Hackman was 95 when he and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their New Mexico Home on Wednesday, Feb. 26

Freeman, whose friendship with Hackman spans decades, called the late actor a “giant” of the film industry in his homage.

As in past years, the In Memoriam segment of Sunday’s Oscar telecast quickly became controversial because of the stars who were left out of the montage, notably ‘Gossip Girl’