An actor of remarkable insight and versatility, Philip Seymour Hoffman was a stocky bear of a man with determinedly unruly hair who created on screen and stage a gallery of indelible performances. His 23-year career marked him as one of the finest actors of his generation, and he won countless awards, including both an Academy Award and Bafta as best actor for his title role in Capote (2005), plus three more Oscar nominations and three Tony nominations for his work on stage. The New York Times described him this week-end as "Perhaps the most ambitious and widely admired American actor of his generation."
