With a career that spanned over five decades Dennis Hopper acted in over 200 television and theatrical films. As a young alumnus of the Actor's Studio, Hopper made early TV appearances and starred opposite James Dean in Giant and Rebel Without a Cause. Throughout most of his career in film his powerful portrayals of unhinged characters became his signature role.
Easy Rider (1969)
Hopper's oft-cited breakout role came when he co-wrote and starred as Billy in Easy Rider with Jack Nicholson and co-writer Peter Fonda. The film used a simple story to confront many American tensions of the time with its portrayal of the so-called establishment and its marginalization of two drug-dealing bikers (Fonda and Hopper) who represent the counterculture. The film was a critical and box office hit, opening the door for a new era of filmmakers such as Scorsese and Coppola, and launching the career of a young Jack Nicholson.
Apocalypse Now (1979)
The production of Francis Ford Coppola's epic Vietnam War film is a saga in itself, with sets destroyed by storms, a difficult Marlon Brando rewriting the film's ending and original castmember Harvey Keitel replaced by Martin Sheen (who later suffered a heart attack.) Dennis Hopper's small but memorable role comes near the end, when Willard (Sheen) meets Hopper's manic photojournalist character outside a village littered with bodies and body parts. As Willard is led through the carnage, the demented photographer rhapsodizes about the "philosophy" of the equally insane Kurtz (Brando), the rogue Special Forces colonel who is Willard's target. Hopper's rant is Willard's segue from the jungle into Kurtz's Hell on Earth.
Blue Velvet (1986)
Only David Lynch could take a relatively elementary concept (i.e. small town boy stumbles into a strange crime and uncovers a more sinister plot) and turn it into a surreal, intoxicating vision of a young man discovering a much more sordid side of the world – and of himself. The film follows Jeffery Beumont (Kyle MacLachlan) as he unravels a deepening mystery behind a severed ear he's found. He's soon confronted by Frank (Hopper), a psychotic fetishist who's holding Dorothy's (Isabella Rossellini) son and husband captive to extort bizarre sexual acts from her. Hopper's over-the-top performance as Frank in this modern film noir re-introduced him to a new generation of viewers as a raging sadomasochist character, a role that would be his legacy.
True Romance (1993)
A classic Tarantino story loaded with outrageous characters, drugs, prostitutes and violence. Hopper's role as ex-cop Clifford Worley is brief but spirited when he confronts gangster Vincenzo Coccotti (Christopher Walken). Knowing he's going to die, Worley buys time for his son (Christian Slater) to escape by insulting Coccotti's Sicilian background. This is probably the most memorable scene in the film as two fervent actors slowly build the suspense, their laughter an expression of simmering hate.
Speed (1994)
A race against time and a battle of wits keeps this story moving along at a breakneck pace. Hopper plays ex-bomb squad expert turned extortionist (and aptly-named) Howard Payne opposite Keanu Reeves' Jack Traven. The action focuses on a rigged, runaway bus that must maintain a certain speed to keep a bomb from exploding. Hopper is again cast as the maniacal villain, playing an entertaining game of cat and mouse as a greedy explosives mastermind.
Dennis Hopper was an influential actor who left behind four children and a tremendous body of memorable performances.
Edmund O'Reilly - Originally from New York, Edmund moved to Australia in 2006 and works as the Creative Director at a multimedia agency in North Sydney, ...
