Gene Hackman Dead at 95: What He Said His Biggest Career Regret Was in Throwback Interview
Gene Hackman is being remembered for his legendary career in the wake of his death at the age of 95. Hackman is known for his iconic roles that earned him five Oscar nominations and two wins. But in 1999, he got candid about the one regret he had when reflecting on his decade-spanning career.
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Gene Hackman is being remembered for his legendary career in the wake of his death at the age of 95.Â
Hackman is known for his iconic roles that earned him five Oscar nominations and two wins. But in 1999, he got candid about the one regret he had with his decade-spanning career.Â
âYes, I wish that maybe in the â80s, late â70s and early â80s that I had moved back to New York and kept more in touch with the theater so that I could have maybe expanded my craft and kept more in touch with what acting means to me,â Hackman told journalist Charlie Rose, saying at the time that he would consider returning to the stage.Â
Gene Hackman's Life in Photos
Sylvia Gassel (left) and Gene Hackman in the stage production "The Basement".Friedman-Abeles/NYPL
âIâd have to be comfortable,â Hackman said of a potential return. âIâve lived a soft life too long to camp out.âÂ
Hackman began his career on the stage in the '60s, appearing in several Broadway plays including Any Wednesday, A Rainy Day in Newark, Poor Richard, The Natural Look, Death and the Maiden and Children from Their Games.Â
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From left: Gene Hackman, Glenn Close and Richard Dreyfuss in the Broadway play 'Death and the Maiden.'.Matha Swope/NYPL
When the film star accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement award at the Golden Globes in 2003, he shared, âI never wanted to be anything but an actor.â
Throughout his impressive career, Hackman said he was always striving to improve his craft. During an interview promoting his 1986 hit film Hoosiers, Hackman said he believed his job only got âharder.âÂ
âI think it does because you start to realize â at least I have â I started realizing that I have this kind of responsibility about being good,â he explained at the time. âThis is self-imposed, but I have the need to excel and a kind of compulsion about it, almost, that I wanted it to be good. I want it to be the best I can make it.â
As for what it takes to be a âgoodâ actor, Hackman said itâs all about confidence.Â
âYou have to have some sense of ego about yourself to be in this business,â he continued. âI have a degree of confidence about myself as an actor. That doesnât mean that I think Iâm king of the hill, or anything else, but I think you have to have that. That sense that when you walk on stage and you take stage â and I mean that in film also â that thereâs a sense of command about what you do. Not that you want to push out other actors but you want that to be right.âÂ
Gene Hackman in the 1986 film 'Hoosiers.'.Orion/Kobal/ShutterstockÂ
Gene Hackman's 3 Children: All About Christopher, Elizabeth and Leslie
Though Hackman spent his final decades out of the spotlight, he did give a rare interview in 2011 to GQ saying he wanted to be remembered âas a decent actor.âÂ
âAs someone who tried to portray what was given to them in an honest fashion,â he added. âI don't know, beyond that. I don't think about that often, to be honest.â
On Wednesday, Feb. 26, Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their Santa Fe, N.M. home alongside their dog, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirmed to the Santa Fe New Mexican early on Thursday, Feb. 27.Â
The county sheriffâs public information officer, Denise Womack-Avila, said in a statement to NBC News that there is âan active and ongoing investigationâ into the coupleâs deaths.Â
Womack-Avila added that âfoul play is not suspected as a factor in those deaths at this time, however, the exact cause of death has not been determined.âÂ
PEOPLE has reached out to the Santa Fe County Sheriffâs Office for comment and updates on the investigation.
Gene Hackman, who has died at the age of 95, appeared in some of the biggest films of all time, but he also famously turned down some major roles
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Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their New Mexico home from suspected poisoning.
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Gene Hackman, the two-time Oscar-winning actor, passed away on February 27, 2025, at 95. He often regretted not being more present for his children due to his acting career.
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Foul play was not suspected, but authorities did not disclose how they died and said an investigation was ongoing.
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News of Hackmanâs death broke Thursday morning after their bodies were found the previous day.
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Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead in their home in February 2025. An investigation has been launched to find out what happened to them.
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The Oscar-winner, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64, were found dead in their Santa Fe home on Wednesday.
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Gene Hackman was last seen in public last year, when he was spotted holding hands with his wife Betsy Arakawa, who he married in 1991 before his death today aged 95
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According to the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, the investigation is active, and foul play is not suspected
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&description=Gene Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa, and their dog passed away in their home in New Mexico According to the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, the investigation is active, and foul play is not suspected %23genehackman) |
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According to the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, the investigation is active, and foul play is not suspected
Read more >> : Cick here
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&description=Gene Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa, and their dog passed away in their home in New Mexico According to the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, the investigation is active, and foul play is not suspected %23genehackman) |
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Police are frantically looking into the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of Gene Hackman, Betsy Arakawa, and their dog.
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