Entertainment Weekly honors the late actor by looking back on his most beloved performances.
He was also cinema’s first depiction ofSupermanbig bad Lex Luthor.
His sharp tongue, keen comic timing, and amiable spirit elevated every role he tackled.
Gene Hackman.Credit:FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives via Getty; Everett (3)
That makes choosing 15 of the best especially tough, but we did our best.
Here are EW’s picks for Gene Hackman’s best movie roles, ranked.
He got it," Beatty retorted.
Gene Hackman in ‘Reds’.Paramount/courtesy Everett
He said, Im not getting this.
And I said, No, you are!
With Hackman, you just do more takes because who knows?
Gene Hackman in ‘Hoosiers’.Everett Collection
Lets see what might happen here.
But I knew I had it.
Ive never worked with a better actor.
Gene Hackman and Kevin Costner in ‘No Way Out’.MGM/courtesy Everett
Hackman did his fair share of comedy, but he was rarely able to get this silly.
“By now, Hackman practically teases us with the ease of his arrogance.
And Washington makes us register Hunters wary moral intelligence as a kind of physical force.
Gene Hackman in ‘Young Frankenstein’.20th Century Fox Film Corp./courtesy Everett
But it wasn’tjustabout the laughs.
The role would be one-dimensional in lesser hands, but Hackman’s performance is both affecting and hilarious.
“That’s impressive for an actor who’d recently come off the decidedly un-hilariousUnforgiven.
Gene Hackman in ‘Mississippi Burning’.David Appleby /Orion /courtesy Everett
(That’s a compliment, by the way.)
Hackman played the hotheaded Buck Barrow, brother to Beatty’s Clyde, in the 1967 outlaw romance.
It would score the actor his first Academy Award nomination.
Gene Hackman in ‘Crimson Tide’.Buena Vista/courtesy Everett
In EW’s original review, our critic called Little Bill a “muddled enigma.”
Morgan Freeman, who starred in the film alongside Hackman, shared atribute to his former costaron Thursday.
And of course…Unforgiven.
Gene Hackman in ‘The Birdcage’.Mary Evans/MGM/Ronald Grant/Everett
Rest in peace, my friend.”
The film’s most memorable moment?
A scene where Hackman gets hammered and eats chicken.
Gene Hackman and Warren Beatty in ‘Bonnie and Clyde’.Mary Evans/AF Archive/Everett
In the years since, though, many have sought to shine a spotlight back on the film.
In 2001, EW named it one of thebest classic movies to go unrecognized.
“The great Gene Hackman has passed away.
Gene Hackman in ‘Unforgiven’.Warner Bros/Everett
He was a genius & 1 of the greatest to grace the silver screen.
I had the honor of working with him onSuperman.
His performances are legendary.
Gene Hackman in ‘Scarecrow’.Courtesy Everett
His talent will be missed.Goodbye my sweet Lex.
Till we meet again.”
Also, did you know the Popeyes chicken franchise wasnamed after his character?
Gene Hackman in ‘Night Moves’.Courtesy Everett
We didn’t, either.
We’re going so far as to call it his best.
“I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution.”
Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor in ‘Superman’.Courtesy Everett
Gene Hackman in ‘The French Connection’.20th Century Fox/Hulton Archive/Courtesy of Getty
Gene Hackman in ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’.Buena Vista Pictures/Everett
Gene Hackman in ‘The Conversation’.FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives via Getty
