There really was no one like Gene Hackman. The man some consider to be the finest actor of his generation – if not the entire 20th century – was found dead this week at the age of 95, under upsetting and currently uncertain circumstances. Hackman was a fiercely naturalistic actor, often described as an “everyman”: this was the descriptor that marked the headline of his obituary in The New York Times, for instance. He was an unconventional leading man, but a leading man nonetheless. Many of his best performances (the shifty, obsessive Harry Caul in The Conversation, or The French Connection’s flinty and problematic “Popeye” Doyle) dominated entire films: they are the sort of roles that actors dream of.
What, though, would modern-day Hollywood have made of an actor like Hackman, were he coming of age today? Hackman had a truly great face – narrow, expressive eyes, a remarkable grin and scowl, and a majestic forehead – but not the sort of face that you usually find on movie stars. He got into films relatively late, breaking through in Bonnie and Clyde (1967) at the age of 37. Most of his best roles came in middle age.
