Fans of the late actor Gene Hackman have been searching for answers after he and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found ᴅᴇᴀᴅ in their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, under mysterious circumstances.

The actor, who died at 95, had lived a reclusive life in recent years after quietly retiring from acting after filming the 2004 satire Welcome To Mooseport.

Although fans have speculated for years that the film’s box-office bomb status might have contributed to his abandonment of Hollywood, Hackman himself explained why he quit acting in a recently resurfaced interview.

While speaking to Empire in 2009, several years into his retirement, Hackman revealed that it was his heart keeping him from getting back in front of the camera.

‘The straw that broke the camel’s back was actually a stress test that I took in New York,’ Hackman explained. ‘The doctor advised me that my heart wasn’t in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress.’

Earlier, in a 2004 interview on Larry King Live, Hackman admitted that he had a ‘fear’ of dying, though he considered it a perfectly normal thing. 

Following Gene Hackman’s shock death under mysterious circumstances at his home in Santa Fe, a resurfaced interview is shedding light on why he quit Hollywood and settled in New Mexico; pictured in Santa Fe in January 2024

Fans have speculated that his final film Welcome To Mooseport bombing might have contributed to him leaving Hollywood, Hackman himself explained his retirement in 2009; pictured with Christine Baranski in Welcome to Mooseport

‘I try to take care of myself,’ he said after he was asked if he was worried about his health. 

‘I don’t have a lot of fears. I have the normal fear of pᴀssing away — you know, I guess we all think about that, especially when you get to be a certain age,’ he continued.

Hackman added that his main priority was to ensure that his wife and family were ‘taken care of.’

Read More Mystery deepens as Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa’s autopsies are completed

‘Other than that, I don’t have a lot of fears,’ he declared.

He spoke with King the same year that Welcome To Mooseport was released to a disappointing reception from reviewers and audiences alike. 

The comedy only has a paltry 20 percent rotten score from the most prestigious critics surveyed by Rotten Tomatoes, and the movie was a flop, grossing only $14.6 million against a $30 million budget.

Hackman starred in the film as a former president of the United States who has moved to the eponymous town in Maine after his term ended.

While in the midst of a divorce, he decides to run for town mayor to help himself consolidate some of his business interests, but a hardware store owner (Ray Romano) decides to challenge him in hopes that elected office might make his girlfriend fall back in love with him.

In a 2004 interview on Larry King Live, Hackman admitted that he had a ‘fear’ of dying, though he considered it a normal thing; pictured in 1993 with Clint Eastwood at the 65th Oscars

He spoke with King the same year that Welcome To Mooseport was released to a disappointing reception from reviewers and audiences alike; pictured in the film with Marcia Gay Harden

Hackman waited years to confirm that he was retired, all while cinephiles hoped for another late-career triumph; pictured in 1971’s The French Connection, which won him the Oscar for Best Actor

Hackman never took another film role after Welcome To Mooseport, and fans of the Oscar winner’s numerous classic films were disappointed that he didn’t go out on a stronger note.

Part of the disappointment was due to the star’s decision to wait several years to confirm his retirement, which left cinephile’s pining for another late-career triumph.

It wasn’t until a 2008 interview with Reuters — four years after Welcome To Mooseport — that he made his retirement official.

‘I haven’t held a press conference to announce retirement, but yes, I’m not going to act any longer,’ he said at the time, while explaining why he stayed silent for so long. ‘I’ve been told not to say that over the last few years, in case some real wonderful part comes up, but I really don’t want to do it any longer.’

Years before shooting his final film, Hackman made the prospect of a return to the stage also sound unlikely.

‘I’d have to be comfortable though,’ he said of a possible return while chatting with Charlie Rose. ‘I’ve lived a soft life too long to camp out. When I lived in New York, it was a cockroach time for me.’

Comfort was again his primary concern in a 2011 GQ interview in which he mused about returning to film — but only if he could shoot it at home.

‘In my own house, maybe, without them disturbing anything and just one or two people,’ he said.

Hackman confirmed he was retired four years later, in 2008, and in 2011 he told GQ he would only act again if he could shoot a film at his own home; seen in 2003 in Beverly Hills

Hackman won his second Oscar for Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven. He starred in numerous classics, including Bonnie and Clyde, Scarecrow, Night Moves, Superman and The Royal Tenenbaums (pictured)

Those words took on a more sinister tone after Hackman was found ᴅᴇᴀᴅ at his home in Santa Fe on Wednesday at the age of 95.

His wife, the concert pianist Betsy Arakawa, was also found ᴅᴇᴀᴅ in the home. She was 64.

Mysteriously, one of the couple’s dogs was found ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, though two other dogs were found alive on the property.

Hackman and Arakawa appear to have been ᴅᴇᴀᴅ for some time, and maintenance workers who discovered their bodies said they hadn’t seen either of them for two weeks.

A search warrant obtained by DailyMail.com revealed that their bodies were found with signs of mummification.

While the condition is most ᴀssociated with ancient Egyptian burials, mummification can also occur when bodies are preserved in cold but dry climates in which bacteria struggles to grow, which describes the climate of Santa Fe in February.

Hackman’s daughter Elizabeth speculated earlier on Thursday that her father and stepmother may have been killed by a carbon monoxide leak.

Autopsies on the two bodies were completed earlier that morning, but authorities are still waiting on the full results, as well as a toxicology report.