Gene Hackman began acting in 1956 at the Pasadena Playhouse in California, where he met another aspiring actor, Dustin Hoffman. The duo struggled during their stint at the Pasadena Playhouse, where they were voted “Least Likely To Succeed” and Hackman received the lowest score ever given to their players.
This frequently happens with superstars, who are unlike what people are accustomed to seeing. This unconventional aspect causes people to reject them initially, but it eventually catapults them to stardom.
Hackman said that the rejection he received initially helped him as an actor; they gave him the edge and the danger that informed many of his on-screen portrayals.
Hackman moved to New York to pursue theater, where he succeeded on stage and television.
His big break came as Buck Barrow, the explosive brother of the gangster Clyde Barrow in Arthur Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde (1967). Despite his limited on-screen time, Hackman’s performance created such an impact that it earned him admiration from critics and audiences and his first Oscar nomination.
Hackman’s first leading role was in I Never Sang for My Father (1970) as a man struggling to deal with a failed relationship with his dying father. Hackman received his second Oscar nomination for his nuanced performance.
Hackman’s star-maker was William Friedkin’s The French Connection (1971) and its sequel. Friedkin adopted a documentary style of shooting that made the film appear realistic. Another reason for this realism was Hackman’s performance. Hackman effectively captured the contradictions of his character; on the one hand, he stood for the law, but, on the other, he was ruthless, racist, and uncouth and violated the very laws he was on duty to maintain. It earned Hackman his first Oscar trophy for Best Actor.
Hackman was also excellent as a minister in Ronald Neame’s classic disaster film The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and as a former convict, Max Millan, in the underrated Scarecrow (1973).
Another of Hackman’s underrated pictures was Arthur Penn’s excellent psychological thriller Night Moves (1975), in which he played a cynical and troubled private investigator. Much like the film, Hackman’s performance was overlooked.
Hackman’s restrained and detailed performance as the surveillance expert Harry Caul in Francis Coppola’s The Conversation (1974) earned him plaudits from both audiences and critics. Hackman perfectly portrayed a deeply conflicted man whose paranoia is elevated as he obsesses over an assignment.
Hackman also relished playing comedic or over-the-top characters, such as the cameo in Mel Brooks’s Young Frankenstein (1974), and the evil Lex Luthor in Christopher Reeve’s Superman series.
After taking a brief break, Hackman returned in All Night Long (1981), which earned his co-star Barbra Streisand a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress while Hackman won great acclaim for his masterful performance.
Hackman played a former U.S. Marine Colonel who assembles a rag-tag team to rescue his son in Uncommon Valor (1983). He ably supported Kevin Costner in the thrilling No Way Out (1987), and he also appeared in the enjoyable political thriller The Package (1989)
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But Hackman’s best during that phase was his performance as an FBI agent in Alan Parker’s outstanding Mississippi Burning (1988), for which he was nominated for a second Best Actor Oscar. Apart from delivering a flawless performance, Hackman also delivered the hardest and most unexpected slap in on-screen history to Willem Dafoe.
Hackman lent his gravitas to three films based on John Grisham novels, namely, The Firm (1993), The Chamber (1996), and Runaway Jury (2003).
In 1992, Hackman returned to the stage to win great acclaim opposite Glenn Close and Richard Dreyfuss in Mike Nichols’s production of Death and the Maiden.
Hackman’s performance as the sadistic sheriff “Little Bill” Daggett in Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven (1992) earned him a second Oscar, this time for Best Supporting Actor. In a less skilled actor’s hands, this could have been a one-note performance, but Hackman explored the human side of Daggett, such as frustrations while building a house and with his dyslexia.
In 1994, he played the titular character’s father in Wyatt Earp. Hackman’s part was brief, but despite that, he depicted both the stern and sensitive side of his character. Hackman also played the antagonist to Sharon Stone in The Quick and the Dead (1995).
In Crimson Tide (1995), Hackman delivered a scene-stealing performance as a tough and principled submarine captain. The confrontation scenes between Hackman and Denzel Washington and Hackman’s speech to his crew are the highlights of this gripping thriller.
He showed his funny side in comedies such as Get Shorty (1995) and The Birdcage (1996). He showed his dark side in Extreme Measures (1996) and Clint Eastwood’s Absolute Power (1997).
Hackman also appeared in the thriller Enemy of the State (1998), where his character of a surveillance expert was similar to his part in The Conversation.
In 2001, he appeared in several pictures of diverse genres and quality, ranging from the terrible The Mexican to the funny Heartbreakers to the ordinary Heist to the over-the-top action picture Behind Enemy Lines.
But his best of that phase and perhaps even his entire career was Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums, where Hackman played the aging patriarch attempting to make amends to his estranged family. Hackman won great acclaim for his nuanced performance that effectively revealed the charming, endearing, yet pathetic, conniving, and melancholic sides of his character.
Hackman’s final role was in Welcome to Mooseport (2004).
Hackman’s career is replete with so much copious gold that it is quite a challenge to mine. One will inevitably miss some of his finest works.
After he retired from acting, Hackman devoted his time to painting and sculpture. He authored three historical novels: Escape from Andersonville, Wake of the Perdido Star, and Justice for None. He also wrote a Western, Payback at Morning Peak (2011), and a thriller, “Pursuit” (2013).
When asked by GQ magazine in 2011 how he’d like to be remembered, Hackman said, “as a decent actor” and “as someone who tried to portray what was given to them in an honest fashion.”
Hackman’s modest assessment of his talents is typical of his generation. For them, boasting was considered uncouth and humility was valued.
In reality, Hackman was a brilliant actor and superstar who consistently delivered, irrespective of the quality of the film. British director Alan Parker said that “every director has a short list of actors he’d die to work with, and I’ll bet Gene’s on every one.”
Hackman’s stardom was similar to that of Spencer Tracy, i.e., it wasn’t due to an image developed by repeatedly playing similar parts but, instead, arose from the respect he earned from audiences for prodigious acting talents.
It is said that movie stars alter their roles to suit their personality, while actors alter themselves to fit the roles. Hackman was the rare star who didn’t follow this rule; he always surrendered to the script to cater to the part. This is why it is impossible to state a Gene Hackman kind of role.
He could play it all, from domineering to vulnerable, from upbeat to jaded, from villainous to benevolent, from commanding to conniving. Despite not altering his physical appearance very much from part to part, Hackman’s talents and skill as an actor meant he was a different person in every film. It’s impossible to imagine his morally upright character in Hoosiers even crossing the streets to meet the charlatan he played in The Royal Tenenbaums.
For Hackman, the joy emanated solely from his work as an actor and not from the fame or any other perks of stardom.
Hackman was a former Marine, which meant he was tough and uncompromising and never suffered fools. He was known to be intolerant of inefficiency and incompetence on movie sets.
He was seldom seen at social events in Hollywood, apart from the occasional award ceremony. He never engaged in PR to boost his reputation and despised the publicity phase for his films.
He was often very forthright. He expressed his admiration for Reagan, which was a rarity in liberal Hollywood. He was among the few Hollywood people to say that Bill Clinton should resign following his sex scandal.
Hackman’s attitude toward Hollywood was perfectly reflected when he presented the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 1994. Hackman said, “When I open this envelope, four gifted nominees will engage their considerable talents to convince us they are happy the fifth is taking home the Oscar.”
One was accustomed to seeing Hackman’s name above the title of a film. For that reason, reading “the late” or “RIP” preceding his name seemed like a surreal nightmare and the end of an era. In the end, stardom isn’t just about box office numbers but also about the place the star has reserved in the minds of audiences. This is what Gene Hackman has achieved.
Hackman may have departed this world, but he will remain immortal on celluloid and in the minds of his admirers.
Image: Christopher Michael Little
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