Hollywood star Gene Hackman, known for The French Connection, Mississippi Burning and The Poseidon Adventure, was a character actor who often played tough guys before finding his comedic stride in ...

Unlike most actors of his generation, Hackman didn’t chase million-dollar roles. His most memorable roles were nuanced. And sometimes small. He picked them for great writing. Or for the fine print.

“Gene was very annoyed about the money,” Anderson said of the pic that followed the aforementioned 1998 feature, 2001’s The Royal Tenenbaums, which marks one of Hackman’s final performances.