Gene Hackman

My grandfather had been a newspaper reporter, as was my uncle. They were pretty good writers and so I thought maybe somewhere…

— Gene Hackman

It really costs me a lot emotionally to watch myself on-screen. I think of myself, and feel like I'm quite young, and…

— Gene Hackman

I went in the Marines when I was 16. I spent four and a half years in the Marines and then came…

— Gene Hackman

Hollywood loves to typecast, and I guess they saw me as a violent guy.

— Gene Hackman

You go through stages in your career that you feel very good about yourself. Then you feel awful, like, 'Why didn't I…

— Gene Hackman

Honesty isn't enough for me. That becomes very boring. If you can convince people what you're doing is real and it's also…

— Gene Hackman

The difference between a hero and a coward is one step sideways.

— Gene Hackman

Nothing counts so much as family, the rest are just strangers. (as Nicholas Earpp in Wyatt Earp, 1994)

— Gene Hackman

I'm not a sentimental guy.

— Gene Hackman

I don't like to talk about myself that much.

— Gene Hackman

Don't piss in my ear and tell me it's raining.

— Gene Hackman

I have trouble with direction, because I have trouble with authority. I was not a good Marine.

— Gene Hackman

If I start to become a star, I'll lose contact with the normal guys I play best.

— Gene Hackman

I don't see myself as a violent guy.

— Gene Hackman

The worst job I ever had was working nights in the Chrysler Building. I was part of a team of about five…

— Gene Hackman

Once, I optioned a novel and tried to do a screenplay on it, which was great fun, but I was too respectful.…

— Gene Hackman

Things parents say to children are oftentimes not heard, but in some cases you pick up on things that your parent would…

— Gene Hackman

My early days in Broadway were all comedies. I never did a straight play on Broadway.

— Gene Hackman

That's the great thing about plankton. It pretty much keeps to itself.

— Gene Hackman

I'm disappointed that success hasn't been a Himalayan feeling.

— Gene Hackman

I write in the morning from about eight till noon, and sometimes again a bit in the afternoon. In the morning I…

— Gene Hackman

If you look at yourself as a star, you've already lost something in the portrayal of any human being.

— Gene Hackman

Seventy-five per cent of being successful as an actor is pure luck. The rest is just endurance.

— Gene Hackman

I left home when I was 16 because I was looking for adventure.

— Gene Hackman

I lost touch with my son in terms of advice early on. Maybe it had to do with being gone so much,…

— Gene Hackman