michael Chantler
Follow Mike on Twitter @mchantler
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