(born 1930). U.S. motion-picture actor Gene Hackman was known for his rugged appearance and his emotionally honest and natural performances. His solid dependability in a wide variety of roles endeared him to the public. He was the winner of both a best actor and a best supporting actor Academy award.
Eugene Alden Hackman was born on Jan. 30, 1930, in San Bernadino, Calif., and enlisted in the marines at age 16. After his discharge he studied journalism and television production at the University of Illinois, eventually leaving to pursue acting in California. He first worked in summer stock and Off-Broadway plays in New York, and he obtained a bit part as a policeman in the film Mad Dog Coll (1961). In 1964 he acted in his first Broadway role in Muriel Resnick’s Any Wednesday. His performance gained the attention of Hollywood agents, and Hackman was subsequently cast in the film Lilith (1964), which starred Warren Beatty.
By the late 1960s Hackman was finding steady work in films. He appeared with Beatty once again in the 1967 hit Bonnie and Clyde, winning a nomination for an Oscar as best supporting actor. He earned a second best actor nomination with I Never Sang for My Father (1970). In 1971 Hackman was cast as maverick detective Popeye Doyle in the action drama The French Connection, for which Hackman garnered the Academy Award for best actor. He starred as a popular leading actor throughout the 1970s in dramas such as The Poseidon Adventure (1972), The Conversation (1974), and Night Moves (1975) and in more playful movies such as Young Frankenstein (1974) and Superman (1978).
Hackman continued to act throughout the 1980s in such movies as Reds (1981), Hoosiers (1986), and No Way Out (1987). He was once again nominated for a best actor Oscar for his performance in Mississippi Burning (1988). He won the Academy Award for best supporting actor for his portrayal of Little Bill Daggett in the western Unforgiven (1992). Later films included Get Shorty (1995), Enemy of the State (1998), The Royal Tennenbaums (2001), Runaway Jury (2003), and Welcome to Mooseport (2004). He was the co-author of three novels.
