Philip Seymour Hoffman’s heroin ‘speedball’ before he died

It’s been more than six years since the world lost one of its greatest acting talents.

Philip Seymour Hoffman died on 2 February 2014 at the age of 46.

He was found dead in the bathroom of his New York City apartment, a needle in his arm.

Law enforcement officials told at the time that they had discovered heroin in samples from at least 50 packets in the Manhattan property.

New York’s Chief Medical Examiner rules the Oscar winner’s death had been an accident due to an “acute mixed drug intoxication.”

This included heroin, cocaine, benzodiazepines and amphetamine.

The Examiner concluded Philip died from a “speedball” – the term refers to an injection of cocaine with heroin or morphine all in the same syringe.

It’s the same deadly combination that killed Philip’s fellow actors River Phoenix, John Belushi and Chris Farley.

Philip had battled and beaten addiction issues as a student.

But in 2012, he relapsed after 23 years – and started taking heroin and prescription medication.

By the time of his death, it was believed his heroin was costing him a staggering £6000 a month.

His friend David Katz was the one who found him dead on the bathroom floor.

Philip’s former Mimi had asked David to check in on him after Philip hadn’t picked up their three kids.

“I saw him last week,” David said at the time, “and he was clean and sober, his old self.

“I really thought this chapter was over.”

And pals said at the time that Phillip’s relapse followed the breakdown of his relationship with Mimi.

Philip and Mimi – together for 12 years – shared Cooper, 17, Tallulah, 13 and Willa, 11.

A source said shortly after his death: “After Phil and Mimi split he just couldn’t handle it.

“Gradually he became more and more of a recluse and would lock himself away for days not wanting to see anyone.

“Whenever Phil talked about his previous battles with drink and drugs he made no secret of the fact that at the time if he had had more money he would have wound up dead.

“But after his Oscar success he became incredibly wealthy and was able to buy as many drugs as he wanted.”

They added: “Ultimately, his fame and fortune cost him his life. Dealers saw Phil as easy money and he was paying over the odds for what he was using.”

Philip won an Oscar back in 2006 for his leading performance in Capote, a biopic that follows classic writer Truman Capote as he pens one of his best renowned works, In Cold Blood.

He was nominated the year before his death in the Best Supporting Actor category for The Master, as well as in 2009 for Doubt and in 2008 for Tom Hanks’ flick Charlie Wilson’s War.

Philip’s final film, the last installment of The Hunger Games franchise, was released more than a year after his death at the end of 2015.

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