Gene Hackman has had one of the most legendary careers in Hollywood. Masterpiece after masterpiece, the actor starred in several foundational films and played many iconic roles in his career. From starring in Bonnie & Clyde to playing the role of Lex Luthor in Christopher Reeve’s Superman, he had become an icon in the eyes of the public.
Another successful work from his filmography was a collaboration with Clint Eastwood. Starring in one of Eastwood’s most critically acclaimed projects, Unforgiven, Hackman’s journey onto that project is quite interesting. Especially considering the fact that he had to be convinced into doing the film, only to completely quit acting a few years later.
Gene Hackman has to be convinced to star in the biggest film of his career
Gene Hackman has been a part of several successful films over the years. He has been nominated for an Oscar four times and has made great contributions to the film industry. However, one of the most critically acclaimed and widely-talked about films from his career has to be Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven.
The film earned Hackman his second Oscar and ended up becoming one of the most memorable works from Eastwood’s filmography, with a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 96%. With this, many may be surprised to know that Hackman was very set on not being a part of the film.
It was the violent themes of the movie that made him reluctant to star in the film. It would seem that the actor made a promise to himself that he would not star in a film with so much violence, an oath he was forced to rethink when he realized just how good the movie was.
However, it wasn’t until Eastwood convinced him that Hackman actually changed his mind and decided to join the cast of the film. While this was an example of the legendary actor changing his mind, in 2004, he made a decision that he has not gone back on since.
The film that made Gene Hackman quit acting
Considering how magnificent Gene Hackman’s career has been, it is almost a tragedy that the last work in his filmography is the worst he has ever done. In 2004, the actor starred in Welcome to Mooseport, a romantic comedy disguised as a political satire.
The film can easily be called one of the worst from his career in every way possible. Not only did it do terribly at the box office, but the film was also poorly received by the critics. Despite having an impressive cast and being directed by Donald Petrie, the film has a dismal 13% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Soon after, Hackman retired, leaving the 2004 film as his farewell to the film industry. Considering the disappointment that came with the project, many might assume that the reason why the actor ended up retiring was because of its failure. However, according to Empire, the reason was something else entirely.
The doctor advised me that my heart wasn’t in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress.
Hackman confessed that he was told by his doctor that his heart could not handle the stress that he was experiencing because of his job. Due to this, he decided to move away from acting and focus his attention on writing instead.
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