© BrunoPress/Reuters

Gene Hackman - Eugene Allen Hackman was born January 30, 1930 in San Bernardino, California.

© BrunoPress

Film career - Early television appearances, movie bit parts, and performances in several off-Broadway plays eventually led to his first credited film role in 'Lilith' (1964), with Warren Beatty in the leading role. Hackman's working alongside Beatty would prove fortuitous.

© Getty Images

'Bonnie and Clyde' (1967) - Director Arthur Penn brought together Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway as the title characters in this seminal movie, which saw Hackman nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as Buck Barrow, older brother of criminal Clyde Barrow.

© BrunoPress

'The French Connection' (1971) - William Friedkin's celebrated crime thriller saw Hackman play Detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle.

© BrunoPress

'The French Connection' (1971) - Pictured: the actor on the set of 'The French Connection' during a break in filming.

© BrunoPress

Oscar for 'The French Connection' - Hackman won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film, which was based on a true story.

© BrunoPress

'Prime Cut' (1972) - Hackman played opposite Lee Marvin in this tough and often violent movie that included scenes of female slavery.

© BrunoPress

'Prime Cut' (1972) - The two starring actors pictured discussing a scene between takes. The film garnered generally positive reviews.

© BrunoPress

'The Poseidon Adventure' (1972) -

This early '70s big production disaster movie received several Academy and Golden Globe awards and nominations. For his role as Reverend Frank Scott, Hackman picked up a BAFTA Award for Best Actor.

© Getty Images

'Scarecrow' (1973) - This offbeat road movie saw Hackman teamed with Al Pacino as two vagrants on their way to Detroit. It shared the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival.

© BrunoPress

'Scarecrow' (1973) - Despite bombing at the US box office, the film has since enjoyed a cult following. 

© BrunoPress

'The Conversation' (1974) - Produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Hackman gave a masterful performance as a surveillance expert who uncovers a potential murder plot.

© BrunoPress

'The Conversation' (1974) - It won the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival, among other awards and nominations. For his part, Hackman received BAFTA and Golden Globe best acting nods.

© BrunoPress

'Lucky Lady' (1975) - Set in 1930 during Prohibition in the United States, this comedy-drama matched Hackman with Burt Reynolds. It also starred Liza Minnelli. Hackman later admitted he took the part because of the fat fee offered, but didn't enjoy the filming, much of it set on water.

© BrunoPress

'Bite the Bullet' (1975) -

Working in the desert opposite James Coburn and Jan-Michael Vincent (pictured) on this Western proved a more productive experience. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards.

© Getty Images

'A Bridge Too Far' (1977) - Richard Attenborough's WWII epic starred Hackman, along with dozens of other Hollywood A-listers, in this historically accurate but hugely expensive recreation of the Allied parachute drop over the Netherlands in 1944. Fortunately, the film saw a profit, and was generally well-received by critics.

© BrunoPress

'Hoosiers' (1986) - This enjoyable sports film tells the story of a small-town Indiana high school basketball team that, against the odds, wins the state championship. The film earned c-ostar Dennis Hopper an Oscar nomination, and Hackman's performance was also praised.

© BrunoPress

'No Way Out' (1987) - A tense political drama with a surprising twist in its tale, 'No Way Out' featured Hackman as Secretary of Defense David Brice, who ends up embroiled in murder and the frantic search for a Soviet spy.

© BrunoPress

'Mississippi Burning' (1988) -

Based on a notorious 1964 Mississippi murder investigation that took place during the height of the civil rights movement, director Alan Parker's crime thriller saw Hackman and co-star Willem Dafoe's characters up against the Ku Klux Klan.

© Getty Images

'Mississippi Burning' (1988) - The film received seven Academy Awards nominations, including Best Actor for Hackman.

© BrunoPress

'Unforgiven' (1992) - Clint Eastwood's masterpiece revisionist Western drama won four Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actor for Hackman as brutal sheriff "Little" Bill Daggett. Apparently Hackman nearly turned down the role, worried about the violence depicted in the final scenes.

© BrunoPress

Oscar for 'Unforgiven' - Hackman holds aloft his Best Supporting Actor Oscar at the 65th Annual Academy Awards.

© Reuters

'The Firm' (1993) - Hackman followed his role in the saddle with this legal thriller, based on the novel of the same name by John Grisham. The film found favor with many critics and was a box-office success.

© BrunoPress

'The Quick and the Dead' (1995) - Despite playing opposite a solid cast that included Sharon Stone, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Russell Crowe, this Western failed to live up to expectations and was a box-office flop.

© BrunoPress

'Crimson Tide' (1995) - Hackman fared better in his next film, a thriller set in a submarine during heightened tensions between the US and post-Soviet Russia. Reviews were positive and box-office returns extremely buoyant.

© Reuters

Family life - Pictured: Hackman with second wife Betsy Arakawa and daughters Leslie and Elizabeth, from his first marriage to Faye Maltese, at the premiere of his 1996 movie 'The Chamber.'

© Getty Images

'Absolute Power' (1997) - On the set of Clint Eastwood's 'Absolute Power.' The film wasn't as fruitful as their previous collaboration, 'Unforgiven,' and performed poorly at the box office.

© Getty Images

Life as an author - By the late 1990s, Hackman had begun a parallel career as an author. He's pictured signing a copy of his first book, 'Wake of the Perdido Star,' in Chicago in 2000, which he co-authored with underwater archaeologist Daniel Lenihan.

© BrunoPress

'Behind Enemy Lines' (2001) - Back as an actor, Hackman co-starred with Owen Wilson in this tale about a US pilot shot down over Bosnia during the Bosnian War. Despite negative reviews, the film took off at the box office.

© BrunoPress

'Runaway Jury' (2003) - Another adaptation of a John Grisham novel, 'Runaway Jury' drew a more positive response from critics, with Grisham himself remarking that it was a "smart, suspenseful" movie.

© BrunoPress

Cecil B. DeMille Award - Hackman poses with his Cecil B. DeMille Award backstage during the 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards in 2003.

© Getty Images

'Welcome to Mooseport' (2004) - Hackman's final film to date is this romantic comedy. While it saw a healthy return at the box office, critics spoke of a "bland" production that "squanders a talented cast."

© NL Beeld

Retirement and writing -

Since retiring from acting in 2004, Hackman has narrated two documentaries and penned four more novels, his latest being 'Pursuit,' published in 2013. He continues to appear in public at occasional book signings, and has given radio interviews.

See also: Anthony Hopkins—his impressive life and career

© Getty Images