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"Philip Seymour Hoffman, the Oscar-winning star with a stage and screen career stretching back more than 20 years, has died at the age of 46.  Hoffman worked with some of Hollywood&amp;#039;s finest filmmakers across an eclectic mixture of films - dramas, comedies and summer extravaganzas. A notable favourite of Paul Thomas Anderson, he also brought class to high-end blockbusters such as Mission: Impossible III and the recent Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Digital Spy takes a look at Hoffman&amp;#039;s most memorable film performances (although in truth there are many, many more) below...  Boogie Nights (1997) Hoffman made a fleeting appearance in Paul Thomas Anderson&amp;#039;s directorial debut Hard Eight in 1996, but the pair really cemented their working relationship in the following year&amp;#039;s porn epic. A sound man with his eye on Mark Wahlberg&amp;#039;s porn star Dirk Diggler, he shone in a supporting cast that included the likes of William H Macy, John C Reilly and Julianne Moore.      Happiness (1998) Bringing remarkable poignancy to a genuinely horrible character, Hoffman starred in Todd Solondz&amp;#039;s characteristically black-hearted comedy as Allen, a sinister loner who gets his kicks by making anonymous obscene phone calls. Repulsive though Allen was, Hoffman conveyed a genuine longing for connection beneath the dysfunction.   The Talented Mr Ripley (1999) As is the case with most great character actors, Hoffman shone no less brightly when his screen time was limited. In Anthony Minghella&amp;#039;s sinewy Italian thriller he stole a scene or two as the icily unimpressed, increasingly-suspicious friend of Jude Law&amp;#039;s ill-fated playboy Dickie Greenleaf, who fatefully usurps Matt Damon&amp;#039;s obsessed Ripley.       Magnolia (1999) Hoffman&amp;#039;s fruitful career-long relationship with Paul Thomas Anderson continued in this sprawling melodrama of interwoven dysfunctional lives in Los Angeles. Playing nurse to the dying Earl Partridge, Hoffman&amp;#039;s Phil Parma combines tenderness with an edge of the desperation that binds every one of the film&amp;#039;s characters together, and makes possible the eventual humanisation of Tom Cruise&amp;#039;s monstrous Frank Mackie.       Capote (2005) Hoffman, in a completely transformative performance, went from character actor to leading man in this biopic of author Truman Capote. An account of Capote&amp;#039;s time writing In Cold Blood, this Bennett Miller-directed drama earned Hoffman a Best Actor Oscar against strong competition that included Heath Ledger and Joaquin Phoenix. He would later reunite with Miller in the splendid baseball film Moneyball.      Synecdoche, New York (2008) A film of high ambition from Charlie Kaufman, this film cast Hoffman as a theatre director whose vision for a play becomes so grand it eventually takes over an entire Manhattan warehouse. Hoffman proved to be the perfect on-screen alter-ego for writer/director Kaufman, delivering a neurotic, tightly-wound performance that struck a deep emotional chord.      Doubt (2008) As a charismatic priest whose relationship with an altar boy comes into question, this 2008 drama earned Hoffman the third of his four Academy Award nominations. Hoffman delivered a layered, complex turn as the man who sewed the seeds of &amp;quot;doubt&amp;quot; suggested in the title. Alongside the likes of Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and Viola Davis, Hoffman&amp;#039;s presence made John Patrick Shanley&amp;#039;s film a masterclass in screen acting.      The Master (2012) His final film with Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master saw Hoffman play a cult leader who puts Joaquin Phoenix&amp;#039;s volatile Navy veteran Freddie Quell under his spell. Much of the talk surrounding this film revolved around Lancaster Dodd&amp;#039;s similarities with Scientology founder L Ron Hubbard, but so dominant a force was Hoffman in the film that any thought of this vanished the moment he first appeared.      What are your favourite Philip Seymour Hoffman performances? Leave your comments below. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/feature/a548373/philip-seymour-hoffman-dies-oscar-winning-stars-best-movie-roles/>