Gene Hackman Death: The film star never looked at one of his most famous films

Gene Hackman played in several classic films – but there was one that the actor refused to look back.

On Thursday (February 27th), the Hollywood star was found dead in his house in Santa Fe together with his wife, the classic musician Betsy Akaway, 64, and her pet dog.

Tributes flock to the two-time Oscar winner, including whose credits included. The conversationPresent Irreconcilable And The royal Tenenbaumen.

The most memorable, however, was Hackman's performance as a grizzled detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in William Friedkin's crime drama from 1971 from 1971 The French connection – And although it was one of his most famous roles, it was one that the actor never felt like again.

The actor looked at the film only once after he was done – but that was enough for Hackman who won an Oscar for the role.

He said New York Post By email in 2021: “I haven't seen the film in a dark, tiny viewing area in the establishment of a post-production company 50 years ago since the first demonstration.”

Hackman added: “If the film has a legacy, I am not sure what that would be. At that time it seemed to me to be an awesome story of a police officer who was simply able to solve and stop the attempt at a large family of crime, to infiltrate the New York drug scene. “

He recognized that the film was “a moment” in a “checkered career of Hits and Misses”, in which he explained: “The film certainly helped me in my career, and I'm grateful for that.”

While the film's car hunt is celebrated by film fans, Hackman said: “A few years earlier, Steve McQueen was shot, in which the film from 1968 references Bullish.

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He reacted the role of Doyle in John Frankenheimer's underestimated continuation of 1975 French connection II.

Write about Hackman's performance as Doyle for The independentGeoffrey Macnab said: “The policeman behaves cruel in the entire film, beaten suspected, dispute with superiors, drunk, was drunk by female cyclists, steel cars and endangered the life of his colleagues. Nevertheless, Hackman gives him soulful quality and only a touch of vulnerability.

“It is a wart and all performance that appears infinitely richer than that of slimmer, more conventional leading men. For Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle it is not just a job, but a sacred reason to be a New York detective.

“More than 50 years later, they cannot help but admire the manic seriousness and passion with which he goes out.”