Who is Dide? Sky News meets the mystery rapper who claims to play in the Premier League
Dressed in what appears to be a very expensive designer track top, from the neck down the man in front of me certainly looks the part of professional footballer on a day off. Box-fresh white Nikes, baggy shorts over sports tights and gloves complete the look – along with the studded black rose mask concealing his identity.
This is Dide, an incognito rapper who started releasing music online earlier in 2023. Why the mystery? Because, he claims, he is also a current Premier League player.
Strolling across a small city pitch usually reserved for five-a-side games near London’s Waterloo Station, a far cry from the multimillion-pound stadiums he says he is used to, he says hello and shakes hands with the Sky News crew before settling down on the astroturf to give his first on-camera interview, his manager and also his own cameraman in tow.
Word spreads quickly and a small crowd of young footballers grows behind us, eager to watch the man in the strange mask, potentially a British footballing hero, in action.
Dide’s appearance gives little away; he’s about 5ft 10in and slender-ish, though the top is loose, pretty much every inch of his body is covered. The voice that has clocked up millions of YouTube views and Spotify plays, now speaking in person – the accent suggests London – is not distorted or changed in any way, he assures.
There has been frenzied speculation and numerous headlines written since the release of his first track, Thrill, in April. The song has racked up more than 5m plays on Spotify and Dide has more than 200,000 monthly listeners; on YouTube, the track has 2.3m views and the artist almost 80,000 subscribers.
Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah seems to be the favourite among internet sleuths, but other names in the mix include Nketiah’s teammates Bukayo Saka and Reiss Nelson, Chelsea’s Noni Madueke, Fulham’s Alex Iwobi – already known for his rapping skills – and West Ham’s Michail Antonio.
Plus, Wilfried Zaha and Sheyi Ojo, although Zaha moved from Crystal Palace to Turkey’s Galatasaray earlier this year, and Ojo is on loan in Belgium from Championship club Cardiff City – but did play for Liverpool until 2022. Everything from video locations – Bermondsey has been spotted – to possible tattoos has been poured over for a potential giveaway.
Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah is among the names in mix
Or, could this all be a clever marketing ploy? There is no doubt the anonymity has helped create a wave of interest. His lyrics feed the hype, with references to a team that “stays winning” and players including Neymar and Harry Kane, as well as him “seeing seven figures”.
Sky News asked to verify Dide’s identity not for publication, but he politely declined. However, rather than requesting to meet at perhaps the safer option of a music studio, he did agree to a football pitch, prepared to show off his skills – more on this later.
He also doesn’t dodge questions about the stadiums he’s played at or the players he’s faced during his career. Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium has the best changing rooms, apparently; interestingly, considering they were only promoted this season, Luton Town’s Kenilworth Road the worst. “No disrespect”.
Luton’s Kenilworth Road Stadium. Pic: AP/Frank Augstein
A quick look at the fixtures confirms only four Premier League teams have played Luton Town at Kenilworth Road this season: West Ham, Wolves, Burnley, Spurs. Then there’s the date of our interview, the afternoon of Sunday 22 October. If Dide plays for West Ham, he has just half an hour afterwards to kick off against Aston Villa, at Villa Park. Even Kylian Mbappe isn’t that quick.
Would he really narrow it down by this much? Could he be a more recent Premier League signing who played Luton previously in the Championship? Or could his Luton answer be a slip-up?
‘I see things from afar’
Pic: BLVCKROSE Ltd
Dide insists he’s the real deal. “Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion,” he says. “Obviously we made the decision [to be anonymous] and we ran with it. It kind of organically happened. Nothing was really thought out to trick people… The main thing for me is the music rather than the football player. I guess fans and the public ran with all these different opinions, which is cool. But it was definitely not a marketing trick.”
He says his favourite player of all time is Arsenal hero Thierry Henry – a clue to his team, maybe? – and the greatest player he has come up against is recently retired former Chelsea and Real Madrid star Eden Hazard. The most annoying thing about being a Premier League footballer is “not being able to go to Tesco or something like that… you don’t really have a life outside of football, there’s always eyes on you”. It’s a fairly standard answer on the worst aspects of celebrity – but if true, suggests he could be at the more high-profile end of the fame scale.
Giving a fact most wouldn’t know about the league, he offers a fairly detailed answer about how referees explain changes and new regulations to teams at the start of each season. And his take on VAR? “Obviously it’s good because it makes it fair, but it kind of takes out the emotion.”
He speaks slowly, pausing often and considering his responses. He refers to “we”, which is Dide and his manager, Shola Akins, one of apparently very few people to know his real identity. The music is released through their label BLVCKROSE Ltd and Akins, who has previously worked as a music editor, says they have known each other for a few years.
The anonymity “protects myself, protects other football players as well”, Dide says, because his lyrics don’t just tell his own stories. “It might be about my teammate, for example.” They also take in politics, with Thrill tackling knife crime and poverty: “F*** being rich, I’d rather help the poor/ Government’s got no remorse/ And Rishi Sunak couldn’t help the cause/ So here’s Dide spitting peace tryna wipe the floor.”
“I see things from afar and I feel like, especially at the moment, there’s a lot of stuff going on, a lot of people need support,” he says. “A lot of the communities and the young people, some people don’t have places to live. The economy at the moment ain’t great, prices are rising. And I feel like Rishi Sunak and the government, obviously they’re responsible for that. I think that specific lyric was more of a cry out for help for our community.”
‘Footballers are human beings – we do have feelings’
Pic: BLVCKROSE Ltd
Players can often face criticism on and off the pitch, he says, giving another reason for his mask. “Every game we get criticised, when we win, when we draw, whether you play bad, whether you play good. Adding something outside of football is just adding more [potential for] criticism. So it was easy for me to make that decision to try and keep the music separate. And, you know, they’re two different things. My effort and my concentration towards football is 100%.”
Dide says he has come to see making music as a form of therapy, a way to “let it all out”. Is mental health an issue in the sport? “I don’t want to seem like we don’t get support because we do,” he says. “Obviously the PFA are big on mental health and supporting the players… but definitely mental health is a big thing in football.
“A lot of people don’t really get to see what goes on behind the scenes… whether you’re playing one minute and you’re dropped, whether you’re injured for however many weeks. People don’t really see how that can affect you as a human being. That’s definitely one of the main topics I want to touch on in the music, because people need to understand that footballers are human beings as well… we do have feelings, we do have things we’re going through outside of football as well.”
Dide says he hopes to motivate younger footballers and fans, “spread a positive vibe”, as well as detail “the highs and lows”. Following the release of his first mixtape, Who Is Dide?, featuring tracks including Derby Day and Tactical Foul, in September, how does he answer the titular question? “I feel like Dide is a voice for football players, for the sport.”
He has apparently been playing football, his “first love”, since he was six, says it is all he has ever considered as a career. Music, he reveals, is a passion for a lot of players behind the scenes but was never something he always planned to pursue seriously. “One day we had training, we had the day off the next day, me and my teammates thought: why not? Let’s go studio… It kind of just progressed into what it is. It wasn’t really something I planned to do, but it’s just another way of expressing myself.”
Clarifying, he says his teammates remain in the dark. “A lot of us go into the studio just for fun, but no one really knows how far it’s gone.” But some of them have their suspicions. “They ask me, like, ‘Oh, is it you?’… But just the same way that it can be me, it could be someone else. So there’s no real one thing that would make it be, you know, one football player.”
The mask features roses because his favourite colour is rose gold, he says, which certainly sounds like a credible answer for someone who could afford rose gold jewellery. Both the mask and the name Dide contain clues to who he is, he adds. “As the music comes out, it will kind of make sense… Maybe I might reveal myself in the future. Who knows?”
Some have questioned how a professional footballer could dedicate so much time to another venture. Dide admits he has just one day off a week, sometimes two, “depending on if we win or get a good result”. His free time comes in the evening “when you’re at home chilling by yourself, or with your family, whatever. That’s when I start writing music… or playing FIFA with my teammates. It’s not something I have to go out my way to do because I’m at home anyway”.
What do the experts say?
Could Dide be England and Arsenal star Bukayo Saka? Pic: Europa Press via AP
Trying to get to the bottom of it all, we spoke to a football writer, a music expert and an accent coach to get their thoughts.
British grime DJ and hip-hop expert Alex de Lacey, an assistant professor of popular music at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, says the interesting thing about Dide is the crossover between football and entertainment. David Beckham set the precedent for this back in the 1990s with his moves into fashion, and John Barnes is almost as famous now for his rap on New Order’s World In Motion, England’s 1990 World Cup song, as he is for his football. Believe it or not, Eric Cantona is currently on tour after releasing his first single, and recently there has been a political crossover, too, most notably through Marcus Rashford’s social campaigning.
“You saw it in the ’90s, some kind of engagement between Britpop and football and this kind of conflation in culture. But UK rap and drill and football is much more tied together… there was the grime clash between Bradley Wright-Phillips and Yannick Bolasie. And now what we’re seeing is musicians and footballers hanging out, socialising, and this sense of proximity is much more pronounced than it was before.”
Alex says “a lot of work” has gone into Dide’s music, with a considered approach taken and “super high production values”. The mystery surrounding the claimed Premier League player identity is “very clever”, but “the music itself backs it up,” he says. “It would be harder to succeed in this way if he wasn’t a good rapper.”
He says Dide’s real identity actually doesn’t matter as much as what he represents – “a reflection of this increasing overlap between football, music, entertainment” – and the point at which people find out “means it’s no longer as interesting”. As an Arsenal fan, however, he says it would be exciting to discover the rapper is a Gunner. “They’re also very hot on their music partnerships, they had Pusha T in the third kit recently. But it’s all just conjecture – which I guess is the point of it.”
He continues: “A lot of young men and women growing up in London, in the inner city… they have a proximity to this culture in a way that means they probably did rap when they were kids. So they kind of grew up rapping, listening to the same tunes, playing football… they say the main way to succeed is through football or through rap. I think that’s something which has been cultivated over the past 20 years with young people in their everyday social life. So the likelihood of this happening more and more just seems pretty apparent.”
Voice and accent coach Ashley Howard had a listen to Dide’s tracks and speaking voice to see if he could shed any light on his identity, analysing his music and speech against the speech of some of the frontrunners. The rapper’s accent falls into the category of “multicultural London English”, he says, which is influenced by east London as well as the Caribbean, Africa and India, and now heard mainly in south London but also further afield around the capital and other parts of the UK.
Alex Iwobi moved from Everton to Fulham in September. Pic: AP Photo/Jon Super
There are occasional intonations in Dide’s rapping that would suggest Jamaican influence or heritage, which might suggest Michail Antonio or even Raheem Sterling, he says. However, this could also be down to the difference between Dide’s speaking voice and rapping voice, he adds, as there can be a difference.
But you also have to listen to the placement and rhythm of someone’s accent as well, which he says makes him rule out Antonio. Iwobi and Ojo are possibles, he says, but Saka is most similar. “I think it could be his voice… Dide’s voice is quite far forward, there’s a very light and open quality to his rapping. And I think Bukayo’s voice lends itself a bit more towards that.”
So what do football experts think? Mark White, a writer for the FourFourTwo magazine and website, is sceptical. “Given how much fans study players these days, given how nothing is secret in football, I think it would be very, very unlikely to be a Premier League footballer,” he says. “I might be wrong, but if Dide is actually a Premier League footballer, I’ve got the feeling he’s had to throw people off the scent with his lyrics a little bit.”
White has met Nketiah and doesn’t believe he is the man behind the mask. Of all the theories, like our voice coach he thinks England star Saka’s speaking voice is the closest match. “But it feels like that would be too good to be true, if one of the best players in the world at the moment was also moonlighting as a rapper. I think that would just be too exciting.”
So… can Dide take a penalty?
After we chat, Dide swaps his trainers for football boots and puts the ball on the spot – pointing out the difficulties in doing this while wearing his mask. The first couple of shots are easily saved by one of the young boys from the crowd who has happily offered to play goalie, but he soon gets into his stride.
Is he convincing? I definitely want to believe it – and there’s no reason why a professional footballer couldn’t also be a talented rapper. Based on his skills? It’s hard to say, although it’s worth noting the mask once again, the small five-a-side goal, and also that he doesn’t appear to be treating his shots with the gravitas of, say, a cup final. Plus, he wouldn’t be the first English player to miss a penalty – though I don’t imagine the pressure of scoring in front of a Sky News crew is quite the same as a game watched by millions.
As for what’s next for Dide, there are apparently plans to play live shows at some point, working around his schedule. And there is nothing in his contract that would stop him from releasing music, he says, whether he ever reveals his identity or not.
“If anything [the music is] a positive. I’m trying to inspire other people, inspire other football players to come out and speak their truth… and just express themselves. Obviously, football is the main priority and if I was coming in late to training or whatever, then obviously that would be a problem. But I like doing music in my spare time. To me, it’s better than going out clubbing or whatever.”
On the speculation, he says the strangest theory he has come across is that Dide is Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire. “To me, that’s funny. Obviously I know Harry Maguire quite well… but I don’t really look at social media too much.”
Instead, his “main happiness” comes from the positive reaction and “what people are saying about the actual music itself”, he says. “Long may that continue.”
Are we any closer to answering the question: who is Dide? Maybe a little. But it looks like the mystery will stay alive for a while yet.
Awards season is often predictable. Last year, our crystal ball reading ahead of Oscars night was pretty much perfect – Oppenheimer cleaned up at every ceremony going, and it all started to get a bit Groundhog Day.
While it’s true some Oscars this year are all but dead certs, for others – and most excitingly, it’s the big ones – there are fairly large question marks. Which is much more fun.
Here’s the verdict from Sky News entertainment team journalists Katie Spencer, Claire Gregory, Bethany Minelle and Gemma Peplow – who will win, and who they think should win. Inspired by Conclave, we’ve held a secret(ish) ballot.
BEST FILM
Ralph Fiennes stars as Cardinal Lawrence in director Edward Berger’s Conclave. Pic: Philippe Antonello/Focus Features 2024
The nominees
Anora, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, Emilia Perez, I’m Still Here, Nickel Boys, The Substance, Wicked
Who will win: Conclave – II; Anora – II
Who should win: The Brutalist – I; Anora – III
“The best picture is a battle of head v heart for me. Conclave is great, but Anora is so fresh, exciting and unexpected as a best picture nominee I would love to see it take the top prize. I just don’t think it will beat those scheming priests.”
Arts and entertainment editor Claire Gregory
“Conclave is solid, compelling and classy, with a great ensemble cast. I think the Academy may secretly have resented being made to sit through three-and-a-half hours of anything, even if The Brutalist is a cinematic masterpiece. But if it was me voting, The Brutalist should win – a masterful lesson in storytelling.”
Arts and entertainment correspondent Katie Spencer
“Anora is a rags-to-riches indie story with a twist and is worthy of all the plaudits it is getting. I think it will win and should win – it has a cracking cast, skilled direction, a propulsive storyline, and humour to boot. Even excessive Take That playtime didn’t take off the shine.”
Arts and entertainment reporter Bethany Minelle
“A few years ago, Conclave, a thriller about the election of a new pope, would have had this in the bag over screwball anti-fairytale Anora, which follows a young sex worker who marries the son of a Russian oligarch. But, the Academy embraced the madcap Everything Everywhere All At Once in 2023 and after the seriousness of Oppenheimer last year, plus the momentum Anora has gained, I reckon voters could be in the mood for something a little less traditional again.”
Culture and entertainment reporter, Gemma Peplow
BEST ACTOR
Timothee Chalamet transformed into Bob Dylan for A Complete Unknown. Pic: Searchlight Pictures
The nominees
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
Timothee Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
Sebastian Stan – The Apprentice
Who will win: Adrien Brody – II; Timothee Chalamet – II
Who should win: Colman Domingo – III; Adrien Brody – I
“Adrien Brody has put in the work here for his role in The Brutalist, and the fact that after three-and-a-half hours of screentime you are not sick of his face is down to his skill alone. He will win and should win – give the man his second Oscar already.”
BM
“I’ve a hunch Timothee Chalamet’s SAG win reflects who the wider Academy has voted for. If you think back to previous winners it tends to be those who have acted AND done something extra, such as play the piano, endured hours of prosthetics, learned to dance etc. I reckon Timmy’s five years spent mastering the guitar, harmonica and sounding like Bob Dylan for his performance in A Complete Unknown will get him across the line.”
KS
“I’m bored of the Adrien/Timmy debate and would frankly rather see Colman Domingo beat them both. For me, he’s one of the most consistently brilliant actors working today and Sing Sing deserves more attention than it’s got this awards season.”
CG
“I also think Chalamet’s SAG win could be the indicator here. The Academy loves a transformation – see consecutive ‘real-life’ wins for Gary Oldman (Winston Churchill) in 2018, Rami Malek (Freddie Mercury) in 2019, and Renee Zellweger (Judy Garland) in 2020. However, I vote Domingo; not least because his co-star Clarence Maclin, who plays himself in the prison drama Sing Sing, should also have been nominated in the supporting category. Sing Sing is a beautiful story of hope and redemption and Domingo’s is an understated but brilliant performance. He’s also always the best-dressed man at any ceremony, so his outfit will no doubt deserve its moment, too.”
GP
BEST ACTRESS
Demi Moore as Elisabeth Sparkle in The Substance. Pic: Mubi
The nominees
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
Karla Sofía Gascon – Emilia Perez
Mikey Madison – Anora
Demi Moore – The Substance
Fernanda Torres – I’m Still Here
Who will win: Demi Moore – IIII
Who should win: Demi Moore – I; Mikey Madison – III
“This one is too close to call. The Academy has traditionally loved a female ingenue – although Sky News research revealed last year that the age gap between male and female acting winners is definitely closing – which would favour Mikey Madison; and yet, Demi Moore’s real-life story arc has also won her a legion of supporters this year. Those arguments are a little reductive and should not take away from the real reasons why both would be worthy winners – for two very different but equally excellent performances – but it would be wrong to say performance is the only thing taken into account when it comes to voting.”
GP
“Like Academy members no doubt, I’m a sucker for the comeback narrative – and Moore winning an Oscar after being written off as a “popcorn” actress is too irresistible a story arc, even if deep down, while she’s excellent in The Substance, I’m not sure she really gives the best performance of the year.”
CG
“Moore has to win for throwing everything she had at this role. Stripping off, grossing us out, donning prosthetics, getting elbows-deep in blood; she was not afraid to go there. Aside from that, I think cinema-goers and her peers are very happy to have her back again. But, Madison, for the last scene of Anora alone – without saying a word we see how damaged her character really is – she would be a worthy winner.”
KS
“Madison was the surprise best actress winner at the BAFTAs, and at just 25 she’s proved herself an actress to be reckoned with. She deserves to follow up with an Oscar – although Moore is a force to be reckoned with.”
BM
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kieran Culkin stars alongside director Jesse Eisenberg in A Real Pain. Pic: Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures 2024
The nominees
Yura Borisov – Anora
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
Jeremy Strong – The Apprentice
Who will win: Kieran Culkin – IIII
Who should win: Kieran Culkin – III; Yura Borisov – I
“Kieran Culkin is funny, charismatic and has picked up so much support this award season because people have enjoyed hearing what he has to say when he wins. That should not detract from the fact that he’s also brilliant in A Real Pain. So much of his character is about what’s going on inside his head and how he manages to bring out that inner turmoil is seriously impressive. For the record, Guy Pearce, Jeremy Strong and Edward Norton would also all be worthy winners for reminding us what brilliant character actors they all are.”
KS
“Hopefully Pearce, Strong, Norton and Borisov have perfected their ‘I’m so happy for you’ faces by now, as Culkin is pretty much a dead cert. This is one of the most impressive shortlists in recent years, with all five actors demonstrating how incredible performances don’t always have to be the ones right in the spotlight.”
GP
“I’ve changed my mind a few times about supporting actor this year but I think ultimately Kieran Culkin deserves the Oscar – and let’s face it, he’s bound to give the best speech.”
CG
“One performance on the best supporting list stands out for me: Yura Borisov’s sensitive and understated portrayal of a henchman with a heart is a true support role and executed to perfection. He may not take the prize, but he deserves to.”
BM
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Zoe Saldana as Rita Moro Castro in Emilia Perez. Pic: Shanna Besson/Page 114/Why Not Productions/Pathe Films/France 2 Cinema
The nominees
Monica Barbaro – A Complete Unknown
Ariana Grande – Wicked
Felicity Jones – The Brutalist
Isabella Rossellini – Conclave
Zoe Saldana – Emilia Perez
Who will win: Zoe Saldana – IIII
Who should win: Zoe Saldana – II; Felicity Jones – I; Ariana Grande – I
“Zoe Saldana should have been nominated for best actress and not supporting for her role in Emilia Perez, as she clearly has more screentime than anyone else in that movie. That said, she’s great in it so deserves a win – even if it is in the wrong category.”
CG
“Saldana is the best thing in a bit of a ropey film. She’s well respected and I think the Academy will be giving her an Oscar for her career more generally, rather than Emilia Perez. But, I would vote for Felicity Jones, who took on such a physical role in The Brutalist, demonstrating the cost of the Holocaust on her character’s body; you believe the pain of her osteoporosis. Both frail and unbelievably strong at the same time.”
KS
“Saldana is a great actress and gives a great performance in Emilia Perez, and following Karla Sofia Gascon’s fall from grace she’s likely to be the only cast member taking home a prize. One of the highest-grossing female lead actresses in history, and with work spanning an impressive range of genres, she will win and should win.”
BM
“After cleaning up throughout awards season, this is Saldana’s to lose. I’m not a fan of Emilia Perez as a film (controversy aside, musicals are not for me, and this one is particularly jarring), but it would be a shame for Saldana to miss out due to the other noise surrounding it all. Having said that, I think Ariana Grande would be a deserving winner. Wicked was not for me (see above re musicals) but her performance is incredibly charismatic, and anyone who has seen her impeccable celebrity impressions will know she has real comedic chops. She shows them off perfectly in Wicked.”
GP
BEST DIRECTOR
Mark Eydelshteyn and Mikey Madison in Anora. Pic: Neon
The nominees
Sean Baker – Anora
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
James Mangold – A Complete Unknown
Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
Who will win: Brady Corbet – II; Sean Baker – II
Who should win: James Mangold – I; Coralie Fargeat – III
“Nothing more complicated here than I’m a fan of James Mangold and I would love to see him win. I suspect it will go to Brady Corbet though as he has been doing well elsewhere and pulled off something pretty impressive in getting The Brutalist made – let alone getting audiences to sit for three-and-a-half hours to watch it.”
CG
“Corbet stuck to his guns, making his film his way, refusing to compromise on his vision. It might be long but the pacing is perfect and Corbet is thoroughly deserving. But, not only did Coralie Fargeat refuse to water down her ideas for The Substance, she actually injected herself with a needle full of the fluorescent liquid to get the shots she wanted – and she personally manned a firehose to spray an entire theatre with fake blood. That’s what you call going the extra mile.”
KS
“Sean Baker has been the darling of awards season so far and should follow up his growing pile of wins with his first Oscar for Anora. But, The Substance is a film that takes you to places you never thought you would see, pushing the limits so far you will question your sanity (or Fargeat’s). A fearless director, and the only woman to make it into the category this year, she deserves the win – and to become only the fourth woman in the Oscars’ 97-year history to take home the prize.”
BM
“The Substance was not perfect; I felt Moore’s character, Elisabeth Sparkle, was underdeveloped, and the ending was a little too much for me. Having said that, Fargeat’s maximalist, stylised approach, with bold visuals and that pulsating, migraine-inducing score, genuinely made me feel – stress, mainly, and fearful anticipation for what was about to come. You are thinking about it long after it’s finished. For that reason, I would give this one to Fargeat – although I would not be disappointed to see Baker win, either (and he probably will).”
GP
Check the Sky News website from Sunday event to follow the entire event on our Oscars live blog
Entertainment
Deaths of Gene Hackman and wife ‘suspicious enough’ to require ‘investigation’ – police warrant
Hollywood legend Gene Hackman and his wife have been found dead, with authorities saying the couple had seemingly been deceased for some time when their bodies were discovered.
Hackman, 95, and his 63-year-old wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their New Mexico home on Wednesday, it was announced this morning. One of their pet dogs also died.
Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Denise Avila said deputies found the bodies while carrying out a welfare check on Wednesday at around 1.45pm local time.
The actor’s body was discovered in a mudroom while Arakawa was found in a bathroom next to a heater, detectives from the sheriff’s office wrote in a search warrant.
Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa in 1991. Pic: Dave Lewis/Shutterstock
There were scattered pills and an open prescription bottle on a countertop near the 63-year-old.
There was no indication they had been shot and they had no other wounds, Ms Avila said. The warrant added the door to the property was found ajar and there were no signs of forced entry.
A German Shepherd was found dead in a bathroom closet near Arakawa, police added. Two healthy dogs were on the property.
The police have since said the deaths of Hackman and his wife are “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation”.
The actor’s daughter had earlier suggested they may have been killed by carbon monoxide – but the cause of death remains unclear. Speaking to TMZ, Elizabeth Jean Hackman said the family was not sure but thought the couple may have died from toxic fumes.
Authorities outside the couple’s home. Pic. AP
The local utility company tested gas lines in and around the home after the bodies were found and did not find any sign of problems, the warrant said.
In a statement issued to Sky News, the sheriff’s office said: “We do not believe foul play was a factor in their deaths, however exact cause of death has not been determined at this time.”
Hackman’s daughters, Elizabeth and Leslie, and granddaughter, Annie, said: “He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa.
“We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss,” they added in a statement.
Hackman won an Oscar for a leading role in The French Connection, a 1971 action movie by William Friedkin, and another for best supporting actor in Clint Eastwood’s 1992 western, Unforgiven.
The French Connection earned him his first Oscar. Pic: 20th Century Fox/D’Antoni Productions/Schine-Moore Prods/Kobal/Shutterstock
He was also known for playing Lex Luthor in the Superman films of the late 1970s and 1980s.
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Hollywood actor Gene Hackman dies aged 95
Roles in the Francis Ford Coppola mystery thriller The Conversation and in the historical drama Mississippi Burning, where he starred as an FBI agent alongside Willem Dafoe, helped cement his career as one of Hollywood’s greats.
Playing Lex Luthor alongside Christopher Reeve’s Superman. Pic: THA/Shutterstock
Long career
The former US Marine appeared in more than 80 films, as well as on television and the stage, during a lengthy career that started in the early 1960s.
He earned his first Oscar nomination for his breakout role as the brother of bank robber Clyde Barrow in 1967’s Bonnie and Clyde.
He is also remembered for playing Captain Frank Ramsey alongside Denzel Washington in the 1995 thriller Crimson Tide.
Read more:
Follow latest: Actor and wife were dead for some time
In pictures: Hollywood legend on silver screen
He starred alongside Denzel Washington in Crimson Tide. Pic: Richard Foreman/THA/Shutterstock
In the early 2000s, he starred as an eccentric patriarch in The Royal Tenenbaums by Wes Anderson.
Hackman’s final film appearance was in 2004’s Welcome to Mooseport, after which he retired from acting and began co-writing adventure novels with friend and underwater archaeologist Daniel Lenihan.
“It’s very relaxing for me,” Hackman told Empire Magazine in 2020. “I don’t picture myself as a great writer, but I really enjoy the process.”
Playing the villain in Unforgiven. Pic: Everett/Shutterstock
‘He could play anyone’
Michael Caine revered Hackman as “one of the greatest actors” he had known while presenting him with the Cecil B DeMille Award in 2003.
Arakawa was a classical pianist. The couple married in 1991 and lived outside Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Hackman had three children, Christopher, Elizabeth Jean and Leslie Anne, with his late ex-wife, Faye Maltese, who died in 2017.
Star Trek star George Takei said: “We have lost one of the true giants of the screen,” in a tribute on X.
“Gene Hackman could play anyone, and you could feel a whole life behind it.
“He could be everyone and no one, a towering presence or an everyday Joe. That’s how powerful an actor he was,” Takei wrote on X.
“He will be missed, but his work will live on forever.”
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Gene Hackman won his second Oscar in 1993. Pic: AP
Irish comedian Dara O Briain called Hackman “the finest screen actor ever”.
“Not a single duff performance, in a long, long career,” he wrote in a post on X.
Hackman was versatile on screen, working with a face that he described to the New York Times in 1989 as that of “your everyday mine worker.”
StudioCanal, the UK arm of the leading European film studio, called Hackman’s death “a colossal loss for cinema” in a tribute posted on X.
Princess Eugenie has posted a tribute to Michelle Trachtenberg after the actress’s death.
The Gossip Girl and Buffy the Vampire Slayer star, 39, was found dead at her home in New York City on Wednesday.
An investigation into her death has been opened but “criminality is not suspected”, police said.
In a post on Instagram today, Princess Eugenie thanked Trachtenberg for “so many memories”.
“Goodbye special friend. You are so loved and missed,” she wrote.
“Thank you for so many memories of laughter and fun. You were so thoughtful and generous and sooo funny.
“My favourite was listening to you order food, always done with precision so you got exactly what we all wanted.
“I’m thinking of you up there friend, of your spirit that was so bright and your joy you brought to so many.”
Eugenie previously lived in New York and in 2013, she was seen attending a basketball game at Madison Square Garden with Trachtenberg.
The actress shared numerous social media updates featuring the princess over the years and in 2020, she hailed her as “one of the most dearest, kindest, most genuine friends I have ever had in my life”.
Trachtenberg was best known for playing Dawn Summers in Buffy, the younger sister of the title character played by Sarah Michelle Gellar, and starring as Georgina Sparks in Gossip Girl.
Paying tribute to her co-star, Gellar shared a series of pictures of herself and Trachtenberg, alongside a caption referencing a scene from the drama.
“Michelle listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will always love you. The hardest thing in this world, is to live in it. I will be brave. I will live… for you,” she wrote.
Michelle Trachtenberg with Sarah Michelle Gellar in 2007. Pic: AP
A number of Trachtenberg’s Gossip Girl co-stars have also shared tributes on social media, with Blake Lively writing on Instagram: “Everything she did, she did 200%.”
Lively, who starred as Serena van der Woodsen in the teen drama, continued: “She laughed the fullest at someone’s joke, she faced authority head on when she felt something was wrong, she cared deeply about her work, she was proud to be a part of this community and industry as painful as it could be sometimes, she was fiercely loyal to her friends and brave for those she loved, she was big and bold and distinctly herself.”
Taylor Momsen, Gossip Girl’s Jenny Humphrey, said: “I will miss you everyday my love.”
“I’ll miss our late night calls that no one should ever hear but us,” she wrote. “She was always in my corner and there to support me whether I was right or wrong. I think we truly understood each other and I am so grateful to have had a friend like you in my life for so long.”
“Michelle was one of a kind,” wrote fellow Gossip Girl star Chace Crawford. “I remember her coming on set for the first time and just absolutely owning it.
“She was a force of nature and just so so unapologetically funny and magnetic.. remembering those years with a big smile. Just a terrible loss. Love you.”
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