Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in his New York City apartment on Sunday of an apparent drug overdose, according to a New York Police Department source.
The source said Hoffman was found dead after a 911 emergency call from a friend of the actor.
The source gave no further details.
The New York Times, citing a law enforcement official, said investigators found a syringe in Hoffman's arm and an envelope containing what was believed to be heroin.
Born in upstate New York, Hoffman, 46, 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 burst onto the film scene after more than a dozen earlier roles, in 1997's "Boogie Nights," in which he played a lovelorn gay man in the movie about the porn industry.
While he 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."
In the latter film he played a son who schemes to rob his parents' jewelry store, resulting in their deaths. But Hoffman could also play nice, as in "Magnolia," in which he played the role of an angelic nurse.
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."
With additional reporting by Chris Francescani and Chris Michaud of Reuters.
