In 1994, Gene Hackman spoke to the Los Angeles Times about some childhood trauma that he was still trying to deal with. At the time, he was 63 years old, and 62 movies into his incredibly successful acting career — one that took off in spite of his notorious temper and tendency to go toe-to-toe with directors if he was told something he didn't like. That, he's said, was a rebelliousness that was deeply rooted in an unhappy childhood, set in a Great Depression-era town, dominated by a father who hit him to discipline him, and a mother who struggled with alcoholism.

Hackman's solution was to retreat to the basement: "I would make up this little cardboard room that would be all contained and cozy," he recalled. Still, he tried to spend some quality time with his dad, and that was usually on Saturdays. Saturday was their day to hang out, until the Saturday that his father left 13-year-old Gene, his mother, and his 6-week-old brother. "That day, he drove by and waved at me, and I knew from that wave that he wasn't coming back," Hackman told The New York Times. "That wave, it was like he was saying, 'Okay, it's all yours. You're on your own, kiddo.'"

It would have been easier to get mad, but in a conversation with Larry King, Hackman shared how it impacted him: "I don't think I was ever bitter. I loved him. I loved him right to the end."

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7qL7Up56eZpOkunB9km1rb2piZMGzrcaimmarpKS%2FqrHSZpibp6WpeqixzZ5koZmToLqiuo4%3D