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Philip Seymour Hoffman dead at 46: ‘We are devastated’

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Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Academy Award-winning actor, was found dead of an apparent drug overdose inside his New York apartment on Sunday, New York police said.

The “Capote” actor, 46, was discovered by a business associate at 11:30 a.m. Eastern time in his Greenwich Village apartment. Hoffman was found in his bathroom with a hypodermic needle stuck in his arm, police said.

PHOTOS: Celebrities react to Hoffman’s death

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Hoffman won a lead actor Oscar for portraying Truman Capote in the biopic “Capote” in 2005. He had admitted undergoing treatment for substance abuse problems but got sober in rehab. “It was anything I could get my hands on,” Hoffman told “60 Minutes” in 2006. “I liked it all.”

Last year, the versatile actor -- who starred in such films as “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” “Charlie Wilson’s War” and “Boogie Nights” -- reportedly checked himself into rehab for 10 days after relapsing in 2012.

Last month, Hoffman traveled to the Sundance Film Festival in Utah to promote the drama “A Most Wanted Man,” set for release this year, in which he portrays a grizzled World War II counter-terrorism operative. The actor served as an executive producer and was set to star in the upcoming Showtime comedy “Happyish,” in which he portrays the creative director of an ad agency struggling with a midlife crisis.

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EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Hoffman just weeks before his death

“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. “Please keep Phil in your thoughts and prayers.”

Raised in New York state primarily by his mother, a civil rights activist turned judge, Hoffman began acting at age 15 and studied theater at New York University, where he graduated in 1989. Soon afterward, he checked himself into a rehabilitation program for alcohol and drug addiction.

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“I had no interest in drinking in moderation. And I still don’t,” Hoffman told the U.K.’s Guardian in 2011. “Just because all that time’s passed doesn’t mean maybe it was just a phase. That’s, you know, who I am.”

Times staff writers Tina Susman, Amy Kaufman and Yvonne Villarreal contributed reporting to this story.

ALSO:Photos: Hoffman as celebrity

Photos: Celebrities react on Twitter

Exclusive video: Hoffman just weeks before his death

chris.lee@latimes.com

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Twitter: @__chrislee

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