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By Tribune wire reports
Philip Seymour Hoffman in his Oscar-winning role as Truman Capote in Sony Pictures Classics
3:36 p.m. CST, February 2, 2014
NEW YORK—
Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman[/url], who won an Academy Award for the film "Capote," was found dead in his New York[/url] City apartment on Sunday in what a police source described as an apparent drug overdose.
Hoffman, 46, was found unresponsive on the bathroom floor of his Greenwich Village apartment by police responding to an emergency 911 call, and Emergency Medical Service[/url] workers declared him dead on the scene, the New York City Police Department[/url] said in a statement. An investigation was ongoing.
Hoffman spoke in the past of struggling with drugs, including a 2006 interview in which he told CBS he had abused "anything I could get my hands on. I liked it all."
The actor had completed a detox program for substance abuse, including snorting heroin, in May, according to Variety.
Hoffman, who is survived by three children with his partner Mimi O'Donnell, had detailed his struggles with substance abuse in the past.
"We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Phil and appreciate the outpouring of love and support we have received from everyone," Hoffman's family said in a statement issued through his publicist on Sunday afternoon.
"This is a tragic and sudden loss and we ask that you respect our privacy during this time of grieving. Please keep Phil in your thoughts and prayers," it added. A representative said the family would not make any further statements at this time.
Born in upstate New York, Hoffman won an Academy Award for the 2005 biographical film "Capote," in which he played writer Truman Capote. He also received three Academy Award nominations as best supporting actor, for "The Master" in 2013, "Doubt" in 2009 and "Charlie Wilson's War" in 2008.
Hoffman had burst onto the film scene after more than a dozen earlier roles, including 1997's "Boogie Nights," in which he played a lovelorn gay man in the movie about the porn industry.
While he also appeared in blockbusters such as "Twister" and "The Hunger Games" series, Hoffman was more associated with the independent film world for his intense portrayals of often disturbing and complex characters in such films as "Happiness," in which he played an obscene phone caller, and "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead."
Other noteworthy films included "Moneyball," "The Savages," "Cold Mountain" and "Scent of a Woman," one of his earliest films, for which Al Pacino won an Oscar.
Hoffman also frequently appeared on Broadway, garnering Tony award nominations for "Death of a Salesman," "Long Day's Journey Into Night" and "True West."
More than a hundred people had gathered outside the address where the actor was found on Sunday afternoon, in a brick apartment building on Bethune Street, the New York Times reported.
Reuters, The Los Angeles Times, and Variety contributed to this report
Philip Seymour Hoffman in his Oscar-winning role as Truman Capote in Sony Pictures Classics
3:36 p.m. CST, February 2, 2014
NEW YORK—
Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman[/url], who won an Academy Award for the film "Capote," was found dead in his New York[/url] City apartment on Sunday in what a police source described as an apparent drug overdose.
Hoffman, 46, was found unresponsive on the bathroom floor of his Greenwich Village apartment by police responding to an emergency 911 call, and Emergency Medical Service[/url] workers declared him dead on the scene, the New York City Police Department[/url] said in a statement. An investigation was ongoing.
Hoffman spoke in the past of struggling with drugs, including a 2006 interview in which he told CBS he had abused "anything I could get my hands on. I liked it all."
The actor had completed a detox program for substance abuse, including snorting heroin, in May, according to Variety.
Hoffman, who is survived by three children with his partner Mimi O'Donnell, had detailed his struggles with substance abuse in the past.
"We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Phil and appreciate the outpouring of love and support we have received from everyone," Hoffman's family said in a statement issued through his publicist on Sunday afternoon.
"This is a tragic and sudden loss and we ask that you respect our privacy during this time of grieving. Please keep Phil in your thoughts and prayers," it added. A representative said the family would not make any further statements at this time.
Born in upstate New York, Hoffman won an Academy Award for the 2005 biographical film "Capote," in which he played writer Truman Capote. He also received three Academy Award nominations as best supporting actor, for "The Master" in 2013, "Doubt" in 2009 and "Charlie Wilson's War" in 2008.
Hoffman had burst onto the film scene after more than a dozen earlier roles, including 1997's "Boogie Nights," in which he played a lovelorn gay man in the movie about the porn industry.
While he also appeared in blockbusters such as "Twister" and "The Hunger Games" series, Hoffman was more associated with the independent film world for his intense portrayals of often disturbing and complex characters in such films as "Happiness," in which he played an obscene phone caller, and "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead."
Other noteworthy films included "Moneyball," "The Savages," "Cold Mountain" and "Scent of a Woman," one of his earliest films, for which Al Pacino won an Oscar.
Hoffman also frequently appeared on Broadway, garnering Tony award nominations for "Death of a Salesman," "Long Day's Journey Into Night" and "True West."
More than a hundred people had gathered outside the address where the actor was found on Sunday afternoon, in a brick apartment building on Bethune Street, the New York Times reported.
Reuters, The Los Angeles Times, and Variety contributed to this report