Hailed by The New York Times Magazine as "Hollywood's Uncommon Everyman," Hackman is a formidable American character actor turned leading man. Like Spencer Tracy, his "regular guy" looks and manner make it easy for men to identify with his persona of outraged common sense. Hackman's performances are consistently natural, and he excels at playing ordinary men caught up in moments of unexpected crisis. He has been one of America's leading film actors since the 1970s.

Hackman quit high school at 16, lied about his age and joined the Marines. He was trained as a radio operator before being shipped overseas. When his unit's announcer was injured, Hackman stepped in and found radio a hospitable medium. After his discharge, he studied journalism and TV production at the University of Illinois on the GI Bill. Hackman moved to New York and attended the School of Radio Technique, supporting himself through a succession of odd jobs. He next worked as an announcer at small radio and TV stations across the country. Hackman did not decide on an acting career until, at age 30, he realized that his announcing skills would help him in the

Hackman attended the Pasadena Playhouse to learn acting. Older than most of the other students, he was a bit of a misfit, as was his free-spirited classmate (and subsequent NYC roommate) Dustin Hoffman. The duo was dubbed "least likely to succeed" by their peers. Nonetheless, Hackman managed to make a name for himself on the stage.

His first important film appearance was in LILITH (1964), which starred Warren Beatty. Impressed by the novice film actor's performance, Beatty cast Hackman as Buck Barrow, the older brother of the outlaw Clyde, in BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967). Directed by Arthur Penn, the film became a 1960s landmark that provided a breakthrough role for Hackman, netting him his first Oscar nomination (for Best Supporting Actor). He was nominated in the same category in 1970 for I NEVER SANG FOR MY FATHER. Hackman became a full-fledged star with his performance in William Friedkin's blockbuster police drama, THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971), etching an indelible portrait of the tough narcotics cop Popeye Doyle and winning a Best Actor Oscar in the process.

Hackman has displayed a remarkable range over the course of his brilliant career, as evidenced by his roles in the films that followed in the wake of THE FRENCH CONNECTION: SCARECROW (1973), a road/buddy picture with Al Pacino; Francis Ford Coppola's THE CONVERSATION (1974), a somber character study of a surveillance expert; Mel Brooks's YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974), which showcased Hackman's comedic talents as he plays a well-meaning but dangerous blind man in a hilarious scene with Peter Boyle's Monster; Arthur Penn's pessimistic thriller, NIGHT MOVES (1975), in which he plays a detective out of his depth both professionally and personally; and FRENCH CONNECTION II (1975), a less commercially successful sequel that was more deeply critical of the protagonist.

Hackman may be best known by modern audiences for his portrayal of archvillain Lex Luthor in SUPERMAN (1978) and its 1980 and 1987 sequels. These high camp performances proved that Hackman was a major comic actor—though even his skills couldn't save LOOSE CANNONS (1990), a vulgar cop comedy co-starring Dan Aykroyd, from oblivion. He played a showboating TV anchor who gets killed in Nicaragua in UNDER FIRE (1983). HOOSIERS (1986) displayed Hackman's warmer side as a small town high

his roles in the films that followed in the wake of THE FRENCH CONNECTION: SCARECROW (1973), a road/buddy picture with Al Pacino; Francis Ford Coppola's THE CONVERSATION (1974), a somber character study of a surveillance expert; Mel Brooks's YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974), which showcased Hackman's comedic talents as he plays a well-meaning but dangerous blind man in a hilarious scene with Peter Boyle's Monster; Arthur Penn's pessimistic thriller, NIGHT MOVES (1975), in which he plays a detective out of his depth both professionally and personally; and FRENCH CONNECTION II (1975), a less commercially successful sequel that was more deeply critical of the protagonist.

Hackman may be best known by modern audiences for his portrayal of archvillain Lex Luthor in SUPERMAN (1978) and its 1980 and 1987 sequels. These high camp performances proved that Hackman was a major comic actor—though even his skills couldn't save LOOSE CANNONS (1990), a vulgar cop comedy co-starring Dan Aykroyd, from oblivion. He played a showboating TV anchor who gets killed in Nicaragua in UNDER FIRE (1983). HOOSIERS (1986) displayed Hackman's warmer side as a small town high school basketball coach, while in NO WAY OUT (1987) he was a cold, polished Secretary of Defense with a secret. Hackman's performance as a good ol' boy FBI agent in MISSISSIPPI BURNING (1988) earned him another Best Actor Oscar nomination.

In the 1990s Hackman has alternated between leads (NARROW MARGIN, 1990, CLASS ACTION, 1991) and memorable supporting roles (Mike Nichols's POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE, 1990, Clint Eastwood's UNFORGIVEN, 1992). UNFORGIVEN provided Hackman one of the most fascinating characters of his career. Little Bill Daggett, the smiling sheriff of Big Whiskey, could have been the hero of a less critical Western. An effective lawman, he allows no guns in his town other than those used by his deputies. Little Bill means well, but the usually laudable desire for law and order becomes a justification for sadism and near-totalitarianism. The sense of basic decency run amok that Hackman brings to the role makes Little Bill a profoundly ambiguous character. It also earned him an Oscar for Best Supporting