Throughout his career, Hackman played a variety of film roles, including Detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in “The French Connection,” comic book villain Lex Luthor in “Superman” and coach Norman Dale in “Hoosiers.” He also appeared in several Broadway productions, including “Children From Their Games,” “Any Wednesday,” and “Death and the Maiden.”
“When I was actually on set and on stage and actually working, I loved the process, and I loved the creative process of trying to bring a character to life,” Hackman told Empire in 2009. “And when you’re actually filming or performing, there’s a certain feeling that comes over you. It’s a feeling of confidence and sort of a wonderful, washed-up feeling of happiness. When things are going well!”
But the actor, who also played a patriarch in The Royal Tenenbaums and a president in Absolute Power, didn’t feel the same way about other aspects of the industry.
“The business part of show business, on the other hand, is kind of evil,” he added. “You jump from trying to be a sponge in terms of opinions from other actors and directors and everything that surrounds you, to lunches with agents and producers from other films, or things that happen on the film you’re doing. It’s kind of like a frying pan. It was uncomfortable, and given my age and health, I decided I didn’t want to do that anymore.”
