“He loved being an actor, and hated all the stuff that surrounds being an actor.” That, for film director Barry Sonnenfeld, is how he’ll remember Gene Hackman, who has died at the age of 95. The endless hours in hair and makeup, repeated takes, and studio notes all frustrated Hackman, Sonnenfeld told BBC News. So too did actors who showed up not knowing their lines – notably John Travolta, who Hackman clashed with on the set of 1995 film Get Shorty, which Sonnenfeld directed. In the days since the news of Hackman’s death, I’ve been speaking to people who, like Sonnenfeld, knew and worked with him. What’s immediately clear is how seriously Hackman took acting, and how meticulously he dealt with scripts. But what’s also clear is that he was wary of the trappings of Hollywood. Hackman, a two-time Oscar winner, died alongside his wife Betsy Arakawa, 65, and their dog at his home in New Mexico. No cause of death was given, but police said the situation was “suspicious enough” to merit investigation. Officials said on Friday that evidence points to Hackman having been dead since 17 February, 10 days before the couple’s bodies were found.
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