Superman

Hackman terrified with his portrayal of the Man of Steel’s arch-nemesis Lex Luthor in 1978’s ‘Superman’.

The blockbuster - which also starred Christopher Reeve, Marlon Brando and Margot Kidder - follows the superhero as he tried to balance his human and Kryptonian sides, all while Lex Luthor plots his downfall.

Reflecting on the film, Hackman revealed he intended to keep his moustache to play the supervillain, but was duped into shaving it by director Richard Donner.

He recalled: "I told him I wanted to keep the moustache. And he said, ‘Well, let me think about it, and when you come on the set we'll discuss it.'

"The first day I was in England, he says, ‘Well, what about the moustache?’ And I said, ‘Well, I don't know, I'd really like to keep it.' He says, ‘If you shave your mustache, I'll shave mine.’ And I said, ‘Okay.'

"So I went back to makeup and we did all these things, I shaved the moustache off, and I came back on the set and we were doing the makeup test and I said, ‘Dick! You've gotta shave your moustache off.’ And he says, ‘Okay.’ And he took it and he peeled it off. And he had set that up, I loved him for doing that."