Hackman never had the classic good looks of a Robert Redford or a Brad Pitt, and that's part of what made him such a singular force on screens. Because he looked like one of us, and acted like us, Hackman's characters felt like one of us too. As Julia Louis-Dreyfus wrote in her tribute post, 'he played imperfect people perfectly. '

You know Gene Hackman from his greatest hits like "The French Connection." But did you know he played an ant? Here's 5 surprising Hackman roles.

One of the 20th century's greatest actors, Hackman's career spanned more than 40 years and a variety of roles, from tough-guy parts to comedic turns, playing heroes, villains and one iconic sports coach in ways that captivated audiences.

Though he’d had small roles in movies and on television throughout the early 1960s (he’d been a Marine before that, and had studied journalism and television production on the G.I. Bill), Hackman was 36 before anyone really took notice.

I n 1956, an aspiring young actor named Gene Hackman joined the Pasadena Playhouse in California, struggling to find a way into a field he’d been fascinated with since childhood

One of the greatest American actors of the 20th century was voted “least likely to succeed” by his first theater school, wasn’t a star until he was 40 and possessed a face he once described as “your everyday mineworker.