Morgan Freeman honors ‘giant’ Gene Hackman at Oscars 2025 after shocking death

Saying goodbye to a friend.

Morgan Freeman tearfully paid tribute to late actor Gene Hackman after the “Royal Tenenbaums” actor’s death shocked Hollywood earlier this week.

The “Unforgiven” star reflected on his co-star’s life and career during his Oscars 2025 appearance on Sunday, saying, “This week, our community lost a giant and I lost a dear friend, Gene Hackman.

“I had the pleasure of working alongside Gene on two films, ‘Unforgiven’ and ‘Under Suspicion.’ And like everyone who has shared a scene with him, I learned he was a generous performer, a man whose gift elevated everyone’s work.

The actor continued, “He received two Oscars, but more importantly, he won the hearts of film lovers all over the world. Gene always said, ‘I don’t think about legacy, I just hope people remember me as someone who tried to do good work.’

“So I think I speak for us all when I say, ‘Gene, you will be remembered for that and for so much more.’ Rest in peace, my friend.”

Prior to the show, Hackman’s family confirmed Freeman would honor the actor in an extension of the show’s in memoriam segment, per TMZ.

The outlet also reported at the time that Hackman’s family was not expected to attend the show.

Freeman and Hackman worked together on the Clint Eastwood-helmed western in 1992. The movie earned Hackman his second Oscar win. Before he retired from acting in 2004, he teamed up with Freeman once again in the 2000 film “Under Suspicion.”

As Page Six confirmed, Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead in their New Mexico home Wednesday along with one of their three dogs. He was 95 and she was 65.

Initially, the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office, who discovered the couple’s bodies, claimed foul play was not suspected in their deaths as the actor’s family alleged suspected carbon monoxide poisoning was to blame.

However, hours later, police called the case “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search” during their investigation “because the reporting party found the front door of the residence unsecured and opened.”

Upon investigation, authorities seized three different medications and two green cell phones from the home. They also took a 2025 monthly planner and MyQuest records, a medical diagnostics service, according to the return and inventory section of the search warrant.

In a Friday press conference, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza revealed “both individuals tested negative for carbon monoxide.”

He also shared that Hackman’s pacemaker had stopped tracking his heart’s movements on Feb. 17 — just over a week before he and Arakawa’s bodies were found.