Gene Hackman retired from acting two decades before his death last month. He was known as a stubborn and private man who did not have much patience for the celebrity game.
Since his name has been in the news, I went back to Al Pacino's memoir "Sonny Boy", published in 2024, to see what Pacino had to say about working with Hackman in their 1973 film "Scarecrow".
"He was ten years older than me, very funny, a great actor, and a good guy. But that doesn't always mean that you can make harmony together. We weren't fighting at all. There just was an awkwardness between us...Gene was a bit taciturn, and there was no real communion between us except in the roles we had. We worked. I think Gene might have thought I was immature because I was so crazy wild. And I think he might have been right, really."
Pacino had a better relationship with Hackman's younger brother, who was willing to walk on the wild side with Al.
