FAKE FIGHT TAUGHT GENE HACKMAN HE COULD ACT

FAKE FIGHT TAUGHT GENE HACKMAN HE COULD ACT

NEW YORK (Wireless Flash) -- Although Gene Hackman has two Oscars under his belt, he now admits he thought he was a terrible actor until he faked a fight with his then-roommate, Dustin Hoffman. Hackman tells entertainment journalist Baird Jones that Hoffman was trying to impress a woman much taller than him and was afraid she'd think he was a wimp. Hoffman convinced Hackman -- who was about 100 pounds heavier -- to pick a pretend fight in front of the lady and lose. Although the fight looked like bad TV wrestling, the woman thought it was real and was hysterical until Hackman and Hoffman confessed they faked the fight. The woman was so angry she never spoke to Hoffman again. However, Hackman says that's when they both realized they might have enough talent to make it as actors. Hackman's latest project is a pirate novel, "Wake Of The Perdido Star" (Newmarket Press).