OSCAR-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman died from an "apparent drug overdose" in his New York City apartment, an NYPD spokesman said.

The 46-year-old was found dead in his bathroom in the city's Greenwich Village area at 11.30am local time yesterday.

Hoffman, who won an Oscar for his role in the 2005 film Capote, checked into rehab in May for heroin use.

Speaking at the London Critics' Circle Film Awards in central London, John Hurt - who starred with Seymour Hoffman in 2003 film Owning Mahowny - said: "It's a devastating loss. His contribution was massive."