Have you wondered what Gene Hackman has been up to? Yes, Gene Hackman, two-time Oscar winner, as well as the one true Lex Luthor? Hollywood icon, one of the greatest actors of the late 20th century?

Apparently, Hackman has been retired since 2004. For the past 16 years, he's been living like a recluse on a gated compound in New Mexico, rarely leaving the premises (only for a drink), and writing crime novels. (His latest is currently #782,621 on Amazon!)

You are probably expecting some snark here, but why judge? While his contemporaries like Robert De Niro and Al Pacino ham it up for the latest paycheck, Hackman chose to exit stage left. Heck, one of his last movie roles was one of his best: as the titular (half Hebrew!) Royal Tenenbaum. If all the man wants to do is stay at his home alone, brood, drink, and write, who are we to say anything?

Kinda sounds like our life anyway...