The Heartwarming (And Important) Reason Why Gene Hackman Starred In The Birdcage
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The world has lost an absolute legend, with Gene Hackman having died at the age of 95. The Oscar -winning actor was best known for his more dramatic performances, including those of classic films like “The French Connection” and “Unforgiven”, among others. That said, Hackman sometimes worked on more comical equipment, with the “Young Frankenstein” classification like another classic cut of this fabric. But perhaps its most famous comic role came in 1996 with “The Birdcage”.
In the event that you need a reminder (or is not familiar), “The Birdcage” features Robin Williams like Armand, an owner of the Miami Gay disco who claims to be a hetero man while organizing his very conservative future, including his future daughter-in-law Barbara (Calista Flockhart), during a dinner dinner. Nathan Lane Costar in the film as a partner of Drag-Reen by Armand, Albert, while Hackman plays Kevin Keeley, the father of Barbara and a conservative senator who wishes to present himself as a family man after having caught errors of the scandal of another politician.
“The Birdcage” is recalled with emotion as one of the best films in WilliamsBut Hackman helps to raise the comedy of director Mike Nichols to something really special. So why did the actor decided to play such an unexpected role in his career? “I love it when a tolerance message can be formulated in entertainment,” said Hackman about his decision to play in the film, speaking in an interview published in the March 1996 issue of Lawyer. He continued, explaining that the message of the film was likely to resonate because it is transmitted by comedy:
“I think the message here will communicate all the more powerful because people will laugh while they absorb it.”
Gene Hackman wanted to return to her comic roots with the bird cage
Acceptance of the LGBTQ + community has traveled a long way in the past 30 years. We still have one long The way of doing things, there is no doubt about this, but “The Birdcage” is really a question of acceptance, and Keeley’s tour towards acceptance at the end of the film is really something. The fact that the actor was personally motivated by this message speaks volumes about him.
Beyond that, the same article explained that Hackman, who at that time had about four decades of experience as an actor to his credit, “enjoyed the chance to return to his roots in the improvisation comedy”. Again, Hackman is not mainly known as a comic actor, but this is where he made his debut. A little right, Hackman’s final film before disappearing from Hollywood was the 2004 comedy “Welcome to Mooseport”.
Every good actor needs a beach, it goes almost without saying. But Hackman was really one of the best players of all timeWithout hyperbole. It would have been very easy for him to play the hetero man in this film and leave with a healthy pay check, while probably obtaining a good amount of credit. However, he went beyond. Speaking further in the same interview, Hackman offered a window on his reflection on the reading of Keeley:
“The role seduced me because I like the parts which are a stretch of who I really am […] I had to enter Keeley’s rigid self-protection to understand the driving force of prejudices. “”
