His spokesman confirmed his death, the circumstances and location of which were not immediately available.
A statement on Troyerâs Facebook page Saturday said he had gone through a ârecent time of adversityâ and that âdepression and suicide are very serious issues.â
The statement said: âVerne was also a fighter when it came to his own battles. Over the years heâs struggled and won, struggled and won, struggled and fought some more, but unfortunately this time was too much.â
Troyer, who was 2 feet 8 inches, was a versatile actor who was widely recognizable from his various roles. He played the goblin Griphook in âHarry Potter and the Sorcererâs Stoneâ and the ice hockey coach Punch Cherkov in âThe Love Guru.â
On April 6, 2017, Troyer wrote on Instagram that he had battled alcohol addiction in the past and that he was voluntarily checking himself into a treatment center. âWhile itâs not always been an easy fight, Iâm willing to continue my fight day by day,â he wrote.
He was hospitalized this month after the police and emergency medical services responded to a call at his Hollywood home, USA Today reported.
Verne J. Troyer was born on Jan. 1, 1969. Information about survivors was not immediately available.
One of Troyerâs first film roles came as a stunt double for a baby in the film âBabyâs Day Outâ (1994). In 2000 he shared an MTV Movie Award for âBest On-Screen Duoâ with Mike Myers for his role in âAustin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.â As Mini-Me, he portrayed the protĂ©gĂ© of Dr. Evil as played by Myers.
He also appeared in âMen in Blackâ (1997), âHow the Grinch Stole Christmasâ (2000) and âThe Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassusâ (2009).
He made headlines in 2008 when he sued celebrity news site TMZ and sought $20 million in damages for a sex tape Troyer said the website stole and posted online. His lawsuit said the tape was for his âown personal, private use.â
Troyer had a YouTube channel with more than half a million subscribers on which he frequently posted comedy skits. In his last video, posted three weeks ago, Troyer was in an armchair and talked about his pet peeves.
âJust because Iâm small people think that they can come up to me and tap me on the head,â he said. âIâm not a lap dog.â
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
LUIS FERRĂ-SADURNà © 2018 The New York Times