Gene Hackman was known more for his dramatic work than his comedic turns, but he had a touching (and meaningful) reason for making The Birdcage.

Though he’d had small roles in movies and on television throughout the early 1960s (he’d been a Marine before that, and had studied journalism and television production on the G.I. Bill), Hackman was 36 before anyone really took notice.

The everyman actor with movie star charisma shined brightest in “The Conversation" and “Hoosiers.” Most people have a favorite Gene Hackman performance. I have two. The actor, a chameleonic everyman with a movie star’s charisma,

One of the greatest American actors of the 20th century was voted “least likely to succeed” by his first theater school, wasn’t a star until he was 40 and possessed a face he once described as “your everyday mineworker.

See photos of the late Gene Hackman through the years in our tribute to the acclaimed actor's life and career, including his roles in films like 'Unforgiven,' 'The French Connection,' and 'The Royal Tenenbaums.

Investigators are searching for answers after Hollywood giant Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead at their home under suspicious circumstances; What we know about the deaths; What was Hackman famous for?

Oscar winner Gene Hackman died at the age of 95 alongside his wife and dog. NBC News' Gadi Schwartz takes a look back at Hackman's career and legacy.

But over the next 50-odd years, Hackman would become the greatest, coolest, earthiest star of what’s now known as New Hollywood: an everyman who defined a generation of moviemaking better than anyone else.

Hackman was found dead Wednesday, along with his wife, Betsy Arakawa, and one of their dogs, in their New Mexico home. He was 95. That lack of good looks or an outsize personality worked to Hackman’s advantage as an actor,