Editor's Note: KOIN 6 News anchorman Jeff Gianola will retire around Thanksgiving 2025 after more than 40 years as a Portland journalist. In this series, Jeff looks back at some of the most memorable stories he's covered and shared.

This story originally aired in 2001.

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- In 2001, there were Academy Award winners Tommy Lee Jones, Benicio Del Toro -- and me in a supporting role, recruited by Oscar-winning director William Friedkin, to help bring "The Hunted" to the screen.

Friedkin was filming the thriller in Portland and reached out to me because he wanted a real news person to play the role of a TV reporter. He and I hit it off, and he gave me some acting advice to help me channel my inner Robert DeNiro.

On the day I was on set, there was a lot of time to think a

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