Gene Hackman

When he was 16 years old, the late-great Gene Hackman lied about his age to enlist in the Marines.

‘The French Connection’ star - who passed away last month at the age of 95 - served from 1947-1952 as a radio operator and broadcast journalist in China, Japan and Hawaii where he helped to destroy Japanese military equipment to prevent the technology from falling into communist hands.

Once his time in the Marines came to an end, Hackman used his G.I. Bill payout to enrol at the University of Illinois to study journalism and television production before he ultimately became a Hollywood star.