Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman

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

Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman

I do not like assassins, or men of low character.

Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman

My grandfather had been a newspaper reporter, as was my uncle. They were pretty good writers and so I thought maybe somewhere down the line I would do some writing.

Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman

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

Gene Hackman
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 then I look at this old man with the baggy chins and the tired eyes and the receding hairline and all that.

Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman

The worst job I ever had was working nights in the Chrysler Building. I was part of a team of about five guys, and we polished the leather furniture.

Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman

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

Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman

I went in the Marines when I was 16. I spent four and a half years in the Marines and then came right to New York to be an actor. And then seven years later, I got my first job.

Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman

I don't see myself as a violent guy.

Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman

Dysfunctional families have sired a number of pretty good actors.

Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman

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

Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman

I was trained to be an actor, not a star. I was trained to play roles, not to deal with fame and agents and lawyers and the press.

Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman

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

Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman

Things parents say to children are oftentimes not heard, but in some cases you pick up on things that your parent would like to see you have done.

Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman

I'm not a sentimental guy.

Gene Hackman
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 choose something else?' But overall I'm pretty satisfied that I made the right choice when I decided to be an actor.

Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman

I lost touch with my son in terms of advice early on. Maybe it had to do with being gone so much, doing location films when he was at an age where he needed support and guidance.

Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman

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

Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman

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

Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman

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