A heartbreaking interview of Gene Hackman opening up about his tragic childhood has resurfaced on social media in the wake of his recent death.
Hackman appeared on an episode of Inside the Actors Studio, a cable television talk series previously hosted by James Lipton in 2001.
He was asked about his upbringing, and Hackman revealed that his father abandoned his family when he was just 13 years old.
The late actor said the goodbye came casually while he played outside with his friends.
‘He drove by and kind of waved,’ Hackman recalled while choking back tears.
When asked if Hackman saw his father occasionally after he left, he silently nodded. He added that he was close to his mother and became emotional.
As Hackman struggled to keep his emotions at bay, he broke the tension with a joke, telling the audience, ‘It’s only been 65 years or so.’
The joke received a laugh and a resounding applause from the live studio audience as Hackman brushed off the pain.
In an attempt to divert the conversation back, Lipton asked Hackman if the pain from his childhood ever went away.
‘Probably makes you a better actor, I don’t know,’ Hackman quipped before quickly clarifying, ‘I don’t advocate [for] that.’
He went on to say that his father’s abandonment forced him to get in touch with his feelings and being able to draw from the pain in his work was beneficial to his acting ability.
‘You get something out of it,’ Hackman concluded, ending the conversation on a positive note.
Even though the interview aired over two decades ago, the clip has now made the rounds on social media after he and his wife were found dead in their New Mexico home on February 26.
Social media users were struck by Hackman’s candor in the clip, with many praising the late actor and mourning his tragic death.
‘Even though Gene Hackman is 78 years old in this video, the question about his father leaving him still gets him emotional,’ one user wrote on X.
‘And he later went on to channel all of that negative energy into great films by being an amazing actor. His pain wasn’t wasted,’ another commented.
‘Gene was 71 when he did this interview. Obviously he still carries the scars and trauma of that day. It just goes to show when you hurt a child, they never truly get over it. I hope he finally found his peace,’ a third user wrote under the clip on YouTube.
‘That kind of pain never leaves you. Rest in peace Mr. Hackman, I’ve enjoyed every moment I watched you on the screen,’ a fourth added.
Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa were found dead at home with one of their dogs.
Their causes of death remain a mystery, with a recent discovery of Hackman’s pacemaker noting that his last recorded heartbeat was on February 17, nine days before his body was discovered.
Two other dogs in the home were still alive when a neighbor made the shocking discovery. Their bodies were found with signs of ‘mummification’ and body decomposition.
Hackman’s body was found in a mud room off the kitchen next to his sunglasses and cane, while Arakawa was found in a separate room with a pill bottle beside her.
Detectives don’t speculate foul play and said there were no signs of forced entry into their home.
One of the actor’s children, Leslie Ann Hackman, previously told Dailymail.com that she initially believed her father and stepmother died after inhaling toxic fumes.
‘Despite his age, he was in very good physical condition. He liked to do Pilates and yoga, and he was continuing to do that several times a week. So he was in good health,’ she said.
She added that she was close to her father and credited her stepmother for taking care of him in his old age.
Leslie added that despite the seemingly positive relationship with her father, she hadn’t spoken to him in the weeks before his death.
Hackman previously admitted that his relationship with his kids suffered when they were young due to his career.
He confessed that he was ‘gone so much’ while the kids were young and was absent when his son, Christopher was at an ‘age where he needed support and guidance.’
Hackman had said that he was ‘selfish’ when he became a Hollywood star and his jobs would mean he was away from his kids for multiple months at a time.
He shared his three children, Christopher Allen, now 65, Elizabeth Jean, 62, and Leslie Ann Hackman, 59, with his first wife, Fay Maltese.
Hackman and Maltese struggled financially during the start of their marriage, living with their family in a New York City walk up apartment with no hot water.
Once Hackman hit it big, their fortunes began to change, but the actor then had to be away from his kids for months at a time.
It wasn’t until he married Arakawa who helped him reconnect with his children, insiders previously revealed.
Hackman spent the last 20 years of his life retired from acting and living a quiet lifestyle with Arakawa in Santa Fe.
Before his retirement, Hackman was a proper movie star, appearing in a slew of films and scoring two Oscar awards.
He starred in the critically acclaimed film, The French Connection in 1972, and Unforgiven two decades later.
Hackman was also known for the iconic role of Lex Luther in the 1978 adaptation of Superman, opposite Christopher Reeves.
The actor and his wife’s cause of death has not yet been revealed and many questions still loom over what happened to the couple in the weeks before their bodies were discovered.