Police reportedly responded to a suicide scare at the home of Verne Troyer, the actor who played Mini Me in the Austin Powers movies, on Monday night.
The news comes from a report by TMZ, which says that a friend called on Troyer’s behalf around 7:30 p.m. The actor, who has reportedly been battling alcoholism for some time, was described as extremely upset, drunk and even suicidal.
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First responders showed up in droves, including police, fire fighters and paramedics. Troyer was brought to a hospital where he was treated for possible alcohol poisoning. According to the outlet, he will be held for at least 72 hours to be evaluated.
Troyer may have received a psychiatric evaluation before even leaving his home. According to The Blast, Los Angeles Police were prepared for a mental health scare when they arrived at Troyer’s North Hollywood home. They reportedly put the actor on a 5150 hold, or a an involuntary psychiatric hold. This means that Troyer was legally regarded as “a danger to himself or others.”
The Los Angeles City Fire Department told the outlet that they responded to a call for “poisoning,” but declined to confirm whether it was alcohol-related or not.
Troyer spent two weeks in the hospital last April after he reportedly drank too much on his way to rehab. After that, he checked into an extensive treatment program for help. He also had a close call back in 2002, when he nearly died of alcohol poisoning again, according to TMZ. The outlet says that Troyer has made several visits to rehab facilities over the years.
While he is most recognizable as the star from Austin Powers, The Love Guru, Postal and several ot her major box office comedies, Troyer has become a star in his own right through social media. The actor has a substantial following on YouTube, where he regularly posts vlogs, Q&A videos, cooking videos and challenges for his followers.
His channel, called simply Verne Troyer, has over 624,000 subscribers at the time of this writing. It is filled with good-natured self deprecating humor, and reveals Troyer’s natural inclination towards entertainment. He has also collaborated with a number of other online superstars, including Logan Paul and Roman Atwood, and athletes such as Von Miller and Antonio Brown.
“Welcome to my channel!” reads Troyer’s self-description. “My name is Verne Troyer and you might recognize me from the big screen somewhere. However, on my YouTube channel, you will find all kinds of videos such as vlogs, cooking videos, my random adventures, challenges with different YouTubers and anything else I feel like uploading. Look for new uploads every Wednesday morning!”
