Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an
American actor,
filmmaker and
artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the
Actors Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1955, and appeared in two films featuring
James Dean,
Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and
Giant(1956). Over the next ten years, Hopper appeared frequently on
television in guest roles, and by the end of the 1960s had played
supporting roles in several films. He directed and starred in
Easy Rider (1969), winning an award at the
Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an
Academy Award for
Best Original Screenplay as co-writer. Film critic
Matthew Hays notes that "no other persona better signifies the lost idealism of the 1960s than that of Dennis Hopper."
[1]He was unable to build on his success for several years, until a featured role in
Apocalypse Now (1979) brought him attention. He subsequently appeared in
Rumble Fish (1983) and
The Osterman Weekend (1983), and received critical recognition for his work in
Blue Velvet and
Hoosiers, with the latter film garnering him an Academy Award nomination for
Best Supporting Actor. He directed
Colors (1988), and played the villain in
Speed (1994). Hopper's later work included a leading role in the television series
Crash.