Hollywood is remembering two-time Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman after he and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico home on Wednesday.
The French Connection actor took home a Best Actor trophy for the 1971 thriller before winning Best Supporting Actor in 1993 for Unforgiven.
Hackman said how he hoped to be remembered “as a decent actor” during a 2011 interview with GQ magazine.
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“As someone who tried to portray what was given to them in an honest fashion,” he added in a rare interview seven years after his retirement from movie making.
“I don’t know, beyond that. I don’t think about that often, to be honest. I’m at an age where I should think about it,” he said with a laugh.
But that’s exactly how the 95-year-old actor is being remembered.
Francis Ford Coppola was among the first to pay tribute to the star of his 1974 film The Conversation.
“The loss of a great artist, always cause for both mourning and celebration: Gene Hackman a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity,” Coppola captioned a photo on Instagram.
“I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution.”
“We have lost one of the true giants of the screen,” Star Trek actor George Takei wrote in a tribute on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
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“Gene Hackman could play anyone, and you could feel a whole life behind it. He could be everyone and no one, a towering presence or an everyday Joe. That’s how powerful an actor he was.
“He will be missed, but his work will live on forever.”
British commentator Piers Morgan echoed a similar sentiment, describing the star as “a giant of the big screen”.
“Aside from the very sad circumstances of his death, Gene Hackman was one of the all-time great actors and brilliant in everything he ever did from French Connection and Unforgiven to Mississippi Burning, The Conversation and Superman,” Morgan wrote.
“We’ve lost a giant of the big screen.”
Irish comedian Dara O Briain mourned the loss of “the finest screen actor ever” in a tribute on X.
“Ah, Gene Hackman. The finest screen actor ever, I think. Not a single duff performance, in a long, long career,” he wrote.
“And the best delivery ever of a single word: when he says ‘Cigars!’ In Young Frankenstein.
Filmmaker Edgar Wright referred to Hackman as “the greatest” in a tribute on X, while actor Wes Johnson took to Threads, remembering a meeting they had on set.
“I loved Gene Hackman,” he wrote.
“He brought me much joy as a performer & meeting him on the set of The Replacements was special. Rest easy, sir. Thank you.”
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) shared a message on social media, reflecting on the Hollywood star’s three BAFTA wins over his career.
“We are saddened to hear that the much-celebrated actor Gene Hackman has died aged 95,” they wrote.
“Hackman’s illustrious career spanned over six decades and earned him BAFTA wins for his work in Unforgiven, The French Connection and The Poseidon Adventure.”
French production house and movie distributor Studio Canal echoed a similar sentiment online.
“What a colossal loss for cinema today,” they wrote on X.
“Hugely saddened by the passing of one of the true greats – Gene Hackman. We send our deepest condolences.”
Hackman left home at 16, enlisting in the Marines and working as a journalist before getting into theatre and then movies.
Hackman left home at 16, enlisting in the Marines and working as a journalist before getting into theatre and then movies.
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His first Broadway role in 1964’s Any Wednesday sparked the attention of Hollywood agents, leading to a role in Lillith alongside Warren Beatty.
Beatty was also by his side in 1967 when Hackman’s turn as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde earned him his first Oscar nomination, for Best Supporting Actor.
Hackman excelled at playing conflicted characters or villains and famously played Lex Luthor in 1978’s Superman.
In 1990 the Hollywood star underwent an angioplasty to treat congestive heart failure and carried on acting for another 14 years.
His final movie came in 2004, aged 74, in Welcome to Mooseport, after which the actor retired on doctor’s advice.
Hackman and Arakawa, along with their dog, were found dead in their home but Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said there was no indication of foul play.
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