VIDEO: MINI-ME, VERNE TROYER PASSES AWAY AFTER A LONG BATTLE WITH ALCOHOL ABUSE AND DEPRESSION

Verne Troyer, widely known as Mini-Me from the Austin Powers movies, has passed away at the age of 49. He was taken to the hospital earlier this month after emergency responders rushed into his home in Los Angeles for reported alcohol poisoning.

Troyer later took to his social networking sites to play down his health struggles, saying he was checking into rehab. He had visited rehab twice in the past and had a near brush with death from alcohol poisoning in 2002. He addressed the issue saying: "I've been hearing from some concerned fans, so I'd like to address a personal situation. As you know, I've battled alcohol addiction in the past and while it's not always been an easy fight, I'm willing to continue my fight day by day. I've been receiving treatment for the last week and I am voluntarily checking into a treatment centre later this week to continue to get the help that I need. I want to thank everyone that's reached out with their messages of support, it truly means the world to me. With your support, I got this."

On the 21st of April, his death was announced in a statement released on his social media accounts saying: "It is with great sadness and incredibly heavy hearts to write that Verne passed away today. Verne was an extremely caring individual. He wanted to make everyone smile, be happy and laugh. Anybody in need, he would help to any extent possible. Verne hoped he made a positive change with the platform he had and worked towards spreading that message every day. Verne was also a fighter when it came to his own battles. Over the years he's struggled and won, struggled and won, struggled and fought some more, but unfortunately, this time was too much. During this recent time of adversity, he was baptized while surrounded by his family. The family appreciates that they have this time to grieve privately. Depression and Suicide are very serious issues. You never know what kind of battle someone is going through inside. Be kind to one another. And always know, it's never too late to reach out to someone for help."

While the cause of death wasn't officially announced, the statement released suggested that he had been struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts in recent months and threatened suicide mere weeks before his death.

His most famous role was that of Mini-Me, the diminutive clone of Mike Myers' Dr. Evil, in "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" and "Goldmember". Myers, in a statement released on the 21st of April, called Troyer the "consummate professional and a beacon of positivity. It is a sad day, but I hope he is in a better place. He will be greatly missed". 

Troyer was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in 2016 and said that the character wasn't initially supposed to be featured in the film much. "I had no idea how famous this character was going to be," he said. "Once we started rehearsal, Mike (Myers) kept adding more parts."
Mini-Me died in an early version of the "Spy Who Shagged Me" but a crowd at a test screening objected so they reshot some scenes.

Mini-Me didn't talk during the movies but sometimes let out a squeal or mimicked what Dr. Evil was doing.

Condolences from celebrities poured in from social media, commemorating his energetic spirit including Tony Hawk who posted a picture on Instagram captioned: "Thanks for all the laughs, generosity and heartfelt support, Verne. I will always be a big fan and it was an honour that you bought my used shoes and skateboard at the Tony Hawk Foundation auction".