Gene Hackman credited troubled youth with making him a ‘better actor’

Gene Hackman turned a painful childhood and years of rejection into a successful and legendary Hollywood career.

Gene – who died from heart disease with Alzheimer’s as a significant contributing factor, about one week after his wife Betsy died from hantavirus – had always had a love and interest in movies, admiring James Cagney, Errol Flynn and Edward G. Robinson.

“I loved the idea that somebody could convince me that they were a sea captain without being phony. I’d grown up shy—not unusual for actors. They want to show they’re more than that—people of import, substance. I think because I was shy, I felt insecure, and acting seemed like a way of maybe getting around that. Getting to be somebody,” he told Vanity Fair in 2004.

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Born on January 30, 1930, Gene was raised in Danville, Illinois, by his mother, Anna. When Gene was 13, his father left the family, an event that influenced his pursuit of acting.

“It was a real adios,” he told Vanity Fair. “It was so precise. Maybe that’s why I became an actor. I doubt I would have become so sensitive to human behavior if that hadn’t happened to me as a child—if I hadn’t realized how much one small gesture can mean.”

During a 2001 appearance on “Inside the Actors Studio,” Gene recounted the last time he saw his father, becoming emotional as he spoke.

“I was down the street playing with some guys, and he drove by and kind of waved . . . ” Gene said before trailing off and looking visibly teary-eyed.

Hackman became emotional while discussing his father on “Inside the Actors Studio” with James Lipton in 2001. (Bravo/Everett Collection)

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After Lipton asked whether he had been close to his mother, Gene stayed quiet before clearing his throat and apologizing.

“It’s only been 65 years or so,” he said with a laugh, breaking the tension, though still looking slightly uncomfortable.

Lipton noted, “It’s not something that goes away easily, is it?” to which Gene replied, “It probably makes you a better actor, I don’t know.”

“I don’t advocate that,” he added, explaining, “You get in touch with your feelings, and that’s what we’re here for. I think the more that you can draw on that kind of thing . . . get something out of it.”

While discussing his father’s abandonment, Hackman explained that it might have made him a better actor. (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

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Gene did credit his mother as the individual who recognized something in him, encouraging him to pursue acting.

Speaking with GQ in 2011, the “Bonnie and Clyde” star confirmed a story that she once took him to the movie theater and told him she wanted to “see you do that someday.”

“She did say that. I would have been 10. Things parents say to children are oftentimes not heard, but in some cases, you pick up on things that your parent would like to see you have done.”

He added, “Unfortunately, my mom never saw me act, so I’m sorry for that, but that’s the way it is.”

Hackman shared that his mother never saw any of his acting roles, like his early supporting role in 1967’s “Bonnie and Clyde.” (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

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Gene’s mother died in a fire lit by a burning cigarette, according to a Los Angeles Times profile on the actor. He also said he had “buried the hatchet” before his father died.

In his GQ interview, he shared that he wished his mother could have seen his performance in “I Never Sang for My Father,” a 1970 drama about a professor dealing with his aging father, which earned him his first Oscar nomination, in the best supporting actor category.

“It was a real adios. It was so precise. Maybe that’s why I became an actor.”

— Gene Hackman

“I thought it was a sensitive picture about family and relationships, and I think she would have been proud and happy to see that,” he said. “You’re fortunate sometimes to be able to do something in life that defines who you are and who your parents may have wanted you to be.”

The one film Hackman most wished his mother could have seen was the 1970 drama “I Never Sang for My Father,” which earned him his first Oscar nomination. ( Columbia Pictures/Getty Images)

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Prior to making it big, Gene had enrolled in the Pasadena Playhouse in California, where he befriended another aspiring actor, Dustin Hoffman. 

“I met Gene in acting school, at the Pasadena Playhouse, when he was 27, and I was 19. We used to play congas together on the roof, trying to be like our hero Marlon Brando,” Hoffman told Fox News Digital after Gene’s death. “And Gene was like Brando, in that he brought something unprecedented to our craft, something people didn’t immediately understand as genius: He was expelled from our school after three months for ‘not having talent.’ It was the first time they ever did that. He was that good.”

Hoffman continued, “Powerful, subtle, brilliant. A giant among actors. I miss him already.”

Both actors were voted “least likely to succeed” at the playhouse.

Dusting Hoffman fondly remembered Hackman in a statement recalling that the late actor was actually expelled from the Pasadena Playhouse for ‘not having talent.’ It was the first time they ever did that. He was that good.” (Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images)

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“I think the highest I ever got was a 1.4 [GPA],” Gene said in a 1984 interview with KCRA 3, noting he had nothing against the Pasadena Playhouse, just that it’s “tough to grade actors.”

Gene and Hoffman eventually moved to New York, where they also hung out with Robert Duvall, and the trio spent years working jobs and looking for acting work.

Gene worked as a shoe salesman, a furniture mover, and a doorman, where he ran into one of his former Marine officers who muttered, “Hackman, you’re a sorry son of a bitch,” as he recalled to Vanity Fair. Gene had joined the Marines at 16, lying about his age to enlist, and served just under five years before being discharged in 1951.

Speaking with Hoffman and Duvall in the interview, the “The Conversation” star described the grind of auditioning.

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“No one starts at the top in the theater, and the bottom is a very ugly place,” he told the outlet.

“It was madness,” Gene said of open calls. “A cattle call, they called it. A lot of people would get physical about where they were in line, and who had to go to work, so let me in front of you so I can get the hell out.” 

He once auditioned for Gene Kelly for a musical he was directing, which didn’t go well. After Gene sang, Kelly approached him and said, “Nice try. Musicals are hard.”

The rejection and struggle fueled Gene’s desire to continue acting, if for no other reason than to prove doubters wrong.

Hackman struggled for years with auditions before landing roles in theater and film.  (Media Home Entertainment/Everett Collection)

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As he said to Vanity Fair, “it was more psychological warfare, because I wasn’t going to let those f–kers get me down. I insisted with myself that I would continue to do whatever it took to get a job. It was like me against them, and in some way, unfortunately, I still feel that way.” 

“But I think if you’re really interested in acting, there is a part of you that relishes the struggle. It’s a narcotic in the way that you are trained to do this work and nobody will let you do it, so you’re a little bit nuts. You lie to people, you cheat, you do whatever it takes to get an audition, get a job,” he continued.  

“The French Connection” was Hackman’s breakout role, earning him his first Oscar win. (Photo by Silver Screen Collection)

After years of work, Gene landed his breakout role as Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in “The French Connection,” winning his first Oscar for best actor. 

He went on to fill even more memorable roles, like the villainous Lex Luthor in “Superman” and basketball coach Norman Dale in “Hoosiers,” and picked up a second Oscar as best supporting actor in Clint Eastwood’s “Unforgiven.”

Gene Hackman and Clint Eastwood with their Academy Awards for “Unforgiven” in 1993. (Everett Collection)

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In 2004, after decades of work, Gene appeared in his final film, “Welcome to Mooseport,” co-starring Ray Romano.

In a 2008 interview with Reuters, Gene later confirmed he was done acting.

“I haven’t held a press conference to announce retirement, but, yes, I’m not going to act any longer,” he told the outlet. “I’ve been told not to say that over the last few years, in case some real wonderful part comes up, but I really don’t want to do it any longer.”

Speaking to GQ about his legacy in 2011, Gene said he wanted to be remembered “as a decent actor. As someone who tried to portray what was given to them in an honest fashion. I don’t know, beyond that.” 

Fox News Digital’s Tracy Wright contributed to this story.