Gene Hackman

Was the first choice to play Mike Brady on "The Brady Bunch" .

He was the sixth choice to play Popeye Doyle in The French Connection .

He lied about his age to join the Marines at 16, but left as soon as his initial tour was complete.

While at the Pasadena Playhouse, Hackman and a classmate were voted "Least likely to succeed". The classmate was Dustin Hoffman.

Was the first choice to play Dr. Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs .

Was also offered the chance to direct The Silence of the Lambs .

Turned down the part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Pearl Harbor , which went to Jon Voight.

Jailed as a teen (c. 1946) for stealing candy & soda pop from a candy store.

One of the most sustaining actors of all time, he still averaged two films a year in his 70s, having starred in six in 2001 alone. This all changed however in 2004, when he last acted in Welcome to Mooseport . He has not appeared in anything since.

Has stated that his performance in Scarecrow is his personal favorite.

Revealed on "Inside the Actors Studio" that two of the most important factors in deciding on which films he will work on are the script and the money.

2001: Was involved in a road-rage incident when two young men attacked him for hitting their car in Hollywood.

Father of Christopher Hackman. He also has 2 daughters named Leslie Hackman and Elizabeth Hackman.

Brother of Richard Hackman.

Has appeared in three films adapted from novels by John Grisham : The Firm , The Chamber and Runaway Jury .

Based his role, in The Conversation , on one of his uncles and a fellow Marine he had known well. He characterized the Marine as someone "who probably became a serial killer".

Dustin Hoffman came to New York after finishing his training at the Pasadena Playhouse. The two of them roomed together in New York at Hackmans one-bedroom apartment on 2nd Ave. & 26th St. Hoffman slept on the kitchen floor. Originally, Hackman had offered to let him stay a few nights, but Hoffman would not leave. Hackman had to take him out to look for his own apartment.

As roommates, Dustin Hoffman and Hackman would often go to the apartment rooftop and play the drums. Hoffman played the bongo drums while Hackman played the conga drums. They did it out of their love for Marlon Brando , who they had heard played music in clubs. They wanted to be like Brando and were big fans of his.

Dustin Hoffman asked for the part of Rankin Fitch in Runaway Jury , which had gone to Hackman. Hoffman admits to asking, "Cant you get rid of Gene and give me the part?".

Runaway Jury was the first time he and former roommate Dustin Hoffman performed on the screen together.

Met actor Dustin Hoffman in the first month at Pasadena Playhouse. Had several classes with him.

Was admitted into the famed Pasadena Playhouse on the G.I. Bill. He failed out of it after 3 months and moved to New York to continue being a stage actor. Received 1 of the lowest grades the school had ever given (1.3 out of 10). He headed to New York with the intention of proving them wrong.

Was the subject of the song "Gene Hackman" by Hoodoo Gurus.

Turned down the lead roles in Jaws , Close Encounters of the Third Kind , and Raiders of the Lost Ark .

7/7/04: Appeared on "Larry King Live" . Larry King was surprised to find out that Hackman had no movies lined up, and Hackman replied by saying that he thinks it is the end of his career.

Says watching his own films makes him terribly nervous.

Reportedly turned down the role of Randall Patrick McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest .

Reportedly turned down one of the lead roles in Network .

After he played Little Bill in Unforgiven , Hackman vowed not to appear in any more violent films. After he had been in violent films dating back to Bonnie and Clyde and The French Connection (in a role refused by Peter Boyle for the same reasons), he said he was fed up with them.

Along with Margot Kidder , Hackman was appalled at the way Alexander Salkind and Ilya Salkind , the producers of the first three Superman films and 1984s Supergirl film, had treated director Richard Donner , who had directed the first Superman and most of the second Superman film back-to-back before he was fired by the Salkinds over creative differences. Hackman, who said he only did the first two movies because of Donners persuasion, was so angry with the Salkinds that he vehemently refused to reprise the role of Lex Luthor in Superman III , while Margot Kidder , who played Lois Lane, only appeared in a cameo role. Hackman was later persuaded to reprise the Luthor role in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace .

Enjoys painting and writing fiction.

Lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

As a young man, Hackman attended a showing of the movie A Streetcar Named Desire and was impressed by the performance of Marlon Brando due to his naturalism and the fact that he didnt look like what a movie star typically looked like in the 1950s. After exiting the theater, he told his father that he wanted to be an actor.

Even though he is no longer a cigarette smoker, Hackman played the role of a chain-smoker in Heartbreakers . He was using a special kind of cigarette that only produces heavy smoke without requiring any inhaling. Ironically and tragically, in 1962, Hackmans mother Lydia died of injuries incurred from a fire caused by her own smoking.

Turned down the lead role of Roy Neary in Close Encounters of the Third Kind because he was in a troubled marriage and could not spend 16 weeks outside of Los Angeles on location shooting.

In a 2004 Vanity Fair story on him, Dustin Hoffman , and Robert Duvall , Hackman said one of the worst memories of being a struggling actor, was working as a doorman in New York City. He recalled having seen former Marine officers pass him by when opening the door for them, of which one had said "Hackman, youre a sorry son of a bitch."

While a struggling actor in New York City, he worked as a soda jerk in a pharmacy and as a furniture mover. But told Time Magazine in 2011 that "worst job I ever had" was working nights at the legendary Chrysler Building--as part of a crew that polished the leather furniture.

After flunking out of the Pasadena Playhouse and moving to New York City with fellow drop-out Dustin Hoffman , Hackman worked at the Howard Johnsons restaurant in Times Square as a doorman. One day, a Pasadena Playhouse acting teacher whom Hackman hated walked by him, stopped, and told him that he had been right, that Hackman would never amount to anything.

In Robert Osborne s "Academy Awards 1972 Oscar Annual", Hackman is quoted as saying Errol Flynn was his boyhood idol. Says a poster of Flynn is one of the only movie mementos he has in his otherwise very "civilian" Santa Fe home.

1990: Underwent successful angioplasty surgery after nearly suffering a severe heart attack.

Is one of only a few actors to win an Oscar for a supporting role after winning an Oscar for a leading role. (Others to do so are Jack Nicholson , Maggie Smith and Helen Hayes ).

In the Superman movies, he didnt like the idea of going bald for his role as Lex Luthor. He was allowed to wear wigs instead, and was convinced to wear a bald cap in only a few scenes.

Has played three fictional Presidents: he plays President Alan Richmand in Absolute Power . His Superman character, Lex Luthor, became President of the United States in the year 2000, in the DC Comics. He also played President Monroe "Eagle" Cole in Welcome to Mooseport .

Hackman replaced George Segal in the role of Kibby in the notorious flop Lucky Lady . Possibly anticipating that the film would be a turkey, Segal bailed out of the production and Hackman was brought in at the last-minute. The desperate producers paid Hackman - riding high from the huge box office success of The Poseidon Adventure --a reported $1.2 million for his role, $500,000 more than Segals going rate. Hackman knew co-star Burt Reynolds from starring in the first episode of Burts short-lived 1966 TV series "Hawk" .

His performance as Harry Caul in The Conversation is ranked #37 on Premiere Magazines 100 Greatest Performances of All Time .

Hackman has said that the failure of Scarecrow turned him off of art films due to the disappointment of working hard on a film that was critically acclaimed, but that tanked at the box office and failed to garner any awards. After this flop, Hackman mainly concentrated on acting for money, turning down such films as One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest and Network for roles in films like March or Die and Lucky Lady that offered him fatter paychecks.

Appeared on Richard Nixon s infamous "List of Enemies" during the 1972 presidential election, the only time Hackman was publicly involved in politics. During an interview on "Larry King Live" in July 2004, Hackman stated that although he is a Democrat, he liked President Ronald Reagan , who had died the previous month.

Before he decided to become an actor, he worked numerous jobs including announcing at small radio and TV stations.

Studied journalism and TV production at the University of Illinois, where he was voted "Least Likely to Succeed.".

Was a Dallas Cowboys fan but now regularly attends Jacksonville Jaguars games as a guest of his friend, head coach Jack Del Rio.

In contrast with his on-screen image of tough guy and reactionary, in real life Hackman is said to be an extremely gentle, shy person who holds very progressive political views.

Turned down the role of Sheriff Teasle in First Blood .

Friends with Kris Kristofferson since Cisco Pike .

Turned down the leading role in Sorcerer that went to Roy Scheider , Hackmans co-star in The French Connection .

Both Hackman and his former roommate, Dustin Hoffman , had their big breaks in 1967, Hackman in Bonnie and Clyde and Hoffman in The Graduate .

Distantly related to Jenni Blong.

Released his novel, a violent Western, "Payback at Morning Peak" in June, 2011.

In the late 1970s, he competed in Sports Car Club of America races driving open-wheeled Formula Ford. In 1983, he drove in a 24-hour Daytona endurance race. He has also won the Long Beach Grand Prix Celebrity Race.

Is one of only four actors to win two Oscars for films that also won Best Picture (the others being Marlon Brando , Jack Nicholson , and Dustin Hoffman ).

Did not start acting until he was 25.

Release of his book, "Wake of the Perdido Star", by Gene with Daniel Lenihan.

(June 2007) He is the voice on the commercials for the Lowes home center store chain, and has been for the past couple of years.

Release of his book, "Justice For None", by Gene with Daniel Lenihan.

(April 2008) Announces his retirement from acting at the age of 78.

Release of his book, "Escape From Andersonville: A Novel of the Civil War", by Gene with Daniel Lenihan.

Has appeared in six films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Bonnie and Clyde , The French Connection , The Conversation , Reds , Mississippi Burning and Unforgiven . The French Connection and Unforgiven won in the category and rewarded Hackman for his acting efforts twice.

He has worked with 10 directors who have won a Best Director Oscar: George Roy Hill , William Friedkin , Francis Ford Coppola , Richard Attenborough , Warren Beatty , Woody Allen , Mike Nichols , Clint Eastwood , Sydney Pollack , and Robert Benton.

He was considered for the role of Dr. Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs before his A Bridge Too Far co-star Anthony Hopkins.

He appeared in four films with John Ratzenberger : A Bridge Too Far , Superman , Superman II and Reds .

He was initially reluctant to take the role of Lex Luthor in Superman: The Movie as he didnt want to shave off a mustache he had recently grown. Richard Donner made a deal with him that if he shaved it off, Donner would shave off his as well. After Hackman did so, Donner revealed that the mustache he was wearing was a fake. This made Hackman instantly respect and like Donner immensely.

Got the role in Crimson Tide after Al Pacino turned it down.

When asked about friendship in an interview, Robert Duvall replied: "A friend is someone who, many years ago, offered you his last $300 when you broke your pelvis. A friend is Gene Hackman.".

Maternal grandson of Joseph (1863-1918) and Beatrice (ne Powell) Gray (1863-1947). Both were born in Canada.

Son of Eugene (May 24, 1903-July 9, 1973), born in the state of Illinois, and Lydia (ne Gray) Hackman (May 13, 1904-December 30, 1962), born in Canada. They divorced in 1956.

Paternal great grandson of Ezra (1843-1924), born in the state of Pennsylvania, and Amelia (ne Childs) Hackman (1843-1917), born in the state of Kentucky.

Paternal grandson of William (1875-1950), born in the state of Illinois, and Julia (ne Morrison) Hackman (1880-1952), born in the state of Arkansas.

Paternal great grandson of Alexander (1843-1895), born in the state of Pennsylvania, and Cynthia (ne Mackey) Morrison (1846-1923), born in the state of Indiana.

I was trained to be an actor, not a star. I was trained to play roles,not to deal with fame and agents and lawyers and the press.

[on accepting his Best Actor Oscar] I wish all five of us could be up,here, I really do.

The difference between a hero and a coward is one step sideways.

Dysfunctional families have sired a number of pretty good actors.

People in the street still call me Popeye, and,The French Connection (1971) was 15 years ago. I wish I could,have a new hit and another nickname.

[on making The French Connection (1971) ] I found out very quickly,that I am not a violent person. And these cops are surrounded by,violence all the time. There were a couple of days when I wanted to get,out of the picture.