Gene Hackman has sadly passed away at the age of 95, leaving behind a mountain of work that few could even hope to match. Among them was his Oscar-winning performance in director Clint Eastwood’s 1992 Western masterpiece “Unforgiven,” which saw him in the role of Sheriff “Little Bill” Daggett. Facing off against Eastwood’s aging gunman who returns from retirement for one last job, it still stands as one of the greatest westerns of all time and a testament to both the on-screen talent from the stars involved and the director’s masterful work behind the camera.
And there was one particular area that even Eastwood confessed needed very little attention during production — Hackman’s villain who runs the town and abuses the job he’s appointed with. The more we watch him, the more we learn to loathe the man and we’re soon itching to see him taken down by Eastwood’s seasoned outlaw. For the director and star of the film, it was everything he could’ve asked for.
Speaking to IndieWire about his co-star, Eastwood confessed, “Sometimes I rehearse with the actors, sometimes I don’t. Most actors have a pretty good idea coming to it, because it’s what attracted them to the role. Some are extremely instinctive and grasp the character right on. A great example of that would be Gene Hackman in ‘Unforgiven.’ He had the character so perfect right out of the box on every shot, every sequence, and he really didn’t have to do anything different — he was amazing.”
Clint Eastwood had no notes for Gene Hackman in Unforgiven – just a lot of footage
Hackman’s performance makes “Unforgiven” one of the best films in his career and rightfully earned him his second Academy Award for his malicious turn as Little Bill. For Eastwood, the signs were already there that something great was in the cards, and the director was keen to catch every second of it. “Sometimes when I’m rehearsing for a camera move, the performance is so good that I just turn the camera on, not wanting to lose it,” explained Eastwood. “I’ve seen it happen in the past that actors come out really good at the start and then all of a sudden, they start killing it with improvements.”
Looking back, it’s clear that nothing could’ve elevated Hackman’s memorable performance higher (or lower, depending on how you look at it) than the cruelty he brings to every scene. Every deed he’s behind festers throughout the film, and every character caught in his grip suffers dearly for it. It’s with every one of these actions that Little Bill nudges Eastwood’s Munny back into his old ways, with the last straw being the torture and murder of Morgan Freeman’s enigmatic Ned Logan. Little Bill may have been set on building a house, but it’s Hackman who builds a solid and loathsome villain for Munny to bring down. It’s a hell of a thing killing a man, but seeing Little Bill go isn’t so bad. All thanks to what Hackman brings to the character.