Actor
Gene Hackman
Born 30 January 1930 · San Bernardino, California, USA — died 17 February 2025
Gene Hackman (1930–2025) was an American actor admired for his intensity and naturalism. He moved between hard-edged leads and memorable villains or authority figures across five decades. He won two Academy Awards and became one of the defining screen actors of the New Hollywood era and after.
Key films
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
His Oscar-nominated turn as Buck Barrow brought him wide notice and launched his rise to stardom.
The French Connection (1971)
His abrasive detective Popeye Doyle won him the Best Actor Oscar and became his signature role.
The Conversation (1974)
A quiet, haunted performance as a surveillance expert, often cited as one of his finest.
Unforgiven (1992)
As the brutal sheriff Little Bill, he won a second Oscar, for Best Supporting Actor.
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
A late-career comic highlight as the selfish patriarch Royal, directed by Wes Anderson.
Key awards
- 1972 Academy Award for Best Actor (The French Connection)
- 1972 Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama (The French Connection)
- 1993 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (Unforgiven)
- 2002 Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy (The Royal Tenenbaums)
- 2003 Cecil B. DeMille Award (Golden Globes)
On Cinespective
Full filmography · 120
- 1961Mad Dog Coll · as Cop (uncredited)Actor
- 1964Lilith · as NormanActor
- 1966Hawaii · as John WhippleActor
- 1967Bonnie and Clyde · as Buck BarrowActor
- 1967Banning · as Tommy Del GaddoActor
- 1967A Covenant with Death · as HarmsworthActor
- 1967First to Fight · as Sergeant TweedActor
- 1968The Split · as Lt. Walter BrillActor
- 1968Shadow on the Land · as Rev. Thomas DavisActor
- 1969Marooned · as Buzz LloydActor
- 1969Downhill Racer · as Eugene ClaireActor
- 1969The Gypsy Moths · as Joe BrowdyActor
- 1969Riot · as Red FrakerActor
- 1969The Sky Divers · as SelfActor
- 1970I Never Sang for My Father · as Gene GarrisonActor
- 1971The French Connection · as Jimmy "Popeye" DoyleActor
- 1971The Hunting Party · as Brandt RugerActor
- 1971Doctors' Wives · as Dave RandolphActor
- 1972The Poseidon Adventure · as Reverend ScottActor
- 1972Prime Cut · as Mary AnnActor
- 1972Cisco Pike · as Officer Leo HollandActor
- 1973Scarecrow · as Max MillanActor
- 1973On the Road with: Scarecrow · as SelfActor
- 1974Young Frankenstein · as BlindmanActor
- 1974The Conversation · as Harry CaulActor
- 1974Zandy's Bride · as Zandy AllenActor
- 1975French Connection II · as "Popeye" DoyleActor
- 1975Night Moves · as Harry MosebyActor
- 1975Bite the Bullet · as Sam ClaytonActor
- 1975Lucky Lady · as KibbyActor
- 1977A Bridge Too Far · as Maj. Gen. Stanislaw F. SosabowskiActor
- 1977March or Die · as Major William Sherman FosterActor
- 1977The Domino Principle · as TuckerActor
- 1978Superman · as Lex LuthorActor
- 1978Formula 1 - Speed fever · as SelfActor
- 1980Superman II · as Lex LuthorActor
- 1981Reds · as Pete van WherryActor
- 1981All Night Long · as George DuplerActor
- 1982The Making of 'Superman: The Movie' · as SelfActor
- 1983Uncommon Valor · as Col. Cal RhodesActor
- 1983Under Fire · as Alex GrazierActor
- 1983Two of a Kind · as God (voice) (uncredited)Actor
- 1983Eureka · as Jack McCannActor
- 1983Misunderstood · as Ned RawleyActor
- 1983The Making of 'Superman II' · as SelfActor
- 1985Target · as Walter LloydActor
- 1985Twice in a Lifetime · as Harry MacKenzieActor
- 1986Hoosiers · as Norman DaleActor
- 1986Power · as Wilfred BuckleyActor
- 1987Superman IV: The Quest for Peace · as Lex LuthorActor
- 1987No Way Out · as Defense Secretary David BriceActor
- 1988Mississippi Burning · as Agent Rupert AndersonActor
- 1988Another Woman · as LarryActor
- 1988Bat★21 · as Lt. Col. Iceal HambletonActor
- 1988Split Decisions · as Dan McGuinnActor
- 1988Full Moon in Blue Water · as FloydActor
- 1989The Package · as Sgt. Johnny GallagherActor
- 1990Postcards from the Edge · as Lowell KolchekActor
- 1990Narrow Margin · as Robert CaulfieldActor
- 1990Loose Cannons · as MacArthur SternActor
- 1991Class Action · as Jedediah Tucker WardActor
- 1991Company Business · as Sam BoydActor
- 1992Unforgiven · as 'Little' Bill DaggettActor
- 1992Earth and the American Dream · as Reader (voice)Actor
- 1992Eastwood & Co.: Making 'Unforgiven' · as SelfActor
- 1993The Firm · as Avery TolarActor
- 1993Geronimo: An American Legend · as Brig. Gen. George CrookActor
- 1994Wyatt Earp · as Nicholas EarpActor
- 1994Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso · as SelfActor
- 1994Shurtleff on Acting · as SelfActor
- 1995Crimson Tide · as Captain Franklin "Frank" RamseyActor
- 1995The Quick and the Dead · as HerodActor
- 1995Get Shorty · as Harry ZimmActor
- 1995The Making of 'Crimson Tide' · as SelfActor
- 1996The Birdcage · as Senator Kevin KeeleyActor
- 1996Extreme Measures · as Dr. Lawrence MyrickActor
- 1996The Chamber · as Sam CayhallActor
- 1996Making Frankensense of Young Frankenstein · as Blind Man (archive footage)Actor
- 1997Absolute Power · as President RichmondActor
- 1997Sports on the Silver Screen · as Self (archive footage)Actor
- 1998Antz · as General Mandible (voice)Actor
- 1998Enemy of the State · as BrillActor
- 1998Twilight · as Jack AmesActor
- 1999Hitchcock, Selznick and the End of Hollywood · as Narrator (voice)Actor
- 2000The Replacements · as Jimmy McGintyActor
- 2000Under Suspicion · as Henry HearstActor
- 2000Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows · as SelfActor
- 2000The Poughkeepsie Shuffle: Tracing 'The French Connection' · as SelfActor
- 2001The Royal Tenenbaums · as Royal TenenbaumActor
- 2001Behind Enemy Lines · as Admiral Leslie Reigart, Commander Adriatic Battle GroupActor
- 2001The Mexican · as MargoleseActor
- 2001Heartbreakers · as William B. TensyActor
- 2001Heist · as Joe MooreActor
- 2001Once Upon a Time: The Super Heroes · as Lex Luthor (archive footage)Actor
- 2001Making 'Superman': Filming the Legend · as SelfActor
- 2001Taking Flight: The Development of 'Superman' · as SelfActor
- 2001Making the Connection: Untold Stories of The French Connection · as SelfActor
- 2001Heroes of Iwo Jima · as Self - Host / NarratorActor
- 2001With the Filmmaker: Wes Anderson · as SelfActor
- 2001Will Shuster's Zozobra™ de Santa Fe · as Narrator / SelfActor
- 2002Eastwood & Co.: Making 'Unforgiven' · as SelfActor
- 2002All on Accounta Pullin' a Trigger · as SelfActor
- 2002Page to Screen: 'The Silence of the Lambs' · as SelfActor
- 2003Runaway Jury · as Rankin FitchActor
- 2004Welcome to Mooseport · as Monroe ColeActor
- 2004Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust · as NarratorActor
- 2005Shipibo Konibo: A Rite of Passage · as Narrator (voice)Actor
- 2006Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut · as Lex LuthorActor
- 2008Revolution! The Making of 'Bonnie and Clyde' · as SelfActor
- 2009I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale · as SelfActor
- 2013Eastwood Directs: The Untold Story · as SelfActor
- 2014Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films · as Lex Luthor (archive footage) (uncredited)Actor
- 2016The Unknown Flag Raiser of Iwo Jima · as Self - NarratorActor
- 2017We, the Marines · as Self - Narrator (voice)Actor
- 2017Pattern Recognition · as Self (archive footage)Actor
- 2019Sacheen: Breaking the Silence · as Self (archive footage)Actor
- 2021Quentin Tarantino: From a Movie Buff to a Hollywood Legend · as Self (archive footage)Actor
- 2024Remembering Gene Wilder · as Self (archive footage)Actor
- 2025Breakdown: 1975 · as Self (The Conversation/The Poseidon Adventure- archive footage)Actor
- 2025The Last Days of Gene Hackman: ABC News Special · as Self (archive footage)Actor
Filmography data from TMDB. The profile text is a draft written for Cinespective.