Gene Hackman, a film and television actor with a career spanning more than five decades, died at the age of 94. His death marks the end of an era in the film industry, where he left an indelible mark with performances that set the standard for American cinema.

Hackman was born on January 30, 1930 in San Bernardino, California. From an early age he showed interest in acting, although his path to Hollywood was not immediate. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he studied journalism and then entered the Pasadena Playhouse, where he coincided with actors who would mark the cinema of his generation.

His first recognition came in 1967 with the film Bonnie and Clyde, where he played Buck Barrow. His performance earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Since then, Hackman consolidated his career with roles in diverse genres, from film noir to science fiction and historical drama.

In 1971 he starred in The French Connection, playing detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, a role that made him an icon of detective films. The film received five Oscars, including Best Actor for Hackman. His ability to embody characters with psychological depth allowed him to move between hero and antagonist roles with equal credibility.

In 1978 he played Lex Luthor in Superman: The Movie, a role that he would repeat in its sequels and that positioned him as one of the most remembered villains in superhero movies. He was a very particular bad guy: everyone remembers Lex Luthor for his sense of humor, his cynicism and, at the end of the day, his cowardice in front of the great superhero. Hackman was a great villain.

Throughout his career, he worked with directors such as Francis Ford Coppola in The Conversation (1974), Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven (1992) and Wes Anderson in The Royal Tenenbaums (2001).

A film that is almost never talked about and that also contributed a lot to his career was Bajo Fuego (1983). An epic that recounts the vicissitudes of two war reporters in charge of covering what would end up being the end of Anastasio Somoza's regime in Managua. Hackman played the editor-in-chief who made the tough decisions, going against the advice of his reporters.

In 1992 he won his second Oscar for Unforgiven, a genre-redefining western in which Hackman played the ruthless sheriff Little Bill Daggett. His performance was praised for the rawness and realism with which he approached the character. He was not a typical bad guy either: he played a sheriff who crossed the line in his idea of doing his duty. It was the Wild West after all. But Hackman was a vital element in building one of the best films not only of Clint Eastwood but of the history of cinema.

Another key role was in the film Enemy of the State (1998). There Hackman plays Edward "Brill" Lyle, a former NSA analyst who lives in anonymity after having defected from the agency. His character is key to the story, as he helps Robert Clayton Dean (played by Will Smith), a lawyer unjustly persecuted by government agents after accidentally receiving incriminating evidence against a high-ranking official. The film tells the story of how far a police state can go with the use of high technology. Hackman anticipated the figure of the great activists against the advancement of technology, a theme with obvious currency.

Hackman retired from acting in 2004 after his participation in Welcome to Mooseport. In his later years, he devoted himself to writing, publishing several novels of historical fiction.

His passing leaves a void in filmmaking. His legacy lives on in films that continue to influence new generations of actors and filmmakers. With his distinctive voice and screen presence, Hackman left a mark on film history that will live on beyond his passing.