Hoffman snagged the Oscar, his first, in 2005 after playing writer Truman Capote in "Capote." The film focuses on the author writing his book "In Cold Blood." "Philip Seymour Hoffman does much more than mimic (perfectly) the dainty whine and lizardly savoir faire of the man... His Truman Capote is a fully fleshed-out portrait that lays bare the creepiest recesses of the writer's psyche," Rainer wrote about the film. "I don't think I've ever seen another performance based on a famous artist that was as psychologically acute or troubling."

Attila Dory/Sony Pictures Classics/AP