'Austin Powers' Mini Me actor Verne Troyer hospitalized
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Verne Troyer, the diminutive actor known for playing Mini Me in the “Austin Powers” comedy films, has been hospitalized, according to reports and a post on the actor's Instagram account.
Los Angeles firefighters responded to the 49-year-old actor’s home around 8:30 p.m. Monday night, and he was rushed to a hospital for a “reported poisoning,” People magazine reported.
Troyer was later placed in an “involuntary psychiatric hold,” according to the Blast. Such restraints are used when a patient is deemed to be “a danger to themselves or others,” the report said.
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Emergency personnel told TMZ that a friend of Troyer’s had alerted them, referring to the actor as being “extremely upset, drunk and suicidal.”
TMZ noted that the actor had been hospitalized for alcohol abuse about a year ago, and spent some time in rehab afterward.
A statement later appeared on Troyer’s Instagram site. It read, in part: “Asking you to keep Verne in your thoughts and prayers. He’s getting the best care possible and is resting comfortably.”
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The "Austin Powers" movies starred former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Mike Myers as both the title character – a kind of comedic spy -- as well as Dr. Evil, Powers’ arch nemesis. Troyer, in his role as Mini Me, plays a clone of Dr. Evil.
The first “Austin Powers” film, “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery,” appeared in 1997. It was followed in 1999 by “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,” and in 2002 by “Austin Powers in Goldmember.”