The Day Gene Hackman Almost Punched Me (Guest Column)
Gene Hackman angrily bolted out of his chair and came at me. I swear he wanted to throw a punch.
This was Puerto Rico in 2000, during rehearsals for Under Suspicion, which my good buddy Stephen Hopkins was prepping to direct with stars Gene, Morgan Freeman, Monica Bellucci and Thomas Jane.
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Those weeks of private rehearsals remain one of the greatest pleasures in my long career. Stephen, Gene, Morgan and I spent our days on an upper floor of a San Juan hotel, closed from recent hurricane damage, in a space the production built out to be identical to the actual set we would later use. It was mostly just the four of us every day for three weeks.
Stephen later told me, “If only I could have stopped you” from saying what I said to Gene. This screenplay was very much like a stage play. Stephen had sat with me at the computer for months getting every word right. And now I’m sitting there watching Gene bungle a line. Over and over. So I did the unthinkable. I blurted out to perhaps the best actor in the world how it was supposed to be said.
So, now Gene is up out of his chair and coming at me. In that moment, everything froze and my mind sped up. I thought of an old nature show called Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom and how animals must never show fear to survive. I thought of a documentary I’d seen about a young Gene Hackman, who lied about his age so he could join the Marines at 16. Stories of how Gene in his 20s used to go to bars and pick fights with bigger, taller guys.
There I was, 6’4″ and 30 years younger, and Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle was about to throw that punch. I stood my ground and growled, “Goddammit, Gene, how much longer do I have to sit here and listen to you fuck up my line?”
Gene Hackman stopped dead in his tracks. He gave me a look. And then he gave me a grin. That evening after rehearsal, Gene took me to dinner. Just the two of us. We became very good friends.
This was proven at the premiere of Under Suspicion at the Cannes Film Festival. It is customary to have a big fancy party before the red carpet across the street at the glorious old Majestic Hotel. And then everybody goes to the rear loading dock, where 20 identical new Mercedes-Benz sedans are waiting. Everybody gets into a car, and the procession crosses the block to the Croisette, where everyone steps out to face the wall of photographers and flashbulbs before walking the iconic red carpet outside of the Palais.
But my wife, Ruthanne, so beautiful that night, had gone to the restroom last minute. When we got out to the loading dock, every car was full, no space left for us, and they were about to take off. I was going to miss the red carpet. Nobody offered to help us, standing there on that dock in despair. Not even my good buddy Stephen.
Suddenly way up at the front, a door opened from the first car in the long procession and Gene Hackman steps out. He yells to us, “Hey Pete, Ruthanne, get up here!” He ushered us over and invited us to squeeze into his car. He had his wife, Betsy, sit on his lap. And Ruthanne sat on mine. We rode across the street and walked that carpet together.
That was one of the kindest, warmest things anyone has ever done for us. That is who Gene Hackman is and was. He was my friend. An alpha male who respected a young man who would stand up to him. A sweet, sensitive, brilliant man whom I have been lucky and proud to call my friend.
— W. Peter Iliff is a veteran Hollywood screenwriter and producer whose credits include Point Break, Patriot Games and Varsity Blues, among others. He’s executive producing upcoming films including Renny Harlin’s Deep Water and Claudio Fah’s Turbulance. He previously wrote a column for The Hollywood Reporter about his love of Pacific Palisades in the wake of the L.A. wildfires.
— Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Hackman, were found dead inside their Santa Fe, New Mexico home on Feb. 26, 2025.
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