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 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean Rebel Without a Cause 1955 and Giant 1956 During the next 10 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 cowriter With its portrait of counterculture heroes raising their middle fingers to the uptight middleclass hypocrisies Easy Rider became the cinematic symbol of the 1960s a celluloid anthem to freedom macho bravado and antiestablishment rebellion Film critic Matthew Hays notes that no other persona better signifies the lost idealism of the 1960s than that of Dennis Hopper 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 Hoppers later work included a leading role in the television series Crash Hoppers last performance was filmed just before his death The Last Film Festival slated for a 2011 release Hopper was also a prolific and acclaimed photographer a profession he began in the 1960s From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
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