Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead of an apparent drug overdose late Sunday morning in his New York City apartment, authorities said.
Law-enforcement officials said a hypodermic needle and two glassine envelopes containing what is believed to be heroin were found in the apartment on Bethune Street in the West Village neighborhood of Manhattan.
The 46-year-old actor was found unconscious in the bathroom of his fourth floor apartment in the Pickwick House around 11:15 a.m. by screenwriter David Katz, who called 911, a law-enforcement official said.
He was pronounced dead at the scene. “He had a needle sticking out of his arm,” the official said.
Mr. Hoffman was last seen around 8 p.m. Saturday, the official said. He was supposed to pick up his children Sunday morning and, when he didn’t, Mr. Katz and a friend went to check on him, the official said
The New York Police Department is investigating, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is working to determine the exact cause of death.
The accomplished actor and director won the Academy Award for best actor for his role as famed author Truman Capote in the 2005 film “Capote.” He also had a strong following in New York’s theater scene, starring in plays like 2012’s “Death of a Salesman” and directing others, like 1999’s “In Arabia, We’d All Be Kings.” He was nominated for a Tony Award three times.
Mr. Hoffman’s breakout role, however, was in 1997’s “Boogie Nights.” He also received accolades for his roles in high-profile films such as 1998’s “The Big Lebowski” and 1999’s “Magnolia.”
Mr. Hoffman was most recently seen in “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” the second installment in the blockbuster “Hunger Games” series from Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. He was set to star in two more installments in the franchise that are scheduled for release. “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1” is set to come out in November, with “Part 2” scheduled for November 2015.
The actor spoke publicly about his struggle with substance abuse as a young adult. “It was everything I could get my hands on,” Mr. Hoffman said in a 2006 interview with CBS’s “60 Minutes.” “I liked it all.”
Mr. Hoffman said in the interview that he first entered rehab for drug and alcohol addiction at the age of 22.
Outside of the six-story building in the West Village, fan Adam Zenko, 40, placed white roses outside the front door. The paralegal, who lives nearby, said his favorite film of Mr. Hoffman’s was “Synecdoche, New York.”
“It’s horrible, just horrible,” he said. “I think he’s the greatest actor of his generation.”
—Mara Gay, Alison Fox and Erich Schwartzel contributed to this article.
Leave a comment. 0 comment so far.