Gene Hackman was honored at the Academy Awards by his 'Unforgiven' co-star Morgan Freeman: "Our community lost a giant. And I lost a dear friend."

Gene Hackman’s Unforgiven co-star Morgan Freeman is set to lead a heartfelt tribute at the 2025 Oscars, honoring the late actor’s legacy amid the continuous speculation swirling around the circumstances of his death.

Freeman and Hackman, who was found dead last week at the age of 95, appeared together in the 1992 western “Unforgiven.”

Morgan Freeman honored his "Unforgiven" co-star while introducing the Oscars' In Memoriam segment after the actor and his wife were found dead.

Freeman, whose friendship with Hackman spans decades, called the late actor a “giant” of the film industry in his homage.

The Oscars are honoring Academy Award-winning actor Gene Hackman. The awards celebrated the life and career of the "French Connection" star at Sunday's ceremony, days after he was found dead alongside his wife,

The Oscars brought a somber elegy for Gene Hackman and a joyful tribute to Quincy Jones on Sunday night. In a late addition to the ceremony, Morgan Freeman praised the two-time Oscar winner and his two-time co-star Hackman,

Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman, introducing the In Memoriam segment at the 97th Academy Awards on Sunday, paid his respects to Gene Hackman, praising his late co-star as a "giant" of Hollywood — and "a dear friend.

Morgan Freeman opened the segment with a heartfelt speech about Gene Hackman, with whom he costarred in Unforgiven and Under Suspicion. "Like everyone who's ever shared a scene with him, I learned he was a generous performer and a man who elevated everyone's work,