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Oscar-winner Philip Seymour Hoffman’s life spiralled out of control in the months leading up to his death after he split from the mother of his three children.

The 46-year-old actor, who was found dead with a hypodermic needle sticking out of his left arm in an apparent heroin overdose, had moved out of the £3 million New York apartment he shared with long-term partner Mimi O’Donnell last October.

Philip Seymour Hoffman 15 show all Philip Seymour Hoffman 1/15 Philip Seymour Hoffman US actor Philip Seymour Hoffman holding his best actor Oscar for his role in Capote epaselect epa04052741 (FILE) A file picture dated 05 March 2006 shows US actor Philip Seymour Hoffman holding his Oscar for 'Actor in a Leading Role' for his performance in the film 'Capote' at the 78th annual Academy Awards in Hollywood, California, USA. 2/15 Philip Seymour Hoffman Philip Seymour Hoffman, 46, with Mimi O'Donnell 3/15 Philip Seymour Hoffman Floral tribute: a woman about to lay a wreath outside the actor's New York home A woman with flowers walks outside the home of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014, in New York. Hoffman, who won the Oscar for best actor in 2006 for his portrayal of writer Truman Capote in "Capote" was found dead Sunday in his apartment. He 4/15 Philip Seymour Hoffman A body is removed from the actor's apartment building in New York yesterday A body is taken from the apartment building that Philip Seymour Hoffman lived in, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014, in New York. Hoffman, who won an Oscar for best actor in 2006 for his portrayal of writer Truman Capote in "Capote", was found dead Sunday in his apart 5/15 Philip Seymour Hoffman A fan pays his respects to the actor A man pays his respects outside of the apartment complex of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014, in New York. Hoffman, who won an Oscar for best actor in 2006 for his portrayal of writer Truman Capote in "Capote", was found dead Sunday in his apa 6/15 Big hit Seymour Hoffman as Brandt in The Big Lebowski (1998) 7/15 Mr Talented As Freddie in The Talented Mr Ripley (1999) 8/15 Magnificent Playing Phil Parma in Magnolia (1999) 9/15 Oscar-winning Truman Capote in Capote (2005) 10/15 Action star Owen Davian in Mission Impossible III (2006) 11/15 Domestic issues Jon Savage in The Savages (2007) 12/15 Spiritual Father Brendan Flynn in Doubt (2008) 13/15 Political with George Clooney in The Ides of March (2011) 14/15 Leader Lancaster Dodd in The Master (2012) 15/15 Phenomenon Plutarch Heavensbee in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) 1/15 Philip Seymour Hoffman US actor Philip Seymour Hoffman holding his best actor Oscar for his role in Capote epaselect epa04052741 (FILE) A file picture dated 05 March 2006 shows US actor Philip Seymour Hoffman holding his Oscar for 'Actor in a Leading Role' for his performance in the film 'Capote' at the 78th annual Academy Awards in Hollywood, California, USA. 2/15 Philip Seymour Hoffman Philip Seymour Hoffman, 46, with Mimi O'Donnell 3/15 Philip Seymour Hoffman Floral tribute: a woman about to lay a wreath outside the actor's New York home A woman with flowers walks outside the home of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014, in New York. Hoffman, who won the Oscar for best actor in 2006 for his portrayal of writer Truman Capote in "Capote" was found dead Sunday in his apartment. He 4/15 Philip Seymour Hoffman A body is removed from the actor's apartment building in New York yesterday A body is taken from the apartment building that Philip Seymour Hoffman lived in, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014, in New York. Hoffman, who won an Oscar for best actor in 2006 for his portrayal of writer Truman Capote in "Capote", was found dead Sunday in his apart 5/15 Philip Seymour Hoffman A fan pays his respects to the actor A man pays his respects outside of the apartment complex of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2014, in New York. Hoffman, who won an Oscar for best actor in 2006 for his portrayal of writer Truman Capote in "Capote", was found dead Sunday in his apa 6/15 Big hit Seymour Hoffman as Brandt in The Big Lebowski (1998) 7/15 Mr Talented As Freddie in The Talented Mr Ripley (1999) 8/15 Magnificent Playing Phil Parma in Magnolia (1999) 9/15 Oscar-winning Truman Capote in Capote (2005) 10/15 Action star Owen Davian in Mission Impossible III (2006) 11/15 Domestic issues Jon Savage in The Savages (2007) 12/15 Spiritual Father Brendan Flynn in Doubt (2008) 13/15 Political with George Clooney in The Ides of March (2011) 14/15 Leader Lancaster Dodd in The Master (2012) 15/15 Phenomenon Plutarch Heavensbee in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)

Sources close to the actor, who went into rehab for 10 days last summer, said he started taking drugs again after the break-up.

It was claimed today that Hoffman could have injected a drug cocktail linked to more than 100 deaths in America. Investigators are believed to have found eight empty bags stamped “Ace of Spades” and “Ace of Hearts”, which usually contain heroin laced with fentanyl — an opiate used by cancer patients.

A Hollywood insider said: “Phil relapsed sometime after cleaning up in rehab last June. The break-up of his long-time relationship hit him hard. He was devoted to his kids.”

Hoffman’s body was found by his friend, the playwright David Katz who went to his apartment in Greenwich Village yesterday morning after he failed to collect his children from Miss O’Donnell.

Mr Katz found the actor in the bathroom wearing just boxer shorts with two translucent envelopes containing what police suspect to be heroin near his body. The emergency call was apparently made from the phone of Hoffman’s personal assistant Isabella Wing-Davey after Mr Katz asked her to unlock the door.

Miss O’Donnell, the mother of Cooper, 10, Tallulah, seven, and Willa, five, was seen weeping as she entered the apartment building yesterday.

Mr Katz said he believed his friend had beaten his addictions. “I saw him last week, and he was clean and sober, his old self. I really thought this chapter was over,” he said.

Hoffman sought help last summer after up to a year of using heroin again. In an interview last year he said he had been clean for 23 years. Friends became concerned when he behaved strangely and looked dishevelled at a film festival last month.