Prince William Makes Rare Hollywood Statement To Pay Tribute To 'True Genius' Gene Hackman

Prince William is mourning the loss of acclaimed actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy.

Gene, 95, Betsy, 64, and their dog were found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico home on Wednesday after police were called to do a welfare check by a neighbor. An investigation is ongoing into their shockingly mysterious deaths. It may take a while before we learn what took Gene Hackman from us, but fans are already in mourning. And one of his biggest was cinephile Prince William!

On Thursday, the Prince of Wales took to his X (Twitter) account to repost a tribute shared by BAFTA. But he also added his own message:

“So sad to hear the news of the death of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy. Hackman was a true genius of film who brought each and every character to life with power, authenticity and star quality. W”

That “W” means we know this was straight from Will’s heart. We knew the Prince was a big movie lover, but we can’t remember the last time he made an official statement on Hollywood news of any kind. That’s how much of an impact Gene Hackman had.

BAFTA’s statement read:

“We are saddened to hear that the much-celebrated actor Gene Hackman has died aged 95. Hackman’s illustrious career spanned over six decades and earned him BAFTA wins for his work in Unforgiven, The French Connection and The Poseidon Adventure.”

See the full tribute (below):

So sad to hear the news of the death of Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy. Hackman was a true genius of film who brought each and every character to life with power, authenticity and star quality. W https://t.co/qcqmMsHs1f

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) February 27, 2025

As the president of BAFTA, William has always been a self-declared movie fan. It seems he was an extra special admirer of Gene’s to post his own personal tribute! Our hearts go out to all those mourning this upsetting loss. R.I.P.

[Image via MEGA/WENN & 20th Century Studios/YouTube]