Gene Hackman, 93, healthy as a retired star seen for the first time in years, two decades after the last film

Retired actor Gene Hackman, 93, must have good genes, because he looked healthy when he was spotted in Santa Fe, New Mexico, for the first time in years on Sunday.

The legendary two-time Oscar winner – who hasn’t starred in a movie in nearly two decades – seemed to be in great shape, doing yard work on his farm with a shovel in hand.

Before that, the retired actor was enjoying a fast food lunch in a parking lot in his white truck after hitting a Wendy’s drive-thru.

The Royal Tenenbaums actor later fueled up in two different ways: he pumped gas and grabbed a cup of coffee at a gas station.

Hackman – Hackman – who has more than 100 credits to his name – was perfectly dressed for an active day out, wearing a black Columbia fleece over a long-sleeved gray T-shirt, blue jeans and black sneakers.

He made sure to protect himself from the sun, as he also wore black sunglasses and a khaki baseball cap.

His gray hair was tucked behind his ear under the headgear and he sported his trademark moustache.

It was a rare star sighting – his last film role was alongside Ray Romano and Christine Baranski in the 2004 comedy Welcome To Mooseport.

On July 7 of the same year, he gave a rare interview to Larry King in which he announced that he had no new film projects in the pipeline and thought his acting career was over.

Years later, he confirmed his retirement while promoting his third novel, Escape From Andersonville, in 2008.

In 2011, he was asked by GQ if he would ever come out of retirement to do another film, to which Hackman replied, “If I could maybe do it in my own house, with nothing disturbing them and just one or two people . .’

He hasn’t stayed away from the industry entirely, though, as he has narrated two Marine Corps documentaries: The Unknown Flag Raiser of Iwo Jima (2016) and We, The Marines (2017).

Hackman began his acting career nearly 70 years ago, joining the Pasadena Playhouse in 1956 where he befriended fellow aspiring actor Dustin Hoffman.

He finally moved to New York in 1963, and began performing in several Off-Broadway plays and minor TV roles.

The actor really made a name for himself in the 1970s when he was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Supporting Actor category for the 1970 film I Never Sang For My Father.

The following year, he officially became a leading man, winning the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as New York City Detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in The French Connection.

He went on to consistent work, including in the disaster film The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation (1974) before landing the role of supervillain Lex Luthor in 1978’s Superman: The Movie.

In the 1980s, he starred in several films, including Reds (1981), Under Fire (1983), Hoosiers (1986), No Way Out (1987), and Mississippi Burning (1988).

The 1990s brought him his second Oscar when he earned the gong for Best Supporting Actor for his work as sadistic sheriff “Little” Bill Daggett alongside Clint Eastwood in 1992’s Unforgiven.

He rounded out that decade by also starring in Narrow Margin (1990), Geronimo: An American Legend (1993), The Firm (1993), The Chamber (1996), Wyatt Earp (1994), The Quick And The Dead (1995 ), Crimson Tide (1995), Get Shorty (1995,) Absolute Power (1997), The Birdcage (1996) and Enemy Of The State (1998).

Hackman remained active in the early 2000s with roles in Behind Enemy Lines (2001), Heist (2001), Runaway Jury (2003), and even earned the Golden Globe for Best Actor – Musical or Comedy for 2001’s The Royal Tenenbaums.