There was a time when Gene Hackman was a Hollywood A-lister, appearing in hit film after hit film while getting critical acclaim. A high school dropout who lied about his age to join the U.S. Marine Corps, Hackman eventually decided to become an actor after he was discharged. After studying at the Pasadena Playhouse, Hackman eventually made it to New York and started landing lead roles, which led to Hollywood director Robert Rossen seeing him and giving him his first big movie break in 1964 in the Warren Beatty flick, "Lilith," according to Biography.

Meeting Beatty is how he got cast in "Bonnie and Clyde" in 1967, leading to his first Academy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor. Just four years later, Hackman was a bona fide movie star, this time winning an Oscar for Outstanding Lead Actor for his role in "The French Connection." A storied career followed, with Hackman appearing in such blockbusters as "Superman," "Mississippi Burning," "The Quick and the Dead," "The Firm," "Hoosiers," and "Crimson Tide," while winning a second Oscar for "Unforgiven." The last film Hackman appeared in was in 2004 when he had a role in the comedy "Welcome to Mooseport" (via Biography). Then movie audiences just stopped seeing him, but why?