Gene Hackman was in a film.
Gene Hackman . His major subsequent films include : I Never Sang for My Father ( 1970 ) , in which he gained his second Best Supporting Actor nomination ; The French Connection ( 1971 ) and French Connection II ( 1975 ) , in which he played Jimmy `` Popeye '' Doyle ; The Poseidon Adventure ( 1972 ) ; The Conversation ( 1974 ) ; Superman : The Movie ( 1978 ) , in which he played arch-villain Lex Luthor ; Hoosiers ( 1986 ) ; and Mississippi Burning ( 1988 ) , in which he gained his second Best Actor nomination . I Never Sang for My Father is a 1970 American film , based on a play by the same name , which tells the story of a widowed college professor who wants to get out from under the thumb of his aging father yet still has regrets about his plan to leave him behind when he remarries and moves to California .