How tall was Philip Seymour Hoffman

Philip Seymour Hoffman's Height

5ft 9 (175.3 cm)

American actor, best remembered for roles in films such Boogie Nights, The Big Lebowski, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Twister, Magnolia, 25th Hour, Capote, Mission: Impossible III, Doubt, Before the Devil Knows Your Dead, The Hunger Games:Catching Fire and The Master. He's said he's 5ft 9/9.5, i.e. "I'm 5' 9", 220lbs" in totalfilm, but his posture at times made him appear shorter than that.


Philip, Evan Rachel Wood and George Clooney
Photo by PR Photos
I have a body that I'm like 5'10", I weigh 200 pounds, and, you know, I'm kind of built like a wrestler.
-- NPR.com, 2014

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Add a Comment102 comments

Average Guess (37 Votes)
5ft 8.67in (174.4cm)
Legend 177 cm said on 21/Nov/24
Rob, can you add his co-star from Magnolia and Hard Eight, Philip Baker Hall? I think 5'6" or 5'5.75" would be a good listing for him.
Editor Rob
Thought he already had a page!
Legend 177 cm said on 21/Nov/24
Rob, can you add his co-star from Magnolia and Hard Eight, Philip Baker Hall? I think 5'6" or 5'5.75" would be a good listing for him.
Bob.C.Q said on 27/Sep/24
174.5
Philip Z said on 6/Mar/23
Had roughly an inch on 5ft 8 listed Mark Wahlberg in Boogie Nights (1997), at 30 years old and not as heavy yet: Click Here

I have Wahlberg at 5ft 7.5, so 5ft 8.5 for Hoffmann.
dreus23 said on 21/Dec/22
Looked solid 5'9 in earlier work like The Talented Mr. Ripley and The Big Lebowski, could look 5'10 sometimes. Looked close to 5'9.5 Matt Damon and not *that* much shorter than 6'1.5 Jeff Bridges

Later in his life, close to his death, health issues, posture, and obesity definitely caused him to appear shorter than he was. For example he looked shorter than Joaquin Phoenix in a lot of red carpet pics and whatnot following the premiere of The Master (Click Here) (Click Here) Then again, that isn't the first time Joaquin Phoenix looks over 5'8
Sinclair said on 11/Sep/22
Maybe a tad under 5'9", Rob?
Editor Rob
Maybe
Ian C. said on 14/Jun/22
Okay. I fast-forwarded through my Capote DVD, and the whole issue of the real Capote's height is more or less ignored. In most of his scenes, Hoffman is either sitting down with other characters or alone in the frame. There are probably less than 60 seconds of screen time where he is standing on a level floor with another male character, and the actors in those scenes must have been roughly 6 foot-2. Unless you knew that Truman Capote was very short, you wouldn't have noticed that Hoffman was too tall to play him realistically.
heightPoirot said on 25/Mar/22
Rob, any thoughts on his son cooper's height? look at him with bradley cooper and andrew garfield (Click Here, Click Here)
Looks much taller than his dad!
Editor Rob
he could be 5ft 10-11 but really I need to see more as his posture looks a bit loose at times.
MaskDeMasque said on 17/May/21
One of the best actors ever imo. Every role he had he was great, even in poor films like along came Polly he put his best effort in and such a diverse range.

He might have been a bit under 5'9 tbh. I think 5'8.75 is more likely.
BT said on 7/Apr/21
Doubt he fell much under 5'9 standing tall for a measurement in his prime, though I could see how 5'8.5-8.75 range was arguable at times.
Joz said on 2/Feb/21
He looks 5' 8" to 5' 9". And for people wondering about his weight, 220 pounds was not his highest by far. He weighed 195 in Capote which he said was low for him even though it's still considerably overweight for his height. He had lost 40 pounds for that role meaning he was 235 pounds prior to that. Anything 200 pounds and over is obese for his height which was his usual weight range. We know he gained all of his weight back after Capote and I'm sure he would have weighed even more than 235 through his life, when you consider him in so many of his films.
Vincent Caleb said on 1/Feb/21
@Slim:
Look at the footwear though. The angle and the posture aren’t helping his case for 5’9” either. As for his weight, I’d definitely peg him at less than 220 during his later years. Maybe a small fraction under the 5’9” mark, but no more than a cm.
slim 6'1 said on 17/Jan/21
Comparing him to Clooney, 174cm max
Sinclair said on 2/Sep/20
I thought Hoffman seemed at least one inch shorter than Chris O’Donnell in Scent of a Woman, but Hoffman looked nearly as tall as George Dzundza in an episode of Law & Order. I’d go with 5’8.75” for Hoffman’s peak height. I think it is more likely he was under 5’9” than over it.
NLH said on 20/Jan/20
Hard to believe he's that tall next to 5'3 Samantha Morton: Click Here
Yes he's slightly slouching, but they're wearing the same shoe height (somewhat).
I mean he's got a large head. Yet their eye level doesn't seem to be 6 inches apart.
Miss Sandy Cowell said on 23/Jul/19
Philip Seymour Hoffman would have turned 52 today.

RIP Philip xxx 🕯️

5ft9.
billionaireslayer said on 20/Mar/19
5'8 peak, Rip great actor
WiiU200 said on 9/Apr/18
i think 5'9.5 was a morning height. maybe a bit below 5'9
CDS said on 5/Feb/18
In a recent documentary about him, someone described him as "5'11"..almost 6 feet". I don't see him at that height; I would say this listing is probably accurate.
Grit said on 15/Nov/17
5'8.75-5'9
Slim 181 cm said on 20/Jun/17
5 cm shorter than 179 Georges Clooney.
HonestSlovene said on 31/May/17
For what is worth he looked 5'8"-5'8.5" maximum to me.
Animus said on 1/Nov/16
220 lbs is quite large for a 5ft9 man. That must have been all-time high. Even well-built six-footers like Ernest Hemingway look hefty at 220 lbs.
josh jeffords said on 23/Oct/16
Guy was a great actor did appear large in some roles and could even look about 5 7 in other due to posture.
From photo he is a weak 5 9 unless clooney is wearing lifts beyond those clunky boots..
Id say peak 5 9 is believable guy had lots of health problems and bad posture made him appear shorter.
RIP
Rampage(-_-_-)Clover said on 20/Jul/16
Rob, how likely was 5ft9½?


BTW, could you please include Charlie Wilson's War, Twister and Along Came Polly?
Editor Rob
I'm not as convinced he was quite that tall, although a solid 5ft 9 range at times I feel he could pull off if standing tall.
Sam said on 28/Mar/16
I always pictured him around 5'8, but I guess it didn't help that he had loose posture.
Joannha Kinder said on 11/Mar/16
paciugo says on 22/Dec/12
funny to think he played the 6'1 Lester Bangs in Almost Famous.

-------
Hilarious........not!
Sam said on 15/Oct/15
I think he was honest, I'm sure he measured both 5'9" and 5'9.5" at different points, while many actors his height claim 5'10".
an anonymous peach said on 7/Jun/15
If George Clooney is 180cm, I can believe Philip's 5ft 9.5 claim.
Sam said on 23/Dec/14
Rob can you update his credits "American actor best remember for roles in such as Boogie Nights, The Big Lebowski, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Magnolia, 25th Hour, Capote, Mission: Impossible III, Doubt, Before the Devil Knows Your Dead and The Master".
Arch Stanton said on 15/Dec/14
He should be very proud of his last film A Most Wanted Man, a top notch espionage thriller, it would be worth mentioning at the top here but there's a lot of really well known ones. Such a terrific actor, I miss him.
Sam said on 9/Apr/14
Actually, I believe Hoffman did look similar height range to Tom Hardy and Robert De Niro. What a loss, one of the best actors of our day.
leonari said on 30/Mar/14
This guy was close to 5'9" and just shows that built and proportions can play a big role.. He had short legs, very short arms and a massive torso and was often overweight.. Standing by himself he looks way below 5'9" but he actually was an average height guyI.Tremendous actor.
Arch Stanton said on 10/Mar/14
I've seen like 34 of Hoffman's films and I've concluded he was actually 5'9". He could look shorter at times because of posture and his build,but if anything he edged out Sandler in Punch Drunk Love.
Powerhouse said on 23/Feb/14
I dont think Hoffman was 5'9... you think he'd be the same height as guys like Tom Hardy, Charlie Sheen, Johnny Depp, Henry Rollins, or a peak Robert De Niro? I think a strong 5'7- weak 5'8 is more likely, regardless great actor.
jtm said on 14/Feb/14
he did look shorter than 5'7(not 5'8) wahlberg but wahlber was probably higher ground. i think hoffman was 5'8 range but he looked at least 5'9 with willem dafoe and i think he was the same height as adam sandler so maybe he really was 5'9.
Arch Stanton said on 12/Feb/14
He could look 5'8 tops a lot. He looked a bit shorter than Wahlberg in Boogie Nights and Tom Cruise in Magnolia, and looked a near 4 inches shorter than Bill Paxton in Twister and as B says he looked about the same height as Joaquin in The Master. 5 ft 8 seems to be nearer seeing how he fares with others, although as Lorne says it's probably posture. He definitely wasn't even close to his listed 5'10 anyway!
Arch Stanton said on 12/Feb/14
I could look 5'8 tops a lot. He looked a bit shorter than Wahlberg in Boogie Nights and Tom Cruise in Magnolia, and looked a near 4 inches shorter than Bill Paxton in Twister and as B says he looked about the same height as Joaquin in The Master. 5 ft 8 seems to be nearer seeing how he fares with others, although as Lorne says it's probably posture. He definitely wasn't even close to his listed 5'10 anyway!
Lorne said on 4/Feb/14
I cannot believe he's gone... I just found out. Terrible, really a bad way to start the year.
Arch Stanton said on 3/Feb/14
Noooooo...... What a loss. RIP to one of the greatest actors of recent times.
Arthur said on 2/Feb/14
I'm so sad he passed away. He was a really talented actor.
NJP said on 2/Feb/14
Same height as Joaquin Phoenix. RIP, what a loss.
Balrog said on 2/Feb/14
Rip, great actor
Lorne??? said on 16/Oct/13
Dude's posture is ridiculous. I can certainly believe 5ft9, he isn't short, but he walks about like a 5'8 guy, his posture is worse than mine!
paciugo said on 22/Dec/12
funny to think he played the 6'1 Lester Bangs in Almost Famous.
Hullywood 1.75.5m said on 7/Dec/12
I meant "cms" not inches on 4th December.
Hullywood 1.75.5m said on 4/Dec/12
Watched Magnolia, Tom Cruise looked 2-3 taller then Hoffman. But who knows how tall Cruise is.
B said on 6/Oct/12
He was equal to Joaquin Phoenix throughout The Master. However, he has a posture disadvantage due to being heavier while Joaquin is slimmer (in the film, Joaquin looked maybe 160 pounds at the most), and Joaquin also had camera angle advantage (as in the film, he is made to be a towering and dominant figure.)

Probably 5'8 flat, maybe slightly over.
Clay said on 4/Oct/12
5'8.5''. Love this guy, one of my favouroite actors.
Silent d said on 27/Sep/12
No way he was a little shorter than chris odonnell in scent of a woman. In along came polly he looked 5 foot 8 at most. 173cm. Adam sandler was slightly taller than him in punch drunk love.
MBH said on 11/Sep/12
5'9? not at all
Wishmaster said on 7/Sep/12
He is lower than Joaquin Phoenix, his height is less than 1.73 m
jtm said on 19/Aug/12
i just watched twister again and he was 3 or 4 inches shorter than bill paxton(terrible actor). not sure what footwear they were both wearing though.
Tedh said on 26/Nov/11
I'd say 5'8 to 5'9 is right. Bad posture. Great actor.
L said on 10/Sep/11
hoffman is 5'9 12
jtm said on 2/Sep/11
sorry but giamatti at 5'5 is a joke.
Mr. R said on 1/Sep/11
As I have said, Clooney is btwn 5-9 and 5-10, and Giamatti is about 5-5. That makes Hoffman a weak 5-8.
kevin said on 31/Aug/11
wow this pic is very telling. clooney looks hofmans height and giamatti is just short from that angle.

Click Here

id say hofman 176cm
clooney 177-178cm max
giamatti 172-173cm

hofman also looked the same as adam sandler in punch drunk love who i believe is 176-177cm.
Legend said on 18/Aug/11
He's 5'8
Romero said on 29/Jun/09
In Magnolia "the hoff" looks a good 3 or 4 inches taller than tom cruise but tom cruise does wear height adjustments in some of his movies! So that is about right!
sven said on 3/Jun/09
he looks 5-9. superb actor.
runt said on 12/Jan/09
I also just saw "Before the Devil Knows....". Albert Finney is listed at 5'9" and does appear a bit taller than Hoffman. Ethan Hawk is listed at only an inch taller but that isn't the case.
thekiddd said on 25/Dec/08
Definitely on the shorter side of average. probably almost 5'9" to me.
trueheight said on 24/Dec/08
I just saw "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead". He looked 2in shorter than Ethan Hawke and an inch shorter than an aging Albert Finney. 5'9 it is.
Anonymous said on 20/Dec/08
Just watched MI3
seems right.
only appeared and inch and a half to 2 inches taller than Tom Cruise who i read is 5'7
Alucard said on 15/Dec/08
This guy looks short...but maybe it's because of his huge head. He got a head like a pumpkin.
teddy89 said on 21/Nov/08
in before the devil knows you're dead looks taller than ethan hawke(5'10)
bam said on 17/Nov/08
barry pepper(5'10) had like 2.5 inches on him. Maybe it was an illusion?
Clay said on 22/Aug/08
Hoffman looked 5'8/5'8.5 next to Stiller in Along came polly.
dits said on 2/Aug/08
i think he's more likely to be 5'8..but it could be because of his somewhat round figure lol.
Bosco said on 14/Mar/08
5'8 more likely...stiller its 5'6
dmeyer said on 27/Feb/08
175 cm is a taugh height to peg a friend of mine dosnt know his height i guess him at weak 5 ft 9 since he looks more than 2 in smaller than me ,he could be 5 ft 8 ,but then he apears 2.5 in taller than my 5'6.5 to 5'6.75 ohter friend ,so next to me he seems 5'8ish and near my friend 5'9ish he is also about 4 in taller than my 5'5.25 boss
dmeyer said on 7/Sep/07
he did have 2.5 in on stiller so close to 5'9
Teo said on 30/Jul/07
Hm, In the movie "Boogie nights" he appears shorter than 173 cm Mark Wahlberg.
D. Ray Morton said on 8/Feb/07
PSH? In a pastry shop? Imagine!
DC said on 6/Feb/07
I used to see him often in my neighborhood, passed him often on the street, and stood next to him in a pastry shop once, and 5ft. 9/9.5 sounds right on. I'm 5-10.
sidewinder said on 23/Jan/07
Glenn - did you ask him to autograph a picture of him in drag from that movie with De Niro? I'd be ashamed of that too!
jason said on 12/Jan/07
i also saw him in boogie nights and he does lock shorter then 5-8 (173 cm) mark wahlberg. But im unsure of mark´s footwear, in some scenes he might wear old 70`s shues with a big heel, like 2 inch or so.But you can`t see philip`s footwear either so he might wear similar shues to. 174 cm seams realistic for this guy not more.
jason said on 8/Jan/07
i saw him and chriss odonnel in "scent of a women", chriss odonnel locked clearly taller about an inch taller if not more, i`d say he is like 173-174 cm. (chris odonnel is listed 175 cm on this site) i just dont se him as 5-9 he is always locking short to me, maby the illusion of him´not being skinny makes him lock shorter,and that he maby has bad poster. he`s peak might have been like 174-175cm but this days he locks shorter, in "could mountain" he was much shorter then jude law who is listed here at (5-11,180 cm)not just 5 cm, more like 7-8 cm.
anthony said on 13/Dec/06
Hi I was just on his new movie's set and i we spoke together and he is exactly like me or 1or 2cm more iam 174 175 i posted a picture with james belushi.I standed next to him and julia roberts they are very nice.
bye
trueheight said on 14/Jul/06
not to mention, same height as Sandler in Punch-Drunk Love; so at least 5'9
D. Ray Morton said on 29/Jun/06
As regards "Scent Of A Woman"...watch the movie again. He and O'Donnell are pretty much the same height. Or they would be if PSH didn't have the posture of Quasimodo.

As regards "Along Came Polly"...he is clearly taller than Stiller by a couple inches.

Anyway, he was taller than me in person and I seriously doubt that he's the kind of cat who gives enough of a s*** to wear lifts in his sneakers.
ForensicNYC said on 15/May/06
Movie: ALONG CAME POLLY with Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston
Scene: Pre Wedding Celebration, Banquet Hall. Phillip Seymour Hoffman slips on the floor and picks himself up to talk to Ben Stiller.
Props: Both Phillip and Ben Stiller are wearing tuxedoes. Both are wearing shinny formal dress shoes, no lifts or high heels...
Frame: Close up of Phillip and Ben talking, shows Phillip with NOT MORE THAN 1" advantage over Ben Stiller.
What's it all about? Well, I guess Hoffman is 1" taller than Stiller in that particular movie...
dmeyer said on 8/May/06
he does look 2.5" taller than stiller 176 to 77 is posible
Azarea said on 7/May/06
Now i just Finished watching Patch Adams, and he looks much taller than robin williams....what the hell is goin on?
Azarea said on 21/Apr/06
I'm confused in this one seriously, I mean he looked fairly shorter that chris o'donnel in Scent of a woman, yet fairly taller than Robin williams in patch adams and taller than Ben stiller, hopefully in the new Mission Impossible flick, we can find out How far apart he and tom cruise are,I'll tell you one thing, he cant be very tall because I think Tom Cruise handpicked him with their height difference in mind to try to look average height.
trueheight said on 6/Apr/06
i've actually seen him around the OC area back in January. Didin't go up to him but he definitly looks like a big guy from a distance. I'd say 5'10 tops
Glenn said on 3/Apr/06
Just said no to photo op request in a very mean way,when the rest of night at this basketball game,everyone else was polite and obliging.
Lt. Col. KFC said on 2/Apr/06
Have a good look at his opening scenes with Chris O' Donnel in SCENT OF A WOMAN...Chris is 5'9" and Chris is definitely taller than him in any shot...he was a nobody back then...
D. Ray Morton said on 2/Apr/06
"no way his 5-9.. maybe more like 5-7 and a half.. he looks way shorter than Alec Baldwin who is definatly 5-11."

He was *really* slouching in that scene, if you remember.

Anyway, no - nowhere near 5'7".

Glenn - not surprising. He's always had a reputation as a tempermental guy, even to his associates. How was he rude to you guys, btw?
Glenn said on 2/Apr/06
Very rude to me and friends.
nick21 said on 1/Apr/06
no way his 5-9.. maybe more like 5-7 and a half.. he looks way shorter than Alec Baldwin who is definatly 5-11.
D. Ray Morton said on 7/Mar/06
Glenn, how was his posture when you met him? Seemed like a 9-er to me, is why I'm asking.

"Success gone to his head?"

Oh god...say it ain't so!
Glenn said on 7/Mar/06
Saw Him 2 Weeks Ago.he Looked 5-8.and A Big Jerk.

Editor Rob
did he refuse you an auto/pic? Success gone to his head?
Stiffelio said on 6/Mar/06
I've been googling some pictures from Getty's and I got really confused about this guy's height. He's a BIG man. At the Oscars he looks taller than Clooney and maybe as tall as Ledger. further down at the Baftas he's the same height as Gylenhaal. He didn't seem to be wearing lifts. So how tall is he really? I'd upgrade him to 5ft 10".
chad said on 6/Mar/06
NO NO NO NO NO,rob go and rent the alltime classic "scent of a woman"no way hes .5 inchs apart from chris o'donnell. seeing him do a scene with chris o'donnel has made me reconsider both their height, in odonnels favour, odonnell 176.somethin, and hoffman 174
CelebHeights Editor said on 17/Feb/06
Bennett Miller, Capote director described him: "He really isn't that tall, only about five-foot-nine. But we did have our tricks in making him appear smaller"
D. Ray Morton said on 4/Feb/06
5'9" is definitely accurate. I've seen him a number of times in person. Hefty guy with a hefty head (literally, not necessarily figuratively).

He seems shorter in some films due partially to posture and his weighing somewhere in the neighborhood of a 1000 lbs. (or 1010 onscreen), but he's actually at quite a normal height. It's funny (or dismaying - haven't decided which) how the press always describes him as "short." He didn't strike me that way at all.

Anonymous said on 3/Jan/06
he does look fairly taller than ben stiller
Anonymous said on 19/Dec/05
No way is he 5'10"...he is more like 5'7"...I know I was standing right next to him at a function...I am 5'10" and he was at least a couple of inches shorter than I am
sam said on 24/Oct/05
looks about two inches taller Ben Stiller, maybe there's a little less difference, but not much
Drew said on 5/Jul/05
Looked about an inch taller than Tom Cruise (who seemed to be wearing 2 inch heels) in Magnolia. Perhaps a full 5'9" would be accurate.

Heights are barefeet estimates, derived from quotations, official websites, agency resumes, in person encounters with actors at conventions and pictures/films.

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