section_path: Career/1980–1999: Established career and acclaim
section_name: 1980–1999: Established career and acclaim
paragraph_text: 1980–1999: Established career and acclaim
  
  Gene is someone who is a very intuitive and instinctive actor... The brilliance of Gene Hackman is that he can look at a scene and he can cut through to what is necessary, and he does it with extraordinary economy – he's the quintessential movie actor. He's never showy ever, but he's always right on.
  
  Hackman alternated between leading and supporting roles during the 1980s. He appeared opposite Barbra Streisand in All Night Long (1981) and supported Warren Beatty in Reds (1981). He played the lead in Eureka (1983) and a supporting role in Under Fire (1983). Hackman provided the voice of God in Two of a Kind (1983) and starred in Uncommon Valor (1983), Misunderstood (1984), Twice in a Lifetime (1985), Target (1985) for Arthur Penn, and Power (1986). Between 1985 and 1988, he starred in nine films, making him the busiest actor, alongside Steve Guttenberg. Hackman played a high school basketball coach in Hoosiers (1986), which a 2008 American Film Institute poll named the fourth-greatest sports film of all time. After Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), he also voiced Nuclear Man (who was portrayed by Mark Pillow) and was in No Way Out (1987), Split Decisions (1988), Bat*21 (1988), and Full Moon in Blue Water (1988).
  
  Hackman acted opposite Gena Rowlands in the Woody Allen drama Another Woman (1988). Hackman starred in the Alan Parker -directed crime drama Mississippi Burning (1988), costarring Willem Dafoe, where they portrayed FBI agents investigating the murder of 3 civil rights student activists civil rights leader. He earned acclaim for the role, with Roger Ebert praising his performance for his subtlety. He was nominated for a second Academy Award for Best Actor, losing to Dustin Hoffman for Rain Man. After this he appeared in The Package (1989). Hackman starred in Loose Cannons (1990) with Dan Aykroyd, and he had a supporting role in Postcards from the Edge (1990). He appeared with Anne Archer in Narrow Margin (1990), a remake of the 1952 film The Narrow Margin. After Class Action (1991) and Company Business (1991), Hackman played the sadistic sheriff "Little Bill" Daggett in the Western Unforgiven, directed by Clint Eastwood and written by David Webb Peoples. Hackman had pledged to avoid violent roles, but Eastwood convinced him to take the part, which earned him a second Oscar, this time for Best Supporting Actor. The film also won Best Picture.
  
  Hackman returned to Broadway, starring in the 1992 Ariel Dorfman play Death and the Maiden, acting opposite Glenn Close and Richard Dreyfus at the Brooks Atkinson Theater. In 1993, he appeared in Geronimo: An American Legend as Brigadier General George Crook and co-starred with Tom Cruise as a corrupt lawyer in The Firm, a legal thriller based on the John Grisham novel of the same name. Hackman would appear in two other films based on John Grisham novels, playing Sam Cayhall, a Klansman on death row, in The Chamber (1996), and jury consultant Rankin Fitch in Runaway Jury (2003). Other films Hackman appeared in during the 1990s include Wyatt Earp (1994) (as Nicholas Porter Earp, Wyatt Earp ' s father), The Quick and the Dead (1995) opposite Sharon Stone, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Russell Crowe, and as submarine Captain Frank Ramsey alongside Denzel Washington in Crimson Tide (1995).
  
  Hackman played film producer Harry Zimm alongside John Travolta in the comedy-drama Get Shorty (1995). In 1996, he took a comedic turn as conservative Senator Kevin Keeley in The Birdcage with Robin Williams and Nathan Lane. He co-starred with Hugh Grant in Extreme Measures (1996) and reunited with Clint Eastwood in Absolute Power (1997). Hackman did Twilight (1998) with Paul Newman for director Robert Benton, voiced the villain in the DreamWorks ' animated film Antz (1998), and co-starred with Will Smith in Enemy of the State (1998), his character reminiscent of the one he had portrayed in The Conversation.
  
  Gene is someone who is a very intuitive and instinctive actor... The brilliance of Gene Hackman is that he can look at a scene and he can cut through to what is necessary, and he does it with extraordinary economy – he's the quintessential movie actor. He's never showy ever, but he's always right on.
  
  Hackman alternated between leading and supporting roles during the 1980s. He appeared opposite Barbra Streisand in All Night Long (1981) and supported Warren Beatty in Reds (1981). He played the lead in Eureka (1983) and a supporting role in Under Fire (1983). Hackman provided the voice of God in Two of a Kind (1983) and starred in Uncommon Valor (1983), Misunderstood (1984), Twice in a Lifetime (1985), Target (1985) for Arthur Penn, and Power (1986). Between 1985 and 1988, he starred in nine films, making him the busiest actor, alongside Steve Guttenberg. Hackman played a high school basketball coach in Hoosiers (1986), which a 2008 American Film Institute poll named the fourth-greatest sports film of all time. After Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), he also voiced Nuclear Man (who was portrayed by Mark Pillow) and was in No Way Out (1987), Split Decisions (1988), Bat*21 (1988), and Full Moon in Blue Water (1988).
  
  Hackman acted opposite Gena Rowlands in the Woody Allen drama Another Woman (1988). Hackman starred in the Alan Parker -directed crime drama Mississippi Burning (1988), costarring Willem Dafoe, where they portrayed FBI agents investigating the murder of 3 civil rights student activists civil rights leader. He earned acclaim for the role, with Roger Ebert praising his performance for his subtlety. He was nominated for a second Academy Award for Best Actor, losing to Dustin Hoffman for Rain Man. After this he appeared in The Package (1989). Hackman starred in Loose Cannons (1990) with Dan Aykroyd, and he had a supporting role in Postcards from the Edge (1990). He appeared with Anne Archer in Narrow Margin (1990), a remake of the 1952 film The Narrow Margin. After Class Action (1991) and Company Business (1991), Hackman played the sadistic sheriff "Little Bill" Daggett in the Western Unforgiven, directed by Clint Eastwood and written by David Webb Peoples. Hackman had pledged to avoid violent roles, but Eastwood convinced him to take the part, which earned him a second Oscar, this time for Best Supporting Actor. The film also won Best Picture.
  
  Hackman returned to Broadway, starring in the 1992 Ariel Dorfman play Death and the Maiden, acting opposite Glenn Close and Richard Dreyfus at the Brooks Atkinson Theater. In 1993, he appeared in Geronimo: An American Legend as Brigadier General George Crook and co-starred with Tom Cruise as a corrupt lawyer in The Firm, a legal thriller based on the John Grisham novel of the same name. Hackman would appear in two other films based on John Grisham novels, playing Sam Cayhall, a Klansman on death row, in The Chamber (1996), and jury consultant Rankin Fitch in Runaway Jury (2003). Other films Hackman appeared in during the 1990s include Wyatt Earp (1994) (as Nicholas Porter Earp, Wyatt Earp ' s father), The Quick and the Dead (1995) opposite Sharon Stone, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Russell Crowe, and as submarine Captain Frank Ramsey alongside Denzel Washington in Crimson Tide (1995).
  
  Hackman played film producer Harry Zimm alongside John Travolta in the comedy-drama Get Shorty (1995). In 1996, he took a comedic turn as conservative Senator Kevin Keeley in The Birdcage with Robin Williams and Nathan Lane. He co-starred with Hugh Grant in Extreme Measures (1996) and reunited with Clint Eastwood in Absolute Power (1997). Hackman did Twilight (1998) with Paul Newman for director Robert Benton, voiced the villain in the DreamWorks ' animated film Antz (1998), and co-starred with Will Smith in Enemy of the State (1998), his character reminiscent of the one he had portrayed in The Conversation.