Oscar Winner Actor Seymour Hoffman Dead at 46

February 03, 2014

Oscar Winner Actor Seymour Hoffman Dead at 46

Tragic Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman had separated from his longtime girlfriend Mimi O'Donnell in the months leading up to his death, it can be revealed.

The 46-year-old, who has three elementary-age children with the costume designer, also 46, began renting a $10,000-a-month apartment in Bethune Street in Manhattan's Greenwich Village in October.

And it was here his body was found today by close friend and playwright David Bar Katz, who had been asked to check up on him by Miss O'Donnell. The actor's estranged partner was later seen weeping as she entered the property.

This afternoon, a New York Police Department source told MailOnline: 'It is my understanding that Mr Hoffman and his girlfriend were separated.'

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Split: Tragic Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman had separated from his longtime girlfriend Mimi O'Donnell, pictured with the actor in 2008, in the months leading up to his death

Mr Hoffman's last public appearance was at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival in January, where he was promoting his movie, 'God's Pocket,' and also 'A Most Wanted Man.'

He appeared 'slightly disheveled and pasty,' according to the New York Post.

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He had a five o'clock shadow, pale complexion and watery eyes, appearing altogether worn out.

He kept some press commitments, posing on the carpet with his Most Wanted co-stars Rachel McAdams and Willem Dafoe, dressed in baggy clothes.

However, he declined a number of interviews, with his representative telling reporters the actor 'needed a minute and didn't feel like coming down yet.'

Miss O'Donnell, Mr Hoffman's partner of 14 years, contacted Mr Katz after the actor failed to collect son Cooper, 10, and daughters Tallulah, 7, and Willa, 5, Sunday morning.

Mr Katz then, with a female friend, went to check on the actor. The pair found Mr Hoffman in his underwear on a bathroom floor at apartment 4D, 35 Bethune Street around 11:30 a.m. Allegedly, he had a syringe still in his arm.

Miss O'Donnell was later said to have been banned by cops from entering the bathroom, sources said.

Evidence: A New York City Police Department investigator removes a bag of evidence from the actor's apartment, where investigators spent the day examining the scene

Investigation: Detectives lingered out the front of Pickwick House on Bethune Street until late in the evening

After remaining in the apartment all day, the actor's body was finally taken from his home just before 7 p.m.

It later emerged that the night before he was found dead, Mr Hoffman enjoyed a cheeseburger with friends at one of his favorite restaurants.

In Touch reported the actor dined at West Village restaurant Automatic Slims with two other men from around 7 p.m. A witness told the magazine he was drinking cranberry and soda and seemed 'totally fine.'

'The friends he was with seemed like industry people. He had a cheeseburger. He was low-key and friendly and none of them looked like they were looking to party,' the witness said.

'He comes in occasionally and just keeps a low profile. He hardly ever drinks. Such a nice guy and very unexpected to hear this news.'

'A Most Wanted Man' director Anton Corbijin said he was shocked to hear about the death of the actor who just two weeks ago seemed 'in a good place.'

'We spent some time together only [two] weeks ago and he seemed in a good place despite some issues he had to deal with,' Mr Corbijin told the Post.

'He was not only the most gifted actor I ever worked with (and judging by the legacy he leaves behind I am certain I share this with most if not all directors who were fortunate enough to work with him), he had also become an incredibly inspiring and supportive friend. I am so terribly sad as I find it impossible to comprehend what happened today and to collect my thoughts properly.'

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One of his last public appearances: Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman attends the premiere of the film A Most Wanted Man at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, in this January 19, 2014

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Not looking well: Mr Hoffman, shown arriving for the premiere of 'God's Pocket' at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 17, was apparently not himself at the festival

Last appearance: This photo taken January 19, 2014, shows Mr Hoffman posing for what may have been his last portrait at The Collective and Gibson Lounge Powered by CEG, during the Sundance Film Festival, in Park City, Utah

He added: ‘I have to think about Mimi and the children and [I] wish them much strength coping with the loss of this truly great man as a father and partner.'

Earlier, a neighbor at the $4.4 million apartment Mr Hoffman and Miss O'Donnell own in Jane Street, less than three blocks away from his rental home, described Mr Hoffman as 'a troubled soul' to the New York Post.

The couple bought the three-bedroom, 2-1/2-bath apartment in 2008.

'He did not look well recently — like he was out of it,' the woman said. 'I think him and his woman friend were off and on.'

'He lived down here for a long time and was well liked, but everyone knew he had substance-abuse problems,' she added.

Just over a week ago, Mr Hoffman was spotted in the audience at the Broadway revival of 'Waiting for Godot.'

Mr Hoffman won the best actor Academy Award for the 2005 film, Capote, and has been hailed by the film industry as one of the finest actors of his generation.

'I saw him last week, and he was clean and sober, his old self,' Mr Katz, a screenwriter, told the New York Times. He said he called 911 after finding Mr Hoffman. 'I really thought this chapter was over.'

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Dead at 46: Philip Seymour Hoffman with his Oscar for Capote at the 78th Academy Awards press room, Los Angeles, in 2006

Talented star: Phillip Seymour Hoffman poses for a portrait at The Collective and Gibson Lounge Powered by CEG, during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah in January and the actor (right) in the Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Family: Seymour Hoffman and Mimi O'Donnell, pictured with their son Cooper in December 2013 in New York, had split recently

Freinds: Philip Seymour Hoffman was reportedly found dead this morning by his friend David Bar Katz (center) alongside their other friend George Liberatto in 2008

The news of Mr Hoffman's death comes just one day after representatives for the actor issued a statement denying he was dead after an internet hoax claimed the star had passed away on Saturday.

The Fairport, New York, native reportedly told TMZ in May that he began taking heroin again after 23 years of being clean. He said he'd progressed from prescription pills to ultimately snorting heroin.

He claimed that he only used heroin for a week before he realized he needed help and checked himself into a detox facility on the East Coast.

He spent 10 days receiving treatment and credited a 'great group of friends and family' for helping.

Authorities confirmed that the last time the stage and film actor was seen was at 8 pm on Saturday.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is yet to determine exact cause of death, but law enforcement sources have said a drug overdose was to blame. Officers found a charred spoon in the kitchen sink, police sources told the New York Post.

A relative told The Post: 'We're just really devastated that this could happen.'

'There had always been a concern with the business he was in,' said Doris Barr, 76, whose son is married to Mr Hoffman's sister.

After Mr Katz called 911, emergency workers rushed to the scene where Mr Hoffman was declared dead on arrival. Talented at a y

Investigators donned white plastic suits in the lobby of Mr Hoffman's apartment building and spent the afternoon and early evening collecting evidence at his home.

Just before 7 p.m. after CSU investigators, wearing white plastic suits, spent the entire afternoon and much of the evening going in and out of Mr Hoffman's apartment, the crime scene van moved to make way for the medical examiners wagon to pull up to the building.

Police flanked both sides of the van all the way to the buildings entrance. After 10 somber minutes, a stretcher was wheeled out carrying a figure covered in black plastic and was loaded into the wagon before being quickly whisked away with blaring horns and blinding blue and red lights.

Earlier, neighbors said the actor looked ill when they last saw him.

'Just the other day I saw him getting out of his mini cooper with his kids and his wife I guess. He was in sweatpants and a beanie and he looked disheveled,' said Olivia De Santis as more than 100 people gathered outside the actor's home.

The family of the actor issued a statement to the media in the aftermath of his death to thank everyone for their support.

‘We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Phil and appreciate the outpouring of love and support we have received from everyone.

Scene: NYPD Crime Scene Unit officers leave the actor Philip Seymour Hoffman's apartment building, Pickwick House, where the actor was found dead earlier today

Interest: Members of the media stand outside the apartment of movie actor Philip Seymour Hoffman after he was found dead in New York February 2, 2014

Crowd: Police cars seen outside the building where actor Philip Seymour Hoffman died in his apparent suffering from drug overdose in the West Village

Grief: A woman who declined to give her name and said she was friends and working on a project with movie actor Philip Seymour Hoffman wipes away tears as she stands across the street from the apartment where they found the celebrity dead in New York as two men (right) embrace

Passed away: Philip Seymour Hoffman's personal assistant is seen talking to detectives left. Well-wishers left flowers, right, at the door of the actor

Revealing interview from 2006: The actor tells Steve Kroft that a turning point in his life was when he sought help for substance abuse

Career highs: Philip Seympur Hoffman and Reese Witherspoon pose with the Oscar's they won in 2006 for their work in Capote and Walk the Line respectively

premiere of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire at Nokia Theatrein November

Superstars and friends: George Clooney (right) with Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman who has been found dead after suffering an apparent drug overdose

'It was all that drugs and alcohol, yeah. It was anything I could get my hands on…I liked it all,' he told 60 Minutes at the time.

Mr Hoffman, who was no matinee idol figure with his tubby, lumpy build and limp blond hair, made his career mostly as a character actor. He was nominated for Oscars four times in all.

In one of his earliest films, he played a spoiled prep school student in 'Scent of a Woman' in 1992.

One of his breakthrough roles came as a gay member of a porno film crew in 'Boogie Nights,' one of several movies directed by Paul Thomas Anderson that he would eventually appear in.

Film promotion: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Willem Dafoe, Rachel McAdams, Grigoriy Dobrygin pose for a picture to promote A Most Wanted Man at its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival 2014, Park City, Utah, America just two weeks ago

On the mend: Philip Seymour Hoffman enjoyed an afternoon stroll with his partner Mimi O'Donnell in New York, in June after he returned from his stint in rehab

He often played comic, slightly off-kilter roles in movies like 'Along Came Polly,' ''The Big Lebowski' and 'Almost Famous.'

Just weeks ago, Showtime announced Mr Hoffman would star in 'Happyish,' a new comedy series about a middle-aged man's pursuit of happiness.

In 'The Master,' he was nominated for the 2013 Academy Award for best supporting actor for his role as the charismatic leader of a religious movement.

The film, partly inspired by the life of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, reunited the actor with Anderson.

He also received a 2009 supporting nomination for 'Doubt,' as a priest who comes under suspicion because of his relationship with a boy, and a best supporting actor nomination for 'Charlie Wilson's War,' as a CIA officer.

Award winning: Philip Seymour Hoffman seen here with actress Catherine Keener won the Oscar for his 2005 portrayal of Truman Capote

Character actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman, (left), and Ryan Gosling are shown in a scene from Ides of March - released in 2011 Police say Phillip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in his New York City apartment on Sunday

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Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix in a scene from The Master - for which Hoffman was Oscar nominated. Police say Phillip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in his New York City apartment on Sunday

Method acting: Philip Seymour Hoffman won huge critical acclaim for his portrayal of Truman Capote in 2005

Lonely: Philip Seymour Hoffman pictured as Truman Capote, in a scene from the film set during Capote's research for his book In Cold Blood, an account of the murder of a Kansas family

Mr. Hoffman appeared in more than 50 films in a career that spanned less than 25 years.

Born in 1967, Mr Hoffman was interested in acting from an early age, mesmerized at 12 by a local production of Arthur Miller's 'All My Sons.'

He studied theater as a teenager with the New York State Summer School of the Arts and the Circle in the Square Theatre. He then majored in drama at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.

Trained in the theater, with a versatility and discipline more common among British performers than Americans, he was a character actor who could take on any role, large or small, loathsome or sympathetic.

On the stage, he performed in revivals of 'True West,' ''Long Day's Journey Into Night' and 'The Seagull,' a summer production that also featured Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline. In 2012, he was more than equal to one of the great roles in American theater — Willy Loman in 'Death of a Salesman,' a performance praised as 'heartbreaking' by Associated Press theater critic Mark Kennedy.

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'Hoffman is only 44, but he nevertheless sags in his brokenness like a man closer to retirement age, lugging about his sample cases filled with his self-denial and disillusionment,' Mr Kennedy wrote.

'His fraying connection to reality is pronounced in this production, with Hoffman quick to anger and a hard edge emerging from his babbling.'

The actor was known for the enormous respect he commanded from his peers says director Shane Salerno who produced his documentary, Salinger, with the help of Mr Hoffman.

'To be honest, we were having trouble getting big names to participate,' said Mr Salerno.

'But when he agreed to do it, other people began getting on board. Once Phil signed up, it was like we had a seal of authenticity,' Salerno said to USA Today.

'The interviews he gave were as good as the Yale professors we spoke with. You can't imagine how intellectual he was about film, stage, literature. He was as smart as they come.’