What I Learned On Set with the Great Gene Hackman in Baltimore

My on-set lunches with Academy Award-winning actor Gene Hackman on the blockbuster spy thriller Enemy of the State revealed a true artist and humanitarian.

By Stephen Wozniak

March 17, 2025
The Baltimore Sun

To read the full article, click here: What I Learned on Set with Gene Hackman in Baltimore

EXCERPT

On a frigid November afternoon in 1997, I met Gene Hackman in front of the old Dr. Pepper plant in South Baltimore. It was my first day working on the set of the movie Enemy of the State. Hackman was taking a “break,” as he later put it, from the career retirement he’d declared only a few years prior. Wrapped in a long dress coat, he gazed wistfully at the dilapidated building. “You know that’s gonna’ be rubble this time tomorrow, right?” I didn’t. As he explained that the blast sequence would follow a scene between his seasoned spy character and Will Smith’s disoriented attorney, I started shivering from the cold. Hackman handed me a pair of hand warmers. “Take these. Rip them open and shake ‘em a bit. They’ll heat you up.”

With that gesture, Hackman broke form, and demonstrated kindness to a complete stranger, something I’d yet to experience with a seasoned actor—or anyone—of his stature.

“Gene,” he said and extended his hand. I shook it and introduced myself.