Philip Seymour Hoffman, who was found dead in his New York City apartment following an apparent drug overdose on Feb. 2, had tried to help late actor Heath Ledger battle his drug addiction, before the Australian actor died of an accidental overdose in 2008.
"Heath was just one of many friends Phil tried to help along the way," a source told Popdust. "Phil happily took Heath under his wing. He took him to all the best meetings and even some private invite only ones where celebrities go so they can share openly without worry."
Although Ledger relapsed in between, Hoffman is believed to have never given up on his pal as he saw a lot of himself in Ledger.
"They were both really intense, passionate people and Phil truly believed that if he could get sober, Heath could, too. The biggest irony of all is that this disease took both of them in the end," the source added.
Incidentally, there are many parallels between the two deaths, with one being the location. Ledger was also found dead in a New York City apartment, which is just blocks away from Hoffman's death pad.
Authorities on Sunday found nearly 50 bags of white powder, believed to be heroin, in addition to 20 syringes and several prescription drugs in Hoffman's apartment. While Hoffman is suspected to have died of drug overdose, mainly heroin, Ledger succumbed to a combination of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine, Mail Online reported.
Both Ledger and Hoffman had separated from their respective partners before their deaths. Ledger, who was living with partner Michelle Williams and daughter Matilda at the time was reportedly asked to leave their home due to his dependency on drugs, and Hoffman had separated from his partner of 14 years, Mimi O'Donnell just three months ago.
Like Ledger, Hoffman was also kicked out of the house due to his drug use. "It was known that he was struggling to stay sober, and girlfriend Mimi O'Donnell had given him some tough love and told him he needed some time away from the kids and to get straight again,' a Hollywood source told Mail Online.
