Mumbai, (IANS) Hollywood star Jessica Alba is celebrating a major milestone in her daughter Honor’s life as she graduated.
Alba shared a few glimpses on Instagram from Honor’s graduation weekend surrounded by family and close friends, the actress described the occasion as a “full-circle moment” and expressed pride in the young woman Honor has become.
“What a weekend celebrating our Honorcita. Surrounded by our fam and chosen family, who have loved and supported you over the years, felt like such a full-circle moment,” she wrote in the caption.
She added: “We are endlessly proud of the young woman you’ve become and constantly in awe of the way you move through the world - with kindness, confidence, curiosity, and heart.So to our graduate Honorcita - we love you so much. The best is yet to come my sweet angel…”
The actress, on May 30, said that her “heart aches with pride” as she talked about her daughter’s journey of watching her little girl grow into a young woman.
Sharing a string of images from the graduation ceremony on Instagram, Alba wrote: “My baby girl graduated yesterday and my heart aches with pride. To my Honorcita - It feels like yesterday I was holding you in my arms, and in the blink of an eye, you’re standing here ready for your next chapter.”
The 45-year-old actress said that when she closes her eyes, she can “still see the little girl who wanted one more bedtime song, one more story, and endless cuddles. And now, you’re graduating.”
“Honor, what I’ve always admired most about you is that you’ve never been afraid to be exactly who you are. You never followed the crowd, never settled for who others expected you to be, and never stopped chasing what felt true to you.”
“You move through the world with conviction, curiosity, kindness, and a courage that inspires everyone around you. Watching you grow into the young woman you are today has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. To say I’m proud of you is an understatement,” said Alba.Alba added: “Time is fleeting. Time is sacred. And every moment of being your mom has been one of the greatest gifts of my life. Congratulations, baby girl. I love you forever and always.” Jessica Alba on celebrating daughter Honor’s graduation: A full-circle moment | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com
Anantapur: Actress Aishwarya Rai addresses the birth centenary celebrations of Sri Sathya Sai Baba in Puttaparthi, Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, on Wednesday, November 19, 2025. (Photo: IANS)
Mumbai, (IANS) Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who has been away from the silver screen for quite some time, was seen jetting off to the ongoing edition of the Cannes Film Festival.
The actress was accompanied by her daughter Aaradhya Bachchan as the two twinned in black. The mother-daughter duo posed for the paparazzi before they walked to the departure section of the Terminal 2 of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
Aishwarya Rai is a regular at Cannes, and is known for her iconic looks at the red carpet of the film festival. Over the years, the actress has built a solid rapport at the fest, and draws huge reaction from the international media.
Earlier, the actress celebrated 19 years of marital bliss with Abhishek by dropping perfect family pics on social media. The photographs posted by Aishwarya showed her posing for some happy clicks with hubby Abhishek and their daughter Aaradhya Bachchan.
While in the first snap, the three of them are posing next to a lovely bouquet, the second had them simply flaunting their beautiful smiles.The duo reportedly first met back in 1999 for the photo shoot of their first project together, ‘Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke’.
Their friendship slowly and steadily transformed into love. After being in a relationship for some time, Aishwarya and Abhishek finally tied the knot on April 20, 2007.
On 16 November 2011, the couple stepped into the next chapter of their lives as they welcomed their daughter Aaradhya Bachchan.
Prior to this, Aishwarya and Abhishek recently made headlines as they made a rare appearance together at Sachin Tendulkar's son Arjun Tendulkar's wedding on March 5.While Aishwarya looked as beautiful as ever in a blue and silver anarkali suit, Abhishek opted for a black sherwani. The couple was seen smiling and posing for the cameras before entering the venue. Abhishek and Aishwarya attended the event with Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan heads to Cannes with daughter Aaradhya | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com
Los Angeles, (IANS) Hollywood actress Anne Hathaway has admitted to being under pressure while filming for ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’. The actress shared that she felt the weight of "pressure".
The Oscar-winning actress reprised the role of Andrea 'Andy' Sachs for the long-awaited film sequel, and while Anne was conscious of the outside pressure, she didn't allow it to bother her on set, reports ‘Female First UK’.
The 43-year-old actress told E! News, "I’m kind of through that time in my life. I don't really want to focus on that part. I just kind of accept it. Of course, there's pressure, of course there's expectation, of course there's these things. But this is the team that did it the first time. I would have felt scared if I was with a different team”.
Anne observed that the new movie also shines a light on "just how deeply and passionately people love fashion".
She added, "So many people have told me that they dreamed big for their lives because of these characters. It’s been overwhelming to see that that is as true in New York City as it is in Seoul, South Korea, as it is in Shanghai. It's been overwhelming”.
As per ‘Female First UK’, Anne previously shared that she considers acting to be an "unusual" job. The actress loves being able to "go back and forth" between big-budget Hollywood movies and independent films.
She told WWD, "It’s such an unusual job that you sign up for, and I’ve never felt like I’ve, perhaps some people who only make billion-grossing movies can feel this way, but if you love independent cinema as much as I do, you’re always grateful for the jobs that keep the lights on and being able to go back and forth between the two of them”.Anne said that she "didn’t have any confidence" in her 20s. Anne Hathaway talks about feeling the heat during filming of ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com
Los Angeles, (IANS) Hollywood actress Hailee Steinfeld has shared that she is extremely fond of "uninterrupted" family time.
The 29-year-old actress is married to NFL star Josh Allen and Hailee has opened up about their home life, following the recent birth of their first child, reports ‘Female First UK’.
She told Architectural Digest, "I value a meal away from technology, and even if it's just the two of us, (or) if it's us with friends, with family, that time is so limited with the opportunity to have uninterrupted conversation over a great meal”.
Hailee, whose mother is an interior designer, said she and Josh want their home to feel warm and welcoming. The actress, who gave birth to her daughter on April 2, said, "We wanted our home to feel bright and airy and comfortable, and lighting is a big thing for me, warm, soft lighting”.
As per ‘Female First UK’, the couple split their time between New York state, where Josh plays for the Buffalo Bills, and California, and Hailee wants both spaces to have the same inviting quality. The Hollywood star said, "Home is somewhere you could spend hours in and not get tired of”. Hailee married Josh in 2025, and the NFL star previously admitted that he feels "proud" of his wife. Josh, who is one of the best-paid sportsmen in the world, heaped praise on the actress following her starring role in Sinners and he described the horror film as "fantastic".
Speaking to reporters at the Buffalo Bills training, Josh said, "I'm so excited for her and so proud of her. "It's getting some great reviews and it's a fantastic movie, so go watch it”.Josh is one of the best-known players in the NFL, but he's happy to take a back seat to Hailee and her success. The sportsperson, who started dating Hailee in 2023, shared, "I'm just there trying to support her in whatever way that I can. That was her moment and I'm so glad she got to shine”. Hailee Steinfeld talks about her craving for 'uninterrupted' family time | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com
Los Angeles, (IANS) Hollywood star Lisa Kudrow, popular for playing the iconic character Phoebe Buffay, was wary of leaving “Mad About You” for the then-unknown sitcom “Friends”, so was keen to "preserve" her role if possible.
She played Phoebe Buffay for 10 years on the beloved comedy series, but when she was first cast in the role, she had a recurring role as a sarcastic and indifferent waitress in an already-established comedy series.
She told Vanity Fair magazine: “I was really proud to be able to have a role on Mad About You.
“Honestly, when I shot the pilot of Friends, I thought, 'Yeah, I mean, this is a good show. But good shows don't get picked up all the time.'
"Thank God for Mad About You, which was my favourite show on TV. I mean, I thought that was such a great show. It was a quality multi-camera show…”
“If there's any hope of me being able to stay on Mad About You, after the (Friends) pilot doesn't get picked up or they pick it up for, you know, 12 more episodes, and then that's it... like after this fails, because there's no telling what's gonna happen, something can be great, and still, it gets cancelled, I'd still have Mad About You.
"I was preserving Mad About You for myself.”
After Lisa was cast in Friends, which debuted in 1994 and also starred Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and the late Matthew Perry, the channel had a dilemma as to how to explain away the fact the same actress would be appearing in two primetime shows as different characters, reports femalefirst.co.uk.
So the actress was delighted when her Mad About You character, Ursula Buffay, was introduced as Phoebe's twin sister, adding depth to her back story.
She said: “Friends found that they had to justify why this same face and voice is gonna be on at 8:00 p.m. on Mad About You once in a while, and then there she is at 8:30 p.m. on Friends.
They had to cope with that. And incorporate Ursula into Friends. I was thrilled, you know, that I could still be Ursula."
The actress recently said that she has been catching up on old episodes of Friends but it "too embarrassed" to watch it in front of her husband Michael Stern.
Los Angeles, (IANS) Hollywood actress Lily Collins recently celebrated another trip around the sun. The ‘Emily in Paris’ actress shared a glimpse into how she marked her 37th birthday the day before.
The actress posted a carousel of photos on Instagram, and revealed that she celebrated the day with her husband Charlie McDowell, their daughter Tove, 1, and dog Redford, reports ‘People’ magazine.
The day was also filled with cake, a scenic park walk and a trip to the beach. “Another year older and it just keeps getting better. SO grateful for this little life and big love. Thank you for the birthday wishes”, she captioned the pictures.
As per ‘People’, in the first photo, Collins could be seen sitting next to her director husband, 42, at a table with a white frosted birthday cake with lit candles in front of her. Charlie, who is also a screenwriter and producer, appeared to be singing to his wife, who flashed a huge smile.
This was followed by a snap of their dog walk with Redford in a picturesque park. The couple was joined by their daughter Tove, who was sitting in a baby carrier on Collins’ chest. The final two slides showed the young family’s visit to the beach, with Tove, who turned 1 last month, holding her dad’s hand as she walked in the sand. A sweet close-up of Tove then showed the tot playing in the sand while wearing a checkered white and orange dress and a white floral sun hat.“Mama Lily, also her lil bucket hatttt”, the actress’ ‘Emily in Paris’ co-star Ashley Park wrote in the comments section, while Charlie added three red love heart emojis. Reese Witherspoon, whose production company Hello Sunshine is co-developing a Polly Pocket movie starring Collins, also sent birthday wishes, writing, “Happy Birthday Cutie pie”. Lily Collins rings in 37th birthday with husband and daughter | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com
Los Angeles, March 13 (IANS) Hollywood actress Jennifer Aniston has shared that she always brings her A-game to the table when it comes to self-care.
The Morning Show actress is 57 now but has always taken the time to look after her skin and ensure she is eating well, and now her focus is on how she can be at her healthiest in her "later years", reports ‘Female First UK’.
She told E! News, “I’ve always been really good about self-care. I’ve always been really good about taking good care of my skin. That was one of my many gifts my moms gave me,. Taking care of my skin, washing my face, putting my creams on. It's sort of consistent. I just take good care of my skin and my diet, all of it”.
“I look at aging now as, 'How can I maintain my health inside, outside, mental health to the best of my ability', so that I can grow into my later years as gracefully as possible”, she added.
As per ‘Female First UK’, Jennifer starts her day with a workout followed by a meditation session and she thinks the latter has been particularly important for her wellbeing.
She said, “Boy, when you do meditate consistently, there's such a difference. And it's not like something you can put your finger on and go, ‘It’s because of this’. I don't know what it is that takes place, but something does”.“It feels like it's not so much a workout for physical sculpting, even though that is the end result. It just feels like for daily life. Functioning through the world. Especially as we get older and things we forget about, all the little areas, the little muscles that keep hiding over the years that think they'll never be found”, she added. Jennifer Aniston ensures she always has time for self-care | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com
Film critics – myself included – love to bemoan the death of high-quality cinema in the age of streaming, pointing to mediocre Best Picture Oscar nominees as evidence that the production of great (or even good) films is on the wane.
But perhaps things are changing. Are people sick of being inundated with short videos on TikTok and Youtube, and once again hankering for a cinematic experience? The quality of this year’s nominees suggests they are.
For the first time in a while, most of the nominated films are excellent – and nearly all of them are watchable.
My top pick: Sentimental Value
Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value is my pick for the Best Picture Oscar. It’s the kind of meticulously crafted film in which the naturalism seems effortless.
The narrative follows acclaimed filmmaker Gustav Borg (Stellan Skarsgård), a quintessential Euro-auteur, who comes back into the lives of his estranged daughters Nora (Renate Reinsve) and Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) following their mother’s death.
Gustav is making a new film, and wants his daughter Nora – an acclaimed theatre actress who has her own demons to battle (stage fright among them) – to star in it.
Nora assumes it’s a cynical manoeuvre for funding on her father’s part and refuses. So Gustav casts American star Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning) instead, who is immediately out of her depth.
The drama unfolds around the family home in Oslo, interweaving narratives of the home’s history across generations with the tensions plaguing its current inhabitants.
Sentimental Value has a strikingly lyrical quality. Some may say it’s overdone, but every element is so perfectly executed that it doesn’t come across as pretentious or laboured. It is, in many respects, thoroughly sentimental – yet never feels like it’s performing this as some kind of effect.
Despite its considerable formal and narrative complexity, it plays in a starkly simple fashion, thanks to the light touch of Trier, coupled with stunning cinematography by Kasper Tuxen Andersen.
The lead performances by Reinsve, Lilleaas and Skarsgård are extraordinarily convincing and, perhaps more surprisingly, Fanning is awesome as the uncomfortable American trying to please the European artiste.
Sentimental Value brilliantly weaves a sense of European social and cultural history with carefully observed character moments, becoming, by the end, a kind of treatise on the affirmative potential of art to transcend and transform interpersonal barriers.
Despite the difficulties of life, the detritus of broken promises and hearts, and the disappointments minor and not so minor, we can still come together – beautifully and wholeheartedly – through the practice of that abstract dream that is called art.
Other excellent contenders
There are a few other strong contenders – films which, any other year, would have stood out above the pack.
Bugonia
Yorgos Lanthimos is one of the most acclaimed filmmakers of the past decade, and yet his films have been hit and miss. After his last great film, the 2015 black comedy The Lobster, Bugonia marks a return to form.
The film follows bumbling paranoiac conspiracy nut Teddy (Jesse Plemons) as he and his half-witted cousin Don (Aidan Delbis) kidnap Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone), the CEO of pharmaceutical company Auxolith.
Fuller is the kind of ruthless business leader who appears on the cover of Forbes magazine with the caption “Breaking Barriers” and who spouts endless nonsense about diversity while her company wreaks havoc on the planet and the people around them.
According to Teddy, she is also an “Andromedon” alien sent to Earth to enslave and exploit the human population, bringing death to humans as it has been brought to the bees.
The brilliance of the film largely revolves around its manipulation of our identification with the two leads. At times Teddy seems like a lunatic serial killer, and Fuller a heroic victim. At times we empathise with Teddy, while Fuller looks like a manipulative, cold-hearted sociopath.
The whole thing builds up to an immensely satisfying resolution, suitably nihilistic and absurd in equal measure.
As is often the case with Lanthimos’ films, the figures are caricaturish, but the comedic timing – and the oscillation between humour and discomfort for the viewer – is spot on, so it works.
Sinners
Ryan Coogler’s Sinners is a great yarn: a well-executed rock ‘n’ roll fable slash vampire siege, full of electrifying music.
It’s 1932. Twin gangster brothers Smoke and Stack (a dual role played by Michael B. Jordan) return from working for Al Capone in Chicago to Clarksdale, Mississippi, to open up a juke joint.
Their cousin Sammie (Miles Caton), a cotton picker and bluesman – with Charley Patton’s guitar – steals the show at the hugely successful opening night, fulfilling the legend of a musician who can play so well the barriers between the living and the dead come down. Everything seems to be going well – until some redneck vampires decide to assail the venue.
The whole thing is rather gaudy and silly. But like its forebear From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) – it’s so energetically (and pleasurably) handled that it doesn’t matter.
Michael B. Jordan is brilliant in the two roles, and the end result is a muscular, satisfying film that feels like a good pulp novel or comic book – capped off with a Buddy Guy jam session in the final moments.
Sinners is a delicious dream. It’s unlikely to win Best Picture; there was a time, not so long ago, when this kind of genre film wouldn’t have made it into the mix. But it’s well worth its more than two-hour runtime.
Marty Supreme
It would be hard to think of a stupider premise for a movie. In the 1950s, fast-talking entrepreneurial New York hustler Marty Mauser (Timothée Chalamet) has to raise money so he can make it to Japan to beat world number one Koto Endo (Koto Kawaguchi) in the table tennis showdown of the century.
Yet, director/co-writer Josh Safdie treats the premise with enough seriousness that we end up with a high octane sports film to rival Rocky IV. This is helped by the stunning cinematography by Darius Khondji. Shot on 35mm film, the images have a rich colour and texture rarely matched in digital cinematography.
There’s also a dynamite score from Daniel Lopatin, and an anachronistic soundtrack featuring several stellar 1980s pop tunes from the likes of Public Image Limited, New Order and Tears for Fears, to name a few.
Despite Marty’s arrogance, sweet-talking, womanising, con-artistry and generally bad behaviour, Chalamet invests the character with enough pathos and humour that he comes across as a thoroughly loveable – or at least likeable – rogue.
He is a crackpot whose self-belief and willingness to do anything to achieve his dream tricks the viewer into becoming equally invested in his absurd quest as he (and the film) bounce around New York and the world like a bright ping pong ball.
Marty Supreme is an odd – and oddly arresting – film capturing something of the madness at the heart of the American dream. Mauser does whatever he can to make it to Japan. And after several escapades – and some downright brutal scenes featuring cult director Abel Ferrara as an ageing gangster – he does make it.
The rest
Unusually for the Oscars, the pack of 2026 nominees is rounded out by several other good films.
Although not as good as some of his other films, such as Neighbouring Sounds (2012) and Bacurau (2019), Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent is a rollicking political thriller. Set in the 1970s, it features a standout performance by Wagner Moura as a dissident academic evading persecution from a brutal dictatorship.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another is a wacky comedy occasionally masquerading as a serious political action thriller. It follows the burnt out leftist Pat Calhoun (Leonardo DiCaprio) as, with his daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti), he evades capture by police and a militia led by the moronic Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn). The whole thing is pretty silly, but like its inspiration – Thomas Pynchon’s 1990 novel Vineland – it is fun nonetheless.
F1 is likewise good. This finely wrought racing flick follows all of the delightfully dumb cliches of the genre. Hard-boiled and burnt-out old timer Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) makes it to Formula One for the first time, and contends with a new era of racing epitomised by his nemesis, the brash young gun Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris).
It’s hard to imagine such a film being nominated for Best Picture in any other era; Tony Scott’s Days of Thunder (1990) is equally stupid, but better made, and has been universally lampooned by critics. But people seem to be craving (and appreciating) big screen popcorn films in an era where streaming and second-screen viewing has all but destroyed commercial narrative cinema.
Only three nominees stick out as dreary
Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams is an earnest but visually unappealing Netflix film, following a ho-hum period love story about class, racism and the American Dream. Joel Edgerton is solid as usual, and the film is watchable enough, but the whole thing seems rather tired. And the digital video look really doesn’t work with the kinds of exterior, panoramic images that dominate the film.
In Frankenstein, director Guillermo del Toro takes one of the duller, more proselytising novels in the Gothic canon and gives it a suitably ponderous treatment. Oscar Isaac hams it up in full actor mode as Dr Frankenstein. Jacob Elordi is ridiculous as the monster. And Christoph Waltz as Harlander delivers such humdingers as “Can you contain your fire, Prometheus, or are you going to burn your hands before delivering it?” (in case you didn’t know, the novel’s subtitle is The Modern Prometheus).
Made for Netflix, Frankenstein tries hard to look sumptuous with period décor, but it can’t mask the sterility of its digital images. While the novel, at least, has a simple elegance to it, del Toro’s version is meandering, gaudy and cheap-looking.
It is difficult to treat Hamnet – the unbearably pretentious latest film from director Chloe Zhao – seriously, because the filmmakers do it for you. Though there are some things to like – Paul Mescal, for instance, is nice to watch, the cast are generally proficient, and the score is fine – this self-satisfied nonsense plays more like an Instagram video performing its own seriousness than a genuinely engaging feature film.
7 hits out of 10
As usual, the best films of 2025 haven’t been nominated for Best Picture (where’s Sirât, Redux Redux, or Harvest?). Nonetheless, most of this year’s nominees are films that warrant watching more than once for a variety of reasons: pleasure, complexity, nuance.
Perhaps Hollywood is starting to make good films again after decades of superhero trash. Or, at least, the Academy has started to recognise them.
Los Angeles, (IANS) Hollywood actress Elle Fanning was taken by surprise when she was nominated for the Oscars for ‘Sentimental Value’.
The 27-year-old star is up for Best Supporting Actress at next month's Academy Awards ceremony but has confessed that she went on a night out with her sister Dakota Fanning before the nominations were announced in January, reports ‘Female First UK’.
Elle told The Hollywood Reporter, "I was not watching it. Dakota and I had gone out the night before. We had quite a late night. I couldn't compute. I go out bleary-eyed, and I'm like, 'Mom! Dakota! Wake up. I think I got it. I think I got it. I looked like a crazed zombie who was walking in circles saying, 'Is this real?'".
‘Sentimental Value’ received nine Oscar nominations and Fanning says that the most exciting nod for the Norwegian picture was Olivier Bugge Coutte's recognition in the Best Film Editing category.
The Maleficent actress said, "What Olivier has done with the film, and the way that it is edited and constructed, I'm so happy that he wasn't overlooked because it's so particular and he has such a keen eye and was so essential to the film. Editors, I've come to learn now in the producing process, too, hold the key to your performance in a lot of ways”.
As per ‘Female First UK’, Elle said that close bonds have been forged between Sentimental Value's cast and crew since the movie premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last year.
She said, "The fact that the family was held together and that no one was left out and that we get to continue the celebration with each other is really meaningful. I've been quite emotional about this whole experience. I'm still a little glassy-eyed and in shock over it all”.
The nod is the first Oscar nomination of Elle's career and she admits that the recognition feels particularly special because she has been acting since the age of two.
The actress said, "I've been acting since I was two. I've never gotten to have this experience before. (It's) my first time being nominated (for an Oscar). It does really mean something to me, to be recognised by my peers. I don't think you realise how special that feels until it happens”.
The Oscar nomination comes after a varied year for Elle, which also saw her star in the sci-fi action flick ‘Predator: Badlands’, and she explained how she never wants to be typecast.
She said, "You don't know what projects are going to come to you or what's being written at the time, but I have been very fortunate to be able to have these varied projects”.
Gene Hackman, an acting titan of 1970s and ‘80s Hollywood with more than 80 screen credits to his name, has died at 95. He was found dead in his home with his wife, pianist Betsy Arakawa, and his dog.
Hackman had a rugged, dominating and commanding presence on screen, known for his emotionally honest, raw and fierce performances. Always the tough guy, never the romantic lead, off camera he was shy and enjoyed the quiet life.
I first saw Hackman as a child in The Poseidon Adventure (1972). My dad put the film on for the upside-down ocean liner disaster sequences, but it was Hackman who left a lasting impression. I vividly remember being so moved by his final speech berating God for deserting the ship’s passengers and crew while he hangs from a pressure valve door over flames.
There is no actor who comes close to conveying authority with such humanity and reserve.
He was often referred to as the actor’s actor and mentioned by Hollywood A-listers such as Kevin Costner as the best actor they’ve ever worked with. Clint Eastwood, once Hackman retired, described him as “too good not to be performing”.
Hackman will leave a legacy to be studied and appreciated for years to come.
Finding a foot in show business
Born in San Bernardino, California, on January 30 1930, Hackman’s family moved to Danville, Illinois, when he was three. Hackman’s father left when he was 13, which he described to James Lipton on Inside the Actors Studio as his father “driving by with a casual wave goodbye”.
Hackman joked to Lipton the departure of his father at an early age made him a better actor.
Hackman left Danville at the age of 16 to join the marines, where he spent roughly four years. He was a rebellious child, but as Peter Shelley detailed in his biography of Hackman, the marine corps was the first time he gave in to authority.
After the marine corps, Hackman moved to New York wanting to become an actor, telling people he was inspired by tough guy James “Jimmy” Cagney.
In New York, Hackman struggled making a living as an artist while waiting for his breakthrough (his uncle told him to give up and get an honest job). Moving to California, he became friends early on with Dustin Hoffman (they finally appeared opposite each other in Hackman’s penultimate film, 2003’s Runaway Jury).
After struggling for years, Hackman landed his first credited screen role in 1964’s Lilith at the age of 34. He played a small part opposite upcoming star Warren Beatty.
As Hackman recounted to Lipton, Beatty told director Arthur Penn how great Hackman was in a scene they did together. That landed Hackman his breakthrough role playing Buck Barrow opposite Beatty and Faye Dunaway in the 1967 hit Bonnie and Clyde, earning him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor.
Breaking through in the 1970s
It wasn’t until the 1970s that Hackman began his leading role career, starring in The French Connection (1971) as the unforgettable hard-boiled New York detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle. This role earned him his first Academy Award, for best actor.
He was to wait more than 20 years for his second and final Academy Award, for playing the ruthless Little Bill Daggett opposite Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven (1992).
Throughout the 1970s, Hackman was gaining huge popularity on screen, sharing records with the likes of Robert Redford and Harrison Ford as the highest grossing stars at the box office.
There are too many great Hackman performances to mention, but my favourites are Unforgiven, The French Connection, The Poseidon Adventure, The Conversation (1974), Hoosiers (1986), Mississippi Burning (1988) and The Royal Tenenbaums (2001).
The French Connection’s director, William Friedkin, said in an interview Hackman was anti-authority and anti-racism because of his upbringing in an area known for its large Ku Klux Klan presence, and his absent father.
Hackman almost pulled out of The French Connection one week into shooting because he didn’t like “beating on people” for a four-month shoot. He told Friedkin “I don’t think I can do this,” but Friedkin refused to let him go.
Hackman recalled he was eternally grateful Friedkin didn’t, as it was “the start of [his] career”.
Hackman said his character Popeye Doyle was a “bigot, an antisemitic, and whatever else you wanted to call him”, and he famously struggled to say the N-word in one key scene. He initially protested the line but eventually went with it, believing “that’s who the guy is […] you couldn’t really whitewash him”.
Hackman often played the character who had the greatest authority on the surface but slipped up, whether he was playing the hero or the villain. Even for a role such as Reverend Scott in The Poseidon Adventure, in which Hackman played a self-righteous preacher onboard the capsized SS Poseidon, he questions his religion as he leads the entire band of escapees to safety.
A life after acting
Hackman retired from acting in 2004 at age 74.
There are many stories about why he retired, like, as Shelley writes, not wanting to play Hollywood “grandfathers” and his “heart wasn’t in shape”, but his life after acting gives a strong hint: he had other interests.
Over the past 20 years, Hackman wrote three historical fiction novels, was a keen painter, and enjoyed exercise such as cycling. Married to classical pianist Arakawa from 1991 until their death, they lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he designed his own home (yes, he also loved architecture!).
A man of many talents who played a kaleidoscopic range of authoritative roles, Hackman will almost certainly be remembered mainly for his tough-guy performance in The French Connection – though many will also remember him as the Hollywood actor’s actor.
