Gene Hackman, whose career in cinema spanned more than 80 films over five decades, was an actor who could ace every type of role. Famed for the Everyman quality to his work with which audiences of all kinds could identify with, he was the winner of two Academy Awards (he was nominated for five Oscars) and was bestowed an honorary Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globes, while winning three competitive Globes from eight nominations. t2 picks 10 of his top films...
THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971)
The William Friedkin film is arguably the role — in a career of incredibly memorable roles — that Gene Hackman will be best remembered for. Hackman, 41 at the time, starred as NYPD Detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle, a hard-nosed cop who, with his partner Buddy “Cloudy” Russo (Roy Scheider), tries to hunt down and stop French criminal mastermind Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey) from delivering a huge stash of heroin to the US. While the plot may largely seem pedestrian, it was Friedkin’s electrifying direction and the explosive performances, led by Hackman, whose rough cop act made us cheer him on against the bad guy, that makes The French Connection a film that can be rewatched even five decades later. For his performance as Popeye Doyle, Hackman won his first Academy Award as well as his maiden Golden Globe Award.
UNFORGIVEN (1992)
Hackman’s second Oscar — this time for Best Supporting Actor — came 22 years after his first. In Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven, the man delivered a mesmerising touch to his part of a corrupt sheriff in an Old West Wyoming town. By all measures the juiciest part in this Best Picture Academy Award winner, Hackman often overshadowed Eastwood (who also directed the film), playing a sadistic law enforcer in the way only he could.
THE CONVERSATION (1974)
Francis Ford Coppola’s 1974 film — that came out in the same year as his iconic The Godfather Part II — had Hackman delivering one of his career-best performances as Harry Caul, a privacy-obsessed surveillance expert who, on a routine job, tapes a conversation that may have led to a potential murder. Caul has been described as “one of the most affecting and tragic characters in the movies”, with many reviews hailing the performance as Hackman’s “career peak”.
BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967)
Hackman’s big break on the big screen was in this Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway classic. As Buck Barrow, who becomes part of his younger brother Clyde’s (Beatty) gang, Hackman lets us into Buck’s mind as he seems slightly irritated at having to take orders from his younger sibling and his new girlfriend Bonnie (Dunaway). The spectacular star-making performance gave him his first Oscar nod and made him an actor that one knew was there for the long run.
I NEVER SANG FOR MY FATHER (1970)
In this family drama, an adaptation of the Robert Anderson play of the same name, Hackman plays Gene Garrison, a widowed college professor who still feels smothered by his parents, particularly by his father Tom (Melvyn Douglas). Still, Gene is burdened with guilt in dealing with his father, particularly since he plans to remarry and move with his new wife far away in California. Hackman was a trained theatre actor, but this film was one of his rare outings adapted from the stage. He excelled, earning yet another Oscar nomination.
HOOSIERS (1986)
Hackman starred in quite a few sports-themed films in his career, but perhaps the most beloved of them all is this critically acclaimed 1986 film about Indiana high school basketball. The actor portrayed Norman Dale, hired by Hickory High School to replace their late beloved coach. Almost from the start, Dale’s methods alienate the basketball-crazy citizens of Hickory to the point where he is nearly voted out by the citizenry but is given a reprieve when the town’s best player says that he will return to the team. At that point, Dale buckles down and sets out to bring the town a championship. Hackman’s coach is a tried-and-tested character, but he added touches both big and small that helped to individualise Dale and make us care about him. In this performance, Hackman combined likability with complexity — two qualities that usually don’t go together in the movies, but he pulled it off with elan.
MISSISSIPPI BURNING (1988)
One to largely steer away from controversy, Mississippi Burning was an exception for Hackman. Loosely based on the murder of three civil rights workers in Mississippi in 1964, the film focuses on the FBI investigation of the killings. Hackman plays Agent Rupert Anderson who, along with his partner Alan Ward (Willem Dafoe), travels to Mississippi to investigate the murders. Though some, including the families of the murdered workers, objected to the film’s fictionalisation, the acting from Hackman, Dafoe and Frances McDormand was widely praised. For his performance as Agent Anderson, Hackman earned his fourth Academy Award nomination and his sixth Golden Globes nod. “It is Hackman who steals the picture as Anderson,” opined Variety.
SUPERMAN (1978)
This may not make it to many lists, but Hackman was a hoot in the role of Superman’s arch-nemesis Lex Luthor in this 1978 film. Hackman had the ability to lend a tongue-in-cheek quality to his villains and nowhere is it more evident than this film which had the legendary Christopher Reeve as Superman. Hackman seemed to have a ball playing Luthor, reprising the role in Superman II (1980) and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987).
THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS (2001)
Wes Anderson’s delightful look at the dynamics of a dysfunctional family had Hackman in the role of Royal Tenenbaum, the shady patriarch of the eccentric family whose high-achieving children peaked way too early but now have no purpose in life. Many critics praised Hackman’s performance, hailing the quick precision and deep seriousness he brought to the role. He won a Golden Globe for his effort.
ENEMY OF THE STATE (1998)
Hackman invariably excelled in roles that required a certain mystery and Enemy of the State remains memorable on that front. Tony Scott’s espionage thriller had Hackman paired with Will Smith, with the two displaying remarkable chemistry together. On his part, Hackman’s act elevated Enemy of the State from a generic thriller and made it much more than the usual spy movie.