Before Retirement, Gene Hackman Filmed His Last Movie in Ontario
As the world mourns the passing of legendary actor Gene Hackman, many may not realize that his final film role was shot in the quiet Ontario town of Port Perry.
The 2004 comedy Welcome to Mooseport marked Hackman’s last on-screen performance before he retired from acting due to health concerns. In the film, he starred as a former U.S. president running for mayor of a small town, opposite Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond). Though set in Mooseport, Maine, the movie was primarily filmed in Port Perry, a picturesque community 25 km north of Oshawa.
Following the release of Welcome to Mooseport, Hackman stepped away from Hollywood, closing the book on a remarkable career spanning more than 60 years.
Hackman, a two-time Academy Award winner, first won Best Actor for The French Connection (1971) and later earned Best Supporting Actor for Unforgiven (1992). His filmography includes some of cinema’s most iconic titles, including:
Bonnie & Clyde (1967)
The Conversation (1974)
Superman (1978)
Mississippi Burning (1988)
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead in their New Mexico home on February 26 under mysterious circumstances, prompting an ongoing police investigation. He was 95 years old, while Arakawa was 64.
Though Welcome to Mooseport did not achieve box office success, it now holds a special place in film history as Gene Hackman’s farewell to the silver screen—a performance that, fittingly, was captured in the heart of Ontario.