- NEW: Source says police found what appeared to be heroin in Hoffman's apartment
- NEW: Law enforcement reps also tell CNN that a needle was found in Hoffman's arm
- NEW: He often played shlubby, conflicted characters
- He won an Oscar for the film "Capote"
(CNN) -- Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman has been found dead of an apparent drug overdose in his Manhattan apartment, law enforcement sources said Sunday.
Hoffman, 46, was found in the bathroom of the fourth-floor apartment, the sources told CNN.
Police found what they believe to be heroin inside the apartment, a source told CNN.
Hoffman's body was discovered by a playwright who had been working with him.
A needle was found in one of the actor's arms, the sources told CNN.
Click through to see people who passed away in 2014.
Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman died of an apparent drug overdose in his Manhattan apartment, law enforcement sources said on February 2.
Maximilian Schell died in a Austrian hospital with his wife by his side, his agent Patricia Baumbauer said. He was 83. Schell was nominated for an Oscar three times. He won in 1962 for "Judgment at Nuremberg."
Legendary folk singer Pete Seeger, known for classics such as "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" and "If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song)," died of natural causes in New York, his grandson told CNN. He was 94.
Ruth Robinson Duccini, who played one of the Munchkins in the 1939 classic "The Wizard of Oz," died on January 16. She was 95.
Former Playboy centerfold Cassandra Lynn Hensley was found dead at a friend's home in Los Angeles, the coroner there said on January 17. Hensley was 34. Her cause of death was not immediately known.
Hiroo Onoda, center, salutes after handing over his military sword on Lubang Island in the Philippines in March 1974. Onoda, a former intelligence officer in the Japanese army, had remained on the island for nearly 30 years, refusing to believe his country had surrendered in World War II. He died at a Tokyo hospital on January 16. He was 91.
Russell Johnson, center, stands with Alan Hale Jr., left, and Bob Denver in an episode of "Gilligan's Island" in 1966. Johnson, who played "the professor" Roy Hinkley in the hit television show, passed away January 16 at his home in Washington state, according to his agent, Mike Eisenstadt. Johnson was 89.
Ariel Sharon, whose half century as a military and political leader in Israel was marked with victories and controversies, died on January 11 after eight years in a coma, Israeli Army Radio reported. Sharon was 85.
Franklin McCain, seen center wearing glasses, one of the "Greensboro Four," who made history for their 1960 sit-in at a Greensboro Woolworth's lunch counter, died on January 10 after a brief illness, according to his alma mater, North Carolina A&T State University.
Larry Speakes, who served as President Ronald Reagan's press secretary, died January 10 at his home in Cleveland, Mississippi, following a lengthy illness, according to Bolivar County Coroner Nate Brown. He was 74.
Poet Amiri Baraka, who lost his post as New Jersey's poet laureate because of a controversial poem about the 9/11 terror attacks, died January 9, his agent said. Baraka was 79.
Sir Run Run Shaw, the media tycoon who helped bring Chinese martial arts films to an international audience, died at his home in Hong Kong on January 7 at age 106, the television station he founded said.
Stage, TV and film actress Carmen Zapata, who founded the Bilingual Foundation of the Arts as a means of of introducing "the rich and eloquent history of the diverse Hispanic culture to English-speaking audiences," died on January 5 at her Los Angeles home. She was 86.
Portugal football legend Eusebio, who was top scorer at the 1966 World Cup, died from a heart attack on January 5 at age 71, said his former club, Benfica.
Alicia Rhett, who had been one of the oldest surviving cast members of the classic film "Gone With the Wind," died on January 3 in her longtime hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, a retirement community spokeswoman said. She was 98.
Singer Phil Everly, left -- one half of the groundbreaking, smooth-sounding, record-setting duo the Everly Brothers -- died on January 3, a hospital spokeswoman said. He was 74.
Photos: People we lost in 2014
Hoffman won an Academy Award for best actor for the 2005 biopic "Capote."
He was a beefy 5-foot-10-inch man, but was convincing as the slight 5-foot-3-inch Truman Capote. He had a booming voice like a deity's but often played shlubby, conflicted characters.
He could be heartfelt and giving, as with his male nurse in "Magnolia" or rock critic in "Almost Famous," or creepily Machiavellian, like the gamemaster in the latest "Hunger Games" movie or a "Mission: Impossible" movie villain.
He also appeared in "Charlie Wilson's War," "Doubt," and "The Master," for which he was nominated as best supporting actor.
According to a biography of the actor posted on the Turner Classic Movies website, last year Hoffman revealed he was seeking treatment for drug abuse, and "seemed to be confident that he was getting a handle on the situation."
Hoffman's father was a salesman and his mother was a family court judge, the biography says.
He landed his first professional stage role before graduating from high school and went on to study acting at New York University.
In Hollywood, his big break came with a small role as Chris O'Donnell's classmate in the 1992 film "Scent of a Woman."
For years, Hoffman was the kind of anonymous character actor who earned critical raves but was often unnoticed by the general public. He used his abilities to take chances with such directors as a then-unknown Paul Thomas Anderson, with whom he worked in "Hard Eight" (and several ensuing films, as both became better known) and Todd Solondz ("Happiness").
"I think about that a lot," he told Esquire in 2012 of his anonymity. "I feel it cracking lately, the older I'm getting. I think I'm less anonymous than I was."
Even after winning the Academy Award, he took challenging roles. He was an L. Ron Hubbard-style leader in "The Master" and an intense theater director in "Synecdoche, New York." Neither lit up the box office, but Hoffman's performances earned wide praise for their immersiveness.
Hoffman appeared last month at the Sundance Film Festival, where a movie he starred in, "God's Pocket," premiered.
After his Oscar win at the Academy Awards in 2006, Hoffman thanked his mother for taking him to his first play.
"She brought up four kids alone and she deserves a congratulations for that. Ah, we're at the party, Ma, you know? And she took me to my first play and she stayed up with me and watched the NCAA Final Four, and my passions, her passions became my passions. And, you know, be proud, Mom, because I'm proud of you and we're here tonight and it's so good," he said in his acceptance speech.
Hoffman stayed active on stage even as his star rose in Hollywood. He starred in a Broadway production of "Death of a Salesman" in 2012 and was co-artistic director of the Labyrinth Theater Company in New York.
He is survived by three children and his longtime partner, Mimi O'Donnell.
CNN's Susan Candiotti and Shimon Prokupecz contributed to this report.
