I was trained to be an actor, not a star. I was trained to play roles, not to deal with fame and agents and lawyers and the press.

He followed this with leading roles in the disaster film The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation (1974) which was nominated for several Oscars. Already seen as outsiders by their classmates Hackman and Hoffman were later voted "The Least Likely To Succeed. Hackman is an avid fan of the Jacksonville Jaguars and regularly attended Jaguars games as a guest of then head coach Jack Del Rio.

Nominated for five Academy Awards winning two Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman (born January 30 1930) is a retired American actor and novelist.