 Drawn to theater as a teenager , Hoffman studied acting at New York University 's Tisch School of the Arts . He began his screen career in a 1991 episode of Law & Order and started to appear in films in 1992 . He gained recognition for his supporting work throughout the decade , notably in Boogie Nights ( 1997 ) , Happiness ( 1998 ) , The Big Lebowski ( 1998 ) , Magnolia ( 1999 ) , and The Talented Mr. Ripley ( 1999 ) . He began to occasionally play leading roles , and for his portrayal of the author Truman Capote in Capote ( 2005 ) , won multiple accolades including the Academy Award for Best Actor . Hoffman 's profile continued to grow , and he received three more Oscar nominations for his supporting work as a brutally frank CIA officer in Charlie Wilson 's War ( 2007 ) , a priest accused of pedophilia in Doubt ( 2008 ) , and the charismatic leader of a Scientology @-@ type movement in The Master ( 2012 ) . 
