Phillip Seymour Hoffman's Apartment Described As Drug Den

As more details emerge about the stunning death of Phillip Seymour Hoffman, it's becoming increasingly clear that the Academy Award-winning actor's struggles with heroin were far more serious than first reported.

According to initial reports, Hoffman, 46, was found dead early Sunday of an apparent heroin overdose and eight bags of heroin discovered in his upscale Manhattan apartment. But authorities have since admitted to finding some 70 bags of heroin along with a number of unused needles in Hoffman's residence, as well as a syringe still in the dead actor's arm. Hoffman was repotedly last seen withdrawing cash from an ATM machine Saturday night, which he then handed over to two men in exchange for what appeared to be drugs.

A report on the Howard Stern show this morning recalled an incident at the Sundance Film Festival several weeks ago that indicated Hoffman may have been in the throes of heroin addiction for some time. When asked by a journalist at the event, who apparently failed to recognize the actor, what he did for a living, Hoffman, replied, "I'm a heroin addict."

News of Hoffman's death sent shock waves through the entertainment community, with a number of actors taking to Twitter and other social media to express sadness over the loss of what many are calling one of the most talented actors of his generation.

Hoffman battled addiction in the past, according to a Huffington Post report, and first opened up about his drug and alcohol abuse in a February, 2006 interview with 60 minutes. At the time, Hoffman had recently received an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Truman Capote in the film "Capote" and sat down with Steve Kroft to recount his journey.

"It was all that [drugs and alcohol], yeah, it was anything I could get my hands on," Hoffman conceded. "I liked it all."

Hoffman went on to tell Kroft that one day at age 22, he decided to get sober. That sobriety apparently lasted decades, as Hoffman was reported to have relapsed in 2012, the first news of his drug use since the three-time Tony Award-nominee became something of a household name in the late 90's.

In perhaps the cruelest of ironies, Hoffman admitted in the interview that finding fame and money before getting sober would have killed him. "...I'd be dead...I'd be 19, beautiful, famous and rich. That would be it," Hoffman said. "If I had the money, that kind of money and stuff... yeah [I would have died]."

From one of his first standout roles as Dustin Davis in the film "Twister" to his Lester Bangs in "Almost Famous," his Sandy Lyle in "Along Came Polly" and, of course, his Oscar-winning Truman Capote, Hoffman leaves behind as prolific and talent-laden a body of work as Hollywood has ever seen.

New York's acting community plans to pay homage to the late actor by dimming the lights of theatre marquees on Broadway at 7:45 p.m. on Wednesday for exactly one minute, according to Entertainment Weekly.