The actor who always mystified Gene Hackman: “This will be the one where I find out his secret”
In the business of filmmaking, there are many people on screen that we simultaneously love and detest, admiring their work while feeling intensely envious of their effortless charisma and charm. This can be the pull for us to watch their work in the first place, returning to the cinema for another glimpse of Nicole Kidman’s genius or Timothée Chalamet’s dazzling vulnerability. Watching their work is another chance to witness the depths of their talents and learn something new about the world around us and their character’s perception of it, enriching our lives through the knowledge shared through cinema.
While we might feel alone in this silent pining, there are fellow actors in the industry who are also studying films for the same reason, but with the added edge of wanting to gain insight into the art of performance and how to better their own work, something that Gene Hackman found himself doing when studying the work of one specific performer.
Despite being one of the most celebrated performers of all time, perhaps what marked Gene Hackman as such an accomplished actor was his constant quest for improvement and almost crippling self-criticism. While some people might observe their work from a distance and give themselves a pat on the back regardless of what they achieved, Hackman approached his work in a forensic way that didn’t end once the images had been committed to celluloid. After each project, Hackman always watched his work with a critical eye and looked for ways to improve, something that extended to his private film watching and observations about Jack Nicholson.
Many people are inspired by Nicholson and his breathtaking body of work, starring in classic films such as The Shining, Chinatown and Five Easy Pieces, leading the New Hollywood movement and pioneering a crucially important cinematic period.
For other people in the business, his work remains a beacon of inspiration through his unflinching ability to take risks, leading to mesmerisingly unpredictable performances. Hackman tried to emulate this, feeling envious of his particular star quality and the secrets held beneath the surface.
When describing his admiration and jealousy for the actor, Hackman said, “I go to a Jack Nicholson movie hoping that he’ll let me in on his secrets–how to get girls or how to get ahead in the world. He always seems to know something that I’d like to know myself. But he never tells me what it is. And yet I go, film after film, hoping that this will be the one where I find out his secret.”
Who knows whether or not Hackman discovered his secret, as many audience members have pondered over the enigmas contained within his characters and his shape-shifting ability to morph into any person imaginable. He has this look in his eyes as though he knows something about life that no one else does, which is perhaps what makes him possess such a watchable quality. While Hackman remains cynical and self-critical about his work, he shares this quality in his own way.
