 Hoffman struggled with drug addiction as a young adult , and relapsed in 2013 after many years of sobriety . In February 2014 , he was found dead with a syringe of heroin still in his arm , but official cause of death was combined drug intoxication – an unexpected event that was widely lamented in the film and theater industries . Remembered for his fearlessness in playing reprehensible characters , and for bringing depth and humanity to such roles , Hoffman was described in his New York Times obituary as " perhaps the most ambitious and widely admired American actor of his generation " . 
