Philip Seymour Hoffman is a person.
Philip Seymour Hoffman ( July 23 , 1967 -- February 2 , 2014 ) was an American actor , director , and producer of film and theater . Drawn to theater as a teenager , Hoffman studied acting at New York University 's Tisch School of the Arts . He began his screen career in a 1991 episode of Law & Order and started to appear in films in 1992 . He began to occasionally play leading roles , and for his portrayal of the author Truman Capote in Capote ( 2005 ) , won multiple accolades including the Academy Award for Best Actor . Hoffman struggled with drug addiction as a young adult , and relapsed in 2013 after many years of sobriety .