Gene Hackman admitted there was one film he did not enjoy starring in.
The Hollywood icon was found dead alongside his wife Betsy Arakawa in their Santa Fe residence. The couple, along with their pet dog, were discovered on Wednesday afternoon (February 26), as confirmed by County Sheriff Adan Mendoza.
Before his tragic passing, Hackman had a glittering career that spanned more than six decades, in which he starred in more than 70 films.
Just a few years before he announced his retirement from acting, Hackman starred in the 2001 crime drama film Heist, directed by David Mamet.
Heist follows Joe Moore, a professional thief who gives up his lifestyle after his identity is captured on a security surveillance tape. However, when he ends up bankrupt, Joe and his team decide to go on one last Heist.
Reflecting after the film was released, Hackman admitted it wasn’t an enjoyable experience for him.
“Doing the Mamet thing wasn’t a lot of fun,” he told The New York Times in 2001. “It wasn’t necessarily David.”
Hackman continued: “There’s a lot of repetition in the lines and many times they’re misdirected or purposely obtuse, so that’s difficult for an actor to fill up both emotionally and intellectually.
“It was the toughest shoot I’ve had in quite a while. Emotionally. Not physically.”
Hackman quietly stepped back from acting in 2004, but revealed the reason why four years later.
He said: “I haven’t held a press conference to announce retirement, but yes, I’m not going to act any longer.”
Hackman later revealed that the decision came on advice of his doctor due to problems with his heart.
“The straw that broke the camel’s back was actually a stress test that I took in New York,” he told Empire in 2009. “The doctor advised me that my heart wasn’t in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress.”
Hackman had previously undergone angioplasty surgery, which is where a balloon is inserted to widen blocked arteries.
The two time Oscar winner was found dead alongside his wife, Arakawa, who he tied the knot with in 1991.
Hackman shared three children, Christopher Allen, Elizabeth Jean, and Leslie Ann Hackman, with his first wife Faye Maltese, who he was married to from 1956 to 1986.