List of Gene Hackman performances

Gene Hackman (January 30, 1930 – c. February 18, 2025) was an American actor. Considered one of the greatest actors of his generation and a paragon of the New Hollywood movement, Hackman's mainstream acting career spanned over four decades. He received multiple accolades.

His cinematic debut was as an uncredited policeman in Mad Dog Coll (1961), but he and fellow newcomer Jessica Walter received recognition for their cameo appearances in the film Lilith (1964), which Hackman succeeded with Hawaii (1966). However, his breakout film role was that of Buck Barrow, a member of the notorious bank robbing Barrow Gang, in Arthur Penn's groundbreakingly violent Bonnie and Clyde (1967). All five main cast members earned nominations at the Academy Awards, including Hackman for Best Supporting Actor (sharing the same category as co-star Michael J. Pollard). Hackman followed this up with several 1969 films, including Downhill Racer and Marooned; as well as the drama I Never Sang for My Father (1970), which reunited him with his Bonnie and Clyde on-screen wife, Estelle Parsons. For this film, he earned his second Supporting Actor Oscar nomination.

Hackman next portrayed what was to become one of his signature roles—the iconic Det. Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle—in William Friedkin's The French Connection (1971). For this, he received the Academy Award for Best Actor, Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama, BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and several others. He subsequently began starring in a number of primarily lead roles, such as The Hunting Party (1971); The Poseidon Adventure and Prime Cut (both 1972); Scarecrow (1973); The Conversation and Young Frankenstein (both 1974); and Night Moves (1975). Also in 1975, he reprised his role as Popeye Doyle in the sequel French Connection II.

By the end of the decade his output began to slow down, but nevertheless still featured him in a variety of supporting and leading parts. Such films during this stretch include A Bridge Too Far (1977); Superman (1978); Superman II (1980); Reds (1981); Under Fire, Eureka, and Uncommon Valor (all 1983); Twice in a Lifetime (1985); Hoosiers and Power (both 1986); No Way Out (1987); Another Woman (1988); The Package (1989); and Postcards from the Edge (1990). He also returned to the Superman franchise, after being absent from the third film, in Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (also 1987). The following year, he earned his fourth overall Academy Award nomination, once again for Leading Actor, for Mississippi Burning (1988).

Heading into the 1990s, Hackman was more ubiquitous and prolific than ever. He also co-starred in Clint Eastwood's neo-western Unforgiven (1992), which earned him his fifth and final Oscar nomination and his second Academy Award win—this time for Supporting Actor, making him one of the few actors to win Oscars in both the leading and supporting categories. Just as with his first Academy Award win, he also won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture, in addition to sweeping the majority of critics' prizes. This led to an increase in western villain and other tough guy roles, such as in the films The Firm (1993); Wyatt Earp (1994); The Quick and the Dead, Crimson Tide, and Get Shorty (all 1995).

The remainder of his career saw him tackling a variety of genres, including comedy more frequently. These penultimate films include The Birdcage (1996); Absolute Power (1997); Enemy of the State and a voice role in Antz (both 1998); The Replacements (2000); Heartbreakers, Behind Enemy Lines, and The Mexican (all 2001); and Runaway Jury (2003). One of his last, and most acclaimed roles, was as the patriarch in the ensemble allegory dramedy The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), which garnered him the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. (He also received the honorary Cecil B. DeMille Award the following year.) His final film was the comedy Welcome to Mooseport (2004), after which Hackman retired from acting until his death in 2025.