Burt Reynolds had a very difficult time in the mid-1990s. The charming actor, who was once the highest-grossing in the business, had fallen out of favor due to a series of unwise career choices. He filed for bankruptcy due to poor investments and spending habits, as well as a highly publicized and expensive divorce. His star was rapidly dimming.

Reynolds is still regarded as one of the greatest performers of all time. Reynolds’ most renowned performance, at least among millennials, was in the 1997 film Boogie Nights as adult company director Jack Horner. Reynolds was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance, but lost out to Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting.

Reynolds was so displeased with Boogie Nights that he fired his agent despite garnering fantastic reviews for the part. Oh, and Reynolds never watched the movie in full.

Reynolds portrayed pornographer Jack Horner in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1997 film.

Earlier this year, he informed Conan O’Brien that he had rejected the part seven times. He added that it “just wasn’t my kind of film” and that it “made me very uncomfortable.”

Reynolds was so uncomfortable in his character that he admitted to wanting to punch director Paul Thomas Anderson, who was only 27 years old at the time and had yet to complete his masterpiece, There Will Be Blood. The two “didn’t fit” in terms of personality, according to Reynolds.

Reynolds remarked, “I think mostly because he was young and full of himself. Every shot we did, it was like the first time [that shot had ever been done]. I remember the first shot we did in ‘Boogie Nights,’ where I drive the car to Grauman’s Theater. After he said, ‘Isn’t that amazing?’ And I named five pictures that had that same kind of shot.”

Regardless of the conflicts he’s had over his almost 200-film career, Burt Reynolds is a legend.

The iconic actor died of heart arrest on Thursday morning. His age was 82. During his lifespan, the actor featured in approximately 200 films. His most famous roles were in the films “Deliverance” and “Smokey and the Bandit.”