Gene Hackman's final words to Hollywood revealed: 'God help me'

Gene Hackman made his final awards show appearance at the 2003 Golden Globes, where he reflected on his storied career.

At the 2003 Golden Globes, the Oscar-winning Hollywood legend accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award for "outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment."

Notably, this happened 22 years before Hackman’s death, as he was found dead at his home in Santa Fe with his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 63, and their dog on Wednesday, February 26, 2025.

During the 2003 award ceremony, Robin Williams and Michael Caine gave the Superman star the award.

After receiving the award, Hackman revealed, “I never wanted to be anything but an actor,” and quoted actor George Scott from the movie Patton, saying, “God help me, I love it.”

“I truly do,” the 95-year-old emphasised, referring to his acting career and talked about going to the movie theatre as a boy and being “transported” while watching different films.

"I knew that there were people behind all of that dream-making, but I chose to believe that this was happening for the first time, for me, on that screen, on that Saturday afternoon," The Conversation actor continued.

He went on to note that "there's a line that I always wanted to say, 'Top of the world, Ma! Top of the world!'" referring to James Cagney's phrase from the 1949 movie White Heat.

It is significant to mention that the 2003 event was believed to be the last awards show Hackman and his wife, Arakawa, attended, as they chose to live a private life afterwards.