"Gene musta made a thousand films
He's kissed a thousand girls
And made a thousand kills
And let's not forget he took on Superman! "
He's kissed a thousand girls
And made a thousand kills
And let's not forget he took on Superman! "
—Hoodoo Gurus, "Gene Hackman"
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman (born January 30, 1930 in San Bernardino, California) is a retired American actor and novelist.
In a career spanning five decades, he has been nominated for five Academy Awards (winning Best Actor for The French Connection and Best Supporting Actor for Unforgiven), as well as eight Golden Globe Awards and five BAFTAs.
Hackman retired from acting in 2004. By then he had already written multiple books, and decided to become a full-time novelist.
Filmography:
- Bonnie and Clyde (1967) as Buck Barrow
- The Gypsy Moths (1969) as Joe
- Downhill Racer (1969) as Eugene Claire
- Marooned (1969) as Buzz Lloyd
- I Never Sang For My Father (1970) as Gene Garrison
- The French Connection (1971) as NYPD Det. Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle
- The Poseidon Adventure (1972) as Reverend Frank Scott
- Prime Cut (1972) as Mary Ann
- Scarecrow (1973) as Max
- The Conversation (1974) as Harry Caul
- Young Frankenstein (1974) as the Blindman (Harold)
- Night Moves (1975) as Harry Moseby
- A Bridge Too Far (1977) as Maj Gen. Stanisław Sosabowski
- Superman (1978) as Lex Luthor
- Superman II (1980) as Lex Luthor
- Reds (1981) as Pete Van Wherry
- Uncommon Valor (1983) as Col. Jason Rhodes, USMC (ret)
- Under Fire (1983) as Alex Grazier
- Hoosiers (1986) as Coach Norman Dale
- No Way Out (1987) as Defense Secretary David Brice
- Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) as Lex Luthor / voice of Nuclear Man
- Bat*21 (1988) as Lt. Col. Iceal Hambleton, USAF
- Mississippi Burning (1988) as FBI Special Agent Rupert Anderson
- Loose Cannons (1990) as Det. MacArthur "Mac" Stern
- Postcards from the Edge (1990) as Lowell Kolchek
- Class Action (1991) as Jedediah Tucker Ward
- Unforgiven (1992) as Little Bill Daggett
- The Firm (1993) as Avery Tolar
- Geronimo: An American Legend (1993) as Brig. Gen. George Cook
- Wyatt Earp (1994) as Nicholas Earp
- The Quick and the Dead (1995) as John Herod
- Crimson Tide (1995) as Capt. Frank Ramsey
- Get Shorty (1995) as Harry Zimm
- The Birdcage (1996) as Senator Kevin Keeley
- Extreme Measures (1996) as Dr. Lawrence Myrick
- Absolute Power (1997) as President Allen Richmond
- Enemy of the State (1998) as Edward 'Brill' Lyle
- Antz (1998) as General Mandible (voice)
- Under Suspicion (2000) as Henry Hearst
- The Replacements (2000) as Jimmy McGinty
- Heartbreakers (2001) as William B. Tensy
- The Mexican (2001) as Arnold Margolese
- The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) as Royal Tenenbaum
- Behind Enemy Lines (2001) as Admiral Leslie McMahon Reigart
- Heist (2001) (2001) as Joe Moore
- Runaway Jury (2003) as Rankin Fitch
- Welcome to Mooseport (2004) as Monroe Eagle Cole (The movie was so bad that it prompted him to retire from acting)
Tropes relating to his work:
- Anti-Hero: Most of his roles at the height of his career.
- Artist Disillusionment: With his acting career in general, hence his retirement in 2004.
- Authority Equals Asskicking: His roles tend to be The Brigadier, the Colonel Badass, the Four-Star Badass, or the Majorly Awesome.
- Appeal to Tradition: Apparently as an immutable traditionalist when is comes to filmmaking and being picky of what projects he prefer doing, he is against the modernization, unconventional methoding and the newer generation of the film industry in an ever-changing time and by 2004 was so sick of modern Hollywood that he retired.
- Big Bad: A quarter of his later roles.
- Chronically Killed Actor: Due to playing most of the above.
- Cool Old Guy: Many of his non-villainous roles.
- The Danza: He played Eugene Claire in Downhill Racer and Gene Garrison in I Never Sang for My Father, but that was just serendipity, because it was the name of the character in the original play it was adapted from (Hal Holbrook played the role on Broadway).
- It Will Never Catch On: He was widely dismissed as having no talent or future by his instructors and classmates during his brief time at the Pasadena Playhouse, even being voted "least likely to succeed" alongside another student who was a friend of his. A former instructor even took a moment to tell him he knew he'd never amount to anything when he saw Hackman as a doorman in New York years later. Needless to say, he ended up proving them very wrong. The other student ended up doing pretty well for himself too.
- Large Ham: He loves Chewing the Scenery at times.
- Production Posse: Have starred in movies directed by Arthur Penn and Clint Eastwood.
- Semper Fi: He served in the Marine Corps before he started acting.
- Star-Making Role: Though his work in Bonnie and Clyde brought him to prominence (earning him his first Oscar nomination), The French Connection is the true standout, as it was one that he almost didn't get (director William Friedkin had considered roughly eight other actors before finally settling on Hackman), and it ended up proving his proficiency as a leading man, which he would remain for the rest of his career. Additionally, it won him his first Oscar.
