šŸ“° THE NEW YORK TIMES

Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow and Others Mourn Gene Hackman

Tributes for the actor Gene Hackman, who was found dead on Wednesday at the age of 95 at his home in Santa Fe, N.M., with his wife and one of their dogs, streamed in from collaborators and co-stars as the news spread.

Hackman, who played flawed Everymen, inflexible patriarchs and inspirational mentors, had decades of notable roles, prompting generations of mourners to remember their time working with the actor.

Coppola, who directed Hackman in the 1974 neo-noir ā€œThe Conversation,ā€ in which the actor played a wiretapping expert enmeshed in paranoia, posted a photo of them on the set together.

ā€œThe loss of a great artist, always cause for both mourning and celebration: Gene Hackman a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity,ā€ Coppola wrote in the caption. ā€œI mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution.ā€

Freeman, who co-starred with Hackman in the 1992 neo-western ā€œUnforgiven,ā€ which won best picture and best supporting actor for Hackman at the Academy Awards, posted a picture of them from a later collaboration with Monica Bellucci. In the caption, he said working with Hackman on that movie, ā€œUnder Suspicion,ā€ from 2000, was ā€œone of the personal highlights of my career.ā€

Paltrow, who played the daughter to Hackman’s eccentric patriarch in Wes Anderson’s 2001 dramedy ā€œThe Royal Tenenbaums,ā€ posted a cropped image of that movie’s cast that centered her, Luke Wilson and Hackman. She captioned it only with an emoji of a broken heart.

Sonnenfeld posted a still from ā€œGet Shorty,ā€ the 1995 gangster comedy he directed in which Hackman played a B-movie director with a large gambling debt who was chased down by a mobbed-up loan shark played by John Travolta.

ā€œHe was brilliant, hilarious and always real,ā€ Sonnenfeld wrote in the caption. ā€œAnd always knew his lines. Couldn’t ask for more from an actor.ā€

Lane, one of Hackman’s co-stars in the 1996 queer farce comedy ā€œThe Birdcage,ā€ said in a statement that he thought he told Hackman he was his favorite actor every day during filming. He also praised Hackman’s range in both comedy and drama, saying it was a privilege to share the screen with him.

ā€œGetting to watch him up close, it was easy to see why he was one of our greatest,ā€ Lane said in the statement, reported by Variety and People magazine. ā€œYou could never catch him acting. Simple and true, thoughtful and soulful, with just a hint of danger.ā€

Azaria, who played the Guatemalan housekeeper and aspiring drag queen Agador Spartacus in ā€œThe Birdcage,ā€ posted stills from that movie with him and Hackman, who played an ultraconservative Republican senator meeting the gay parents of his future son-in-law.

ā€œIt was an honor and an education working with Gene Hackman,ā€ Azaria wrote. ā€œMike Nichols said of his genius character acting: ā€˜He always brought just enough of a different part of the real gene to each role he played.ā€™ā€




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