The one actor Gene Hackman knew was out of his league: “I could never be the man he was”
Few actors in the history of American cinema have ever been as talented as Gene Hackman, but that doesn’t mean the legendary star who rose to the top of the industry at the head of the ‘New Hollywood’ movement ever started believing his own hype.
The two-time Academy Award winner adored the art of acting, but it was rather unfortunate for him that he cracked the A-list, since he hated everything else that came with it. In an ideal world, Hackman would show up, do the work, go home, and move on to his next project, but that’s not how the business works.
Instead, he was forced to give endless interviews, hit the promotional trail, and answer questions about his approach to getting into character. If anything, it’s admirable that he didn’t retire until the early 2000s, since he’d actively loathed the period between the last day of shooting and the day of release for decades.
The two-time Academy Award winner’s favourite actor of all time was James Cagney, a sentiment shared by several other industry icons. His earliest inspiration to try his luck on the silver screen came from Errol Flynn, but neither of them was the actor he confessed would always be out of his league, for reasons that had very little to do with how gifted they were when the cameras were rolling.
“John Wayne was one of the best actors ever,” he informed Deseret. In terms of range, that’s debatable, if only for the fact that ‘The Duke’ spent the bulk of his career playing himself. He was good at it, sure, but his name rarely comes up when the talk turns to the finest thespians of all time. Nonetheless, Hackman disagreed and considered him one of the greats.
“I could never be the man he was, because his politics and mine would be incompatible,” he elaborated. “But you must admire how really good he was as an actor, in command of the scene and with such great charisma. I think the greatness of the old Hollywood films, too, had more to do with the kind of films they made, in those days, in Hollywood, than with any lack of artistry among the present day’s talent pool.”
Hackman was one of those actors who would have seamlessly slotted into any period in Hollywood history and found success, but he undoubtedly benefitted from catching his big break when the landscape was shifting irrevocably. In the ‘Golden Age’, he wouldn’t have stood a chance of becoming a leading man and box office draw, but the late 1960s and early 1970s placed ability at the forefront.
He was held in the highest regard by his peers, collaborators, and even the directors he frequently clashed with. With that in mind, it’s nothing if not unusual to hear him celebrate John Wayne, who was much more of a movie star than an actor, with Hackman consistently telling anyone who’d listen that he’d always dreamed of occupying the latter camp, and the mere concept of being the former was something he despised.
If an all-timer wants to say that ‘The Duke’ always remained out of his league, though, then he’s entitled to say it; after all, he was more than qualified to pass judgment on what makes a great actor.
Never Miss A Tale
The Far Out John Wayne Newsletter
All the latest stories about John Wayne from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.