Trivia

When asked who his acting idols were, he named Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Newman, Meryl Streep and Christopher Walken.

Upon accepting his Oscar for Capote (2005), Hoffman asked everyone to congratulate his mother, because "She brought up four kids alone, and she deserves a congratulations for that.".

He won 23 awards for his performance in Capote (2005), including the coveted Oscar.

Beat Heath Ledger for an Academy Award for Best Actor in 2005 for his title role in Capote (2005), and then lost to the late actor for the Best Supporting Actor in 2008 to Ledger's performance in The Dark Knight (2008).

Did not drink alcohol. He became sober when he was 22 years old and said that he quit because, "I was 22 and I was panicked for my life.".

Was one of 14 actors to have won the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Critics' Choice Award, Golden Globe Award and SAG Award for the same performance. The others in chronological order are Geoffrey Rush for Shine (1996), Jamie Foxx for Ray (2004), Forest Whitaker The Last King of Scotland (2006), Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men (2007), Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood (2007), Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight (2008), Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds (2009), Colin Firth for The King's Speech (2010), Christopher Plummer for Beginners (2010), Daniel Day-Lewis again for Lincoln (2012), J.K. Simmons for Whiplash (2014), Leonardo DiCaprio for The Revenant (2015), Sam Rockwell for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), and Gary Oldman for Darkest Hour (2017).

In May 2013, Hoffman announced that he checked into substance abuse treatment center because he had started snorting heroin.

With the exception of There Will Be Blood (2007), he appeared in all of Paul Thomas Anderson's films.

His mother, Marilyn Hoffman Connor, is a judge in Rochester, New York.

His performance as Truman Capote in Capote (2005) is ranked #35 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).

Had the flu the entire time he appeared in Almost Famous (2000).

Was a huge fan of the crime drama series Breaking Bad (2008).

After winning his Oscar for Capote (2005), he had been working with a filmmaker from his former high school in Fairport, New York, helping him with his project.

Became a father for the 1st time at age 35 when his girlfriend Mimi O'Donnell gave birth to their son Cooper Alexander Hoffman in March 2003.

Became a father for the 3rd time at age 41 when his girlfriend Mimi O'Donnell gave birth to their daughter Willa Hoffman on October 17, 2008.

GoodFellas (1990) was one of his favorite films.

He initially began acting because he had a crush on a girl in his high school drama club.

Taught an advanced "Directing the Actor" class for one semester at Columbia University School of the Arts Graduate Film Division during 2003.

His funeral was held in the Church of St Ignatius Loyola in New York.

His three Oscar nominations in the Best Supporting Actor category came from films in which he appeared along Amy Adams: Charlie Wilson's War (2007), Doubt (2008) and The Master (2012). Adams was nominated for the two latter films.

Split from longtime companion Mimi O'Donnell in 2013.

Received his Bachelor's degree in Drama from New York University, Tisch School of the Arts (1989).

Met his girlfriend Mimi (a costumer designer) in 1999 while they were working on the play "In Arabia We'd All Be Kings".

Since earning his first nomination in 2005, the longest he had gone without an Oscar nomination was 4 years, between Doubt (2008) and The Master (2012).

Became a father for the 2nd time at age 39 when his girlfriend Mimi O'Donnell gave birth to their daughter Tallulah Hoffman in November 2006.

Attended McQuaid Jesuit High School where Father William O'Malley S.S.J. directed the school's musical and drama productions, O'Mally played the part of Father Dyer in the movie "The Exorcist".

Grew up in upstate New York, outside of Rochester, in the village of Fairport.

Was found dead on the bathroom floor, dressed in a T-shirt and shorts with a hypodermic needle still stuck in his arm and 70 baggies of heroin inside his Greenwich Village apartment.

Along with Vanessa Redgrave (for Julia (1977)), Kate Winslet (for Iris (2000)), Mare Winningham (for Georgia (1995)), Terence Stamp (for Billy Budd (1962)), Roland Young (for Topper (1937)) and Claude Rains (for Mr. Skeffington (1944)), he is one of the few performers to be nominated for a Supporting Oscar for playing the title role in a movie (for The Master (2012)). As of 2013, Redgrave is the only one to win.

Had appeared in five films with Julianne Moore: Boogie Nights (1997) The Big Lebowski (1998) Magnolia (1999) The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014). The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015) They each then went on to appear in separate film in the Hannibal Lecter series. Moore played Clarice Starling in Hannibal (2001), and Hoffman played Freddie Lounds in Red Dragon (2002).

Was a huge fan of the New York Jets.

Had appeared in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) and Red Dragon (2002). Both are remakes of earlier films (Plein Soleil (1960) and Manhunter (1986)), and both feature him as a character named Freddie who is killed by the villain/title character.

Had Dutch, English, German, Irish, and remote Polish, ancestry. His paternal great-grandfather, Orville Hoffman, was the son of German immigrants, Johann Adam Hoffman and Barbara Kleinhans.

He has appeared in three films that have been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Scent of a Woman (1992), Capote (2005) and Moneyball (2011).

Had twice been nominated for Broadway's Tony Award: as Best Actor (Play) in 2000 for a revival of Sam Shepard's "True West"; and as Best Actor (Featured Role - Play) in 2003 for a revival of Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey into Night".

Auditioned for the role of Cubby Barnes in Ransom (1996), which went to Donnie Wahlberg.

Was one of 8 actors who have received an Oscar nomination for their performance as a priest. The others, in chronological order, are: Spencer Tracy for San Francisco (1936) and Boys Town (1938); Charles Bickford for The Song of Bernadette (1943); Bing Crosby for Going My Way (1944) and The Bells of St. Mary's (1945); Barry Fitzgerald for Going My Way (1944); Gregory Peck for The Keys of the Kingdom (1944); Karl Malden for On the Waterfront (1954); and Jason Miller for The Exorcist (1973). Tracy, Crosby and Fitzgerald all won Oscars for their performances.

As of 2008, he and Dustin Hoffman are the only two winners of a Best Actor in a Leading Role Oscar to share a last name. Philip won for Capote (2005) and Dustin won for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and Rain Man (1988).

Hoffman was found dead, reportedly from a drug overdose, in his Manhattan apartment on February 2, 2014, one day after the death from pneumonia of another Best Actor Oscar winner, 83-year-old Maximilian Schell (for Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)).

At New York University, he was a founding member of the notoriously short-lived and volatile theater company the Bullstoi Ensemble with actor Steven Schub and director Bennett Miller.

His parents divorced when he was 9.

The Violence of Summer (1991), in which he appeared, also featured another actor named Philip Hoffman.

Besides playing the role of Truman Capote, he and Toby Jones both had in common of the distinction of appearing on films adapted from John Le Carre's novels. Jones was in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) while Hoffman was in A Most Wanted Man (2014). They co-starred in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013). Another interesting fact is that both actors were part of film franchises whose final films were split in two parts: Jones in the Harry Potter franchise and Hoffman in The Hunger Games franchise.

In 2002, he appeared in 25th Hour (2002), opposite Edward Norton and Brian Cox; and in Punch-Drunk Love (2002), opposite Emily Watson. That same year, he appeared with both Norton and Watson in Red Dragon (2002), which was a remake of Manhunter (1986), in which Cox had appeared.

While working as a lifeguard, he once met musician Miles Davis. Davis appeared in an episode of the television series Crime Story (1986), and shared a scene with Stephen Lang. Lang appeared in Manhunter (1986) as Freddy Lounds, the character Hoffman played in Red Dragon (2002).

College roommates at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts with actor 'Steven Schub' (lead singer of ska band The Fenwicks) and Jimmie Corrieri (guitarist of The Fenwicks).

He was active in sports as a child, particularly wrestling.

Parents were Gordon S. Hoffman and Marilyn Hoffman Connor.

Had a younger sister named Emily Hoffman and an older sister named Jill Hoffman.

Younger brother of Gordy Hoffman.