A true chameleon of the stage and screen, Philip Seymour Hoffman's performances bristled with poetic resonance. His lack of vanity and gift for empathy allowed him to go to places most actors wouldn't dare, and his scene-stealing turns in everything from low-budget indie films to mainstream Hollywood blockbusters made his name. Having struggled with drug abuse in his early twenties, Hoffman remained sober for more than two decades, establishing himself first as an indispensable character actor -- the closeted porn-set worker in Boogie Nights, the grizzled rock critic in Almost Famous -- and ultimately as an Oscar-winning leading man who fiercely sought out the humanity in every role he played. His acclaimed performances as tortured writer Truman Capote in Capote, and insidious cult leader Lancaster Dodd in The Master, rank among modern cinema's finest. But giving as much to his craft as he did came at a price. Hoffman died, alone with a needle in his arm, on February 2, 2014. He was 46 years old. This richly illustrated retrospective celebrates Philip Seymour Hoffman's tragically curtailed life and fearless body of work, paying tribute to a man who knew the cost of greatness.
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