ICONIC actor Gene Hackman confessed he hated to watch himself age and couldn’t bear to watch his later movies.

The legend, 95, was tragically found dead alongside his wife Betsy Arakawa, 63, and their dog in their $3.8 million home on Wednesday.

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Cops have said there are no signs of foul play, as reported by the Santa Fe New Mexican.

Haunting comments from the two-time Oscars winner have resurfaced since the tragic news broke yesterday.

In a 2009 interview, Gene admitted he hated to watch himself age.

“It really costs me a lot emotionally to watch myself on-screen,” he said.

“I think of myself, and feel like I’m quite young, and then I look at this old man with the baggy chins and the tired eyes and the receding hairline and all that.”

The prolific actor added how he had “the normal fear of passing away”.

“You know, I guess we all think about that, especially when you get to be a certain age,” he continued.

“I try to take care of myself.”

And the icon also shared how he wished for his wife and family to be taken care of once he was gone.

“I want to make sure that my wife and my family are taken care of. Other than that, I don’t have a lot of fears,” he said.

It comes as more details about the tragedy have been shared by cops, although the cause of death is yet to be released.

A statement from the force read: “On February 26 2025, at approximately 1.45pm, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to an address on Old Sunset Trail in Hyde Park where Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64, and a dog were found deceased.”

Gene was last seen publicly with Betsy in March 2024 at a restaurant in Santa Fe.

He walked with a cane and held onto his wife’s arm for support.

The couple were on a dinner date in Santa Fe, New Mexico, heading into Pappadeaux’s restaurant.

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Gene had celebrated his 94th birthday just weeks before these last pictures were taken.

Earlier in the day, the pair were also seen at a local Speedway store, where the Hollywood legend bought a cup of coffee and an apple pie.

Gene had been open about his health battles over the years.

He spoke candidly about the stress of what he dubbed a “wicked” industry, which led to him undergoing heart surgery.

The actor had a balloon catheter inserted to help open a narrowed artery in his heart.

Speaking in 2009 he told Empire magazine: “The straw that broke the camel’s back was actually a stress test that I took in New York.

“The doctor advised me that my heart wasn’t in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress.”

Tributes have poured in following the tragic news of Gene’s death.

American actor George Takei said his work “will live on forever”.

“We have lost one of the true giants of the screen. Gene Hackman could play anyone, and you could feel a whole life behind it,” Takei said.

“He could be everyone and no one, a towering presence or an everyday Joe. That’s how powerful an actor he was.”

The great filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, who worked with Gene in the 1974 film The Conversation, remembered him as a “great actor”.

“The loss of a great artist, always cause for both mourning and celebration: Gene Hackman, a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity,” Coppola said.

“I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution.”

Piers Morgan also paid a touching tribute to the star.

“What an incredibly sad end to a remarkable life. RIP,” he said.

Gene was married twice, tying the knot with Faye Maltese in 1956.

The couple had three children – one son and two daughters.

They were married for three decades, divorcing in 1986.

He and classical pianist Betsy had been married since 1991.

Gene, born in California in 1930, revealed his dad left the family home when he was 13.

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He revealed his dad waved at him when he was playing outside.

“It was a real adios,” he told Vanity Fair in 2004.

“It was so precise.

“Maybe that’s why I became an actor.

“I doubt I would have become so sensitive to human behavior if that hadn’t happened to me as a child—if I hadn’t realized how much one small gesture can mean.”

Gene served in the US Marine Corps for four years from the age of 16 before he was discharged in 1951. He missed service in the Korean War after suffering serious injured in a motorcycle accident.

Tragedy struck in 1962, when he was just starting out in the movies, when his mother Anna died in a accidental house fire started by a discarded cigarette.

He would later say the adversity he faced in his early life helped drive his stellar career.

A STELLAR CAREER

Hackman’s breakout moment was in Bonnie and Clyde in 1967, where he played Buck Barrow.

But, he was known for starring in Superman movies, and hit films like Mississippi Burning and Unforgiven.

He played the supervillain Lex Luthor in Superman, Superman II, and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.

Hackman also starred in the hit movies Runaway Jury, The French Connection, The Royal Tenenbaums, Unforgiven, and The Conversation.

In 1972, he scooped the Best Actor gong for his role as Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in The French Connection.

He appeared in the movie’s sequel in 1975.

In 1993, Hackman won the Best Supporting Actor award for his role in the western flick Unforgiven.

Hackman played Little Bill Daggett in the film that also starred Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, and Anna Thomson.

Unforgiven scooped four Oscars, including Best Picture.

Hackman appeared in four westerns during the 1990s. The others were: Geronimo: An American Legend, Wyatt Earp, and The Quick and the Dead.

But, he also appeared on stage. Hackman’s last Broadway appearance came in 1992 when he played Roberto Miranda in the play Death and the Maiden.

When he quit acting, it was feared that the decision was linked to stress.

He admitted he struggled to balance family life with the glitz and glamour of Hollywood.

Hackman wasn’t just a film star; he starred in TV series such as Brenner and The F.B.I.

But after his final role, he left the bright lights of Hollywood and moved to New Mexico.

He was rarely spotted and liked to enjoy Wendy’s drive-thru meals.

In his later years, he suffered from minor health problems.

In 2012, Hackman was struck by a car when riding his bike.

He was rushed to a Miami hospital with serious injuries.

“Gene’s fine,” his agent Susan Madore said at the time as she downplayed any fears.

“Just a few bumps and bruises.”

The incident happened eight years after his final movie role.

And, it was just weeks before he turned 82.

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