In the wake of Gene Hackman’s Feb. 26 death, a who’s-who of Hollywood have offered tributes to his greatness.

Among them: Clint Eastwood, who directed and co-starred with Hackman in “Unforgiven,” said of him in a statement to USA TODAY: “There was no finer actor than Gene. Intense and instinctive. Never a false note. He was also a dear friend whom I will miss very much.”

Need more proof of his talent? During a five-decade career, Hackman held his own with a grand gallery of co-stars.

Hackman started early co-starring with Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway in 1967’s “Bonnie and Clyde” – he got a supporting actor nomination for his role of Buck Barrow – and in 1970, Hackman got another supporting actor nod in “I Never Sang for My Father,” which starred Melvyn Douglas.

But he would win a best actor award the following year for perhaps his most famous role and his co-star would get a nomination, too. Here’s that combination and some more of Hackman’s co-stars.

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

1971: Roy Scheider in ‘The French Connection’

Hackman and Scheider play New York City detectives in the 1971 film, directed by William Friedkin. Hackman who won his first Oscar as best actor for his role as James “Popeye” Doyle; Scheider, in the role of Buddy “Cloudy” Russo, earned a supporting actor nomination. Friedkin, who would go on to direct “The Exorcist,” won the Oscar for best director and the film won best picture.

“(Popeye) was a man who was very driven,” Hackman told USA TODAY in 2005. He would return as Doyle four years later in the 1975 sequel, “French Connection II.”

1972: Ernest Borgnine and Shelley Winters in ‘The Poseidon Adventure’

In “The Poseidon Adventure,” one of a slew of ’70s blockbuster disaster films, Hackman played a reverend who led fellow passengers/co-stars including Shelley Winters, Ernest Borgnine, Stella Stevens, Red Buttons to the upper reaches of the capsized ship.

1972: Lee Marvin in ‘Prime Cut’

Lee Marvin plays a mob enforcer sent to Kansas City to collected a debt from Hackman, whose role is that of a crooked slaughterhouse operator. Also in the film: Sissy Spacek.

1973: Al Pacino in ‘Scarecrow’

In “Scarecrow,” Hackman’s just-released convict, Max, finds a kindred soul in the optimistic sailor Francis (Al Pacino). To prepare for their roles, the actors “literally dressed in old raggedy clothes and hung out on Market Street,” in San Francisco, Hackman said.

1974: Robert Duvall and Harrison Ford in ‘The Conversation’

The late film critic Roger Ebert in “The Great Movies II,” wrote Hackman delivered “one of the key performances of a great career,” as a surveillance expert in the Francis Ford Coppola-directed thriller.

Hackman’s wiretapper worries that two people he is spying on will be killed. “You see that this compulsion to do this has left him a shallow guy in ways, and troubled. (He’s) not a leading man but a character,” he told USA TODAY. “Unfortunately, we don’t see those anymore.”

Also in the film: Duvall, Ford, John Cazale, Teri Garr and Frederic Forrest.

1978: Christopher Reeve and Ned Beatty in ‘Superman’

Hackman’s Lex Luthor served as the foil for Superman (Christopher Reeve) in three “Superman” films including 1980’s “Superman II” and 1987’s “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.”

Also in the films: Margot Kidder, Jackie Cooper and Marlon Brando (“Superman II”).

Gene Hackman:His most memorable movie roles: ‘The French Connection,’ ‘Superman’ and more

1981: Barbra Streisand in ‘All Night Long’

Hackman is a middle-aged man who has a fling with a married woman (Streisand).

Also in the film: Dennis Quaid and Diane Ladd.

1985: Ann-Margret in ‘Twice in a Lifetime’

Hackman, who played a steelworker, and producer/director Bud Yorkin both drew on their real-life recent divorces in this film about a man who separates from his wife (Ellen Burstyn) to live with his new flame (Ann-Margret). “We were two men working closely together, going through that same experience,” Hackman told USA TODAY.

Also in the film: Ally Sheedy and Amy Madigan.

1986: Dennis Hopper in ‘Hoosiers’

A coach with a checkered past (Hackman) leads a small-town Indiana basketball team to the state finals with the help of reformed town drunk played by Dennis Hopper, who got a supporting actor Oscar nod.

Also in the film: Barbara Hershey.

1988: Willem Dafoe in ‘Mississippi Burning’

Hackman and Dafoe play FBI agents investigating the disappearance of three civil rights workers. “I remember someone high in the civil rights movement telling me how disappointed they were in the movie that it didn’t tell all the truth,” said Hackman, who earned a best actor nomination. “I told them that movies are compromises.”

Also in the film: Frances McDormand, who was nominated for best supporting actress, and Brad Dourif.

1992: Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman in ‘Unforgiven’

Hackman as Sheriff “Little Bill” Daggett stands between Eastwood and Freeman, who are out to collect a bounty. The film won the Oscar for best picture.

Also in the film: Morgan Freeman and Richard Harris.

Gene Hackman:His life in photos: See actor’s six-decade career through images

1993: Tom Cruise in ‘The Firm’

As the head of a prestigious law firm, Hackman welcomes newcomer Cruise in this film based on a John Grisham bestseller. But Mitch (Cruise) soon learns the firm has a secret client.

Also in the film: Hal Holbrook, Holly Hunter, Ed Harris, Jeanne Tripplehorn, David Strathairn and Gary Busey.

1995: Denzel Washington in ‘Crimson Tide’

International intrigue leads to a faceoff on a submarine between its captain (Hackman) and new executive officer (Denzel Washington). Also in the film: James Gandolfini and Viggo Mortensen.

1996: Robin Williams in ‘The Birdcage’

Gay drag club owner Armand (Robin Williams) and the venue’s star Albert (Nathan Lane) are a couple who must play it straight when meeting the family of Armand’s son’s wife-to-be which includes conservative U.S. senator Hackman. Also in the film: Dianne Wiest, Calista Flockhart, Hank Azaria and Christine Baranski.

1996: Chris O’Donnell in ‘The Chamber’

In another film based on a John Grisham novel, O’Donnell is a young attorney seeking to prevent the execution of his grandfather, who is in prison for a past Ku Klux Klan bombing.

Also in the film: Faye Dunaway and Bo Jackson.

1997: Clint Eastwood in ‘Absolute Power’

Clint Eastwood directed and starred in this film as a jewel thief who witnesses a murder involving the president (Hackman).

Also in the film: Ed Harris, Laura Linney, Scott Glenn, Dennis Haysbert, Judy Davis, E.G. Marshall and Penny Johnson Jerald.

1998: Will Smith in ‘Enemy of the State’

Smith is a lawyer and Hackman is a surveillance expert who unknowingly get embroiled in the coverup of a politically motivated murder. Also in the film: Jon Voight, Regina King, Loren Dean, Jake Busey, Barry Pepper and Gabriel Byrne.

1998: Paul Newman in ‘Twilight’

A retired private detective (Newman) is pulled into a long-buried crime by friends played by Gene Hackman and Susan Sarandon. Also in the film: Reese Witherspoon, Stockard Channing, James Garner, Giancarlo Esposito, Liev Schreiber and Margo Martindale.

2000: Keanu Reeves in ‘The Replacements’

Hackman is hired to coach a team of replacement pro football players when the starters go on strike. He recruits Reeves as quarterback.

Also in the film: Jon Favreau and Orlando Jones.

2001: Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Danny Glover, more in ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’

The patriarch of an dysfunctional family (Hackman) returns hoping to reconcile with his children (played Gwyneth Paltrow, Luke Wilson and Ben Stiller) and wife (Anjelica Huston).

Also in the film: Bill Murray, Danny Glover and Owen Wilson, who also co-wrote the script with director Wes Anderson.

2001: Danny DeVito in ‘Heist’

A jewel thief (Hackman) who had planned to go into retirement is forced to complete another job by his fence (DeVito).

Also in the film: Sam Rockwell, Rebecca Pidgeon, Delroy Lindo and Patti LuPone.

2001: Sigourney Weaver in ‘Heartbreakers’

Hackman is a rich man who gets caught up in a romantic con game run by a mother and daughter, played by Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt.

Also in the film: Ray Liotta, Jason Lee, Anne Bancroft, Nora Dunn, Sarah Silverman and Zach Galifianakis.

2003: Dustin Hoffman in ‘Runaway Jury’

Dustin Hoffman is a lawyer in a jury trial pitted against a jury consultant (Hackman) who is trying to guide the proceedings in favor of a firearms maker.

Also in the film: John Cusack, Rachel Weisz, Bruce McGill and Jeremy Piven.

2004: Ray Romano in ‘Welcome to Mooseport’

Hackman plays the president again, but this time he’s a former president running for mayor against hardware store owner Romano.

It was Hackman’s last role. “Reality stares you in the face when you get to be my age,” he said a year after the film came out. “You are playing the grandfather or the great-grandfather, and you’re not used to playing those roles, and although I could, it just doesn’t appeal to me.”

Also in the film: Maura Tierney, Marcia Gay Harden, Christine Baranski, Fred Savage and Rip Torn.

Contributing: Brendan Morrow

Follow Mike Snider on Threads, Bluesky and X:mikegsnider & @mikegsnider.bsky.social  & @mikesnider.

What’s everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day