I was in a medically-approved Vicodin haze yesterday so I missed the fact that it was Gene Hackman’s birthday!  Well, let’s make up for it today with a scene of Hackman being a righteous badass in 1988’s Mississippi Burning.

If you need any proof that Gene Hackman is one of our best actors, just consider that it’s been nearly 20 years since he retired from acting and he’s rarely seen out in public (reportedly due to just naturally being a very private man) yet he remains a popular performer who earns new fans every day.  In this scene, Hackman plays an FBI agent who lets a bunch of racists know that just because he might share their accent, that doesn’t mean that he shares their beliefs.  No one could go from friendly to intimidating with as much style as Gene Hackman.

(And yes, that is a young Michael Rooker getting put in his place, along with Brad Dourif.)