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Philip Seymour Hoffman: A Life in Pictures

3 January 2012
BAFTA Los Angeles Screening of The Savages. November 2007BAFTA Los Angeles/Matthew Wiseman

The BAFTA-winning actor and star of Capote, The Talented Mr Ripley and The Ides Of March talk about his life in films.

Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman has been widely acclaimed for his enigmatic performances in films such as PT Anderson's Boogie Nights and Magnolia, Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut Synecdoche NY, and George Clooney's 2011 film The Ides Of March. In 2006 his performance as the eponymous character in Capote earned him a BAFTA Film Award win for Best Actor in a Leading Role. He has also received nominations for performances in Charlie Wilson's War and Doubt, and his directing debut Jack Goes Boating was released in 2011.

Everybody's an enigma. You can never get to know anybody. It's crazy, isn't it?

Hoffman talks to Francine Stock about his various iconic performances. He reveals his early 'religious experience' as a teenager witnessing a theatre play, what it's like working with Meryl Streep, and how acting is about going 'deep, deep inside' rather than escaping.