Philip Seymour Hoffman RIP

It is with devastation and true sadness that we have been brought the news today that actor Philip Seymour Hoffman has died in his New York apartment. He was 46 years old.

Philip was born in 1967 in New York City, he attended New York university's Tisch School of the Arts and graduated with a B.F.A degree in Drama in 1989.

My strongest memories of Hoffman are of seeing him in two of my favourite films; Twister (1996) and Patch Adams (1998) neither of which are true classics no, but he stands out in both. It is impossible not to notice when he is on the screen, even when playing questionable characters you are still drawn to him due to his undeniable energy and raw talent.

Hoffman was really noticed when he was cast in Boogie Nights (1997) and his career has only rose to bigger and better things since then. With roles in such memorable films as The Big Lebowski (1998), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr Ripley (1999), State and Main (2000), Almost Famous (2000) and Cold Mountain (2003). 

In 2006 Hoffman beat the likes of Heath Ledger for Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Joaquin Phoenix for Walk the Line (2005) to the Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for his role as Truman Capote in the film Capote (2005). He followed this great achievement with performances in films such as Charlie Wilson's War (2007), Synecdoche New York (2008), and a truly amazing performance opposite Meryl Streep in Doubt (2008).

Today the world was shocked by the death of this great man. We have lost a shining star, a family have lost a loved one, and my heart goes out to them today. The thing that we will take away from today most of all is that on February 2nd 2014 the film industry lost one of its undeniably talented actors. He was a great man and an immense talent and we have been cheated of his contribution to the Arts as they will be sorely missed.

RIP Philip Seymour Hoffman