Philip Seymour Hoffman – the passing of a cinema legend

THE death of Academy Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman earlier today has shocked the world – including the LGBTI community, thanks to his portrayal of gay characters on the big screen.

Found dead in his Manhattan apartment, the cause is yet to be confirmed but reports have indicated that a heroin overdose may have been the cause.

Seymour Hoffman gained popularity for playing a number of gay characters on the big screen, including his 2006 Oscar-winning role of Truman Capote in the biopic 2005 film Capote.

He also played Scotty, the gay member of a porn crew in the 1997 cult classic Boogie Nights and as a drag queen in the 1999 comedy Flawless in which he helped rehabilitate Robert De Niro’s character after he suffered a stroke.

The actor got his first big break in 1992 playing a bratty, spoilt private schoolboy in Scent of a Woman opposite Al Pacino and Chris O’Donnell.

In recent years, Hoffman also forged a relationship with Australia, acting and directing a few of plays for the Sydney Theatre Company in 2010 following an invitation from its artistic directors, Andrew Upton and Cate Blanchett.

Actors and celebrities have already taken to Facebook and Twitter to laud Hoffman as one of the finest actors of his generation.

Seymour Hoffman is survived by his long term partner Mini O’Donnell and three children.

What was your Philip Seymour Hoffman favourite movie?