1936 -
American born Dodge City, Kansas
Height 5' 9" (1.75 m) . Multi-talented and unconventional actor / director regarded by many as one of the true "enfant terribles" of Hollywood who has led an amazing cinematic career for more than five decades, Dennis Hopper was born on May 17, 1936, in Dodge City, Kansas. The young Hopper expressed interest in acting from a young age and first appeared in a slew of 1950s TV shows, including "Medic" (1954), "Cheyenne" (1955) and "Sugarfoot" (1957). His first film role was in Johnny Guitar (1954), which was quickly followed by roles in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), Giant (1956) and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957). Hopper actually became good friends with James Dean and was shattered when Dean was killed in a car crash in September, 1955.Hopper portrayed a young Napoleon Bonaparte (!) in the star-spangled The Story of Mankind (1957) and regularly appeared on screen throughout the 1960s, often in rather undemanding parts, usually as a villain in westerns such as True Grit (1969) and Hang 'Em High (1968). However, in early 1969 Hopper, fellow actor Peter Fonda and writer Terry Southern wrote a counterculture road movie script and managed to scrape together $400,000 in financial backing. Hopper directed the low-budget film, titled Easy Rider (1969), starring Fonda, Hopper and a young Jack Nicholson. The film was a phenomenal box-office success, appealing to the anti-establishment youth culture of the times. It changed the Hollywood landscape almost overnight and major studios all jumped onto the anti-establishment bandwagon, pumping out low-budget films about rebellious hippies, bikers, draft dodgers and pot smokers. However, Hopper's next directorial effort, The Last Movie (1971), was a critical and financial failure, and he has admitted that during the 1970s he was seriously abusing various substances, both legal and illegal, which led to a downturn in the quality of his work. He appeared in a sparse collection of European-produced films over the next eight years, before cropping up in a memorable performance as a pot-smoking photographer alongside Marlon Brando and Martin Sheen in Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam War epic Apocalypse Now (1979). He also received acclaim for his work in both acting and direction for Out of the Blue (1980).With these two notable efforts, the beginning of the 1980s saw a renaissance of interest by Hollywood in the talents of Dennis Hopper, and exorcising the demons of drugs and alcohol via a rehabilitation program meant a return to invigorating and provoking performances. He was superb in Rumble Fish (1983), co-starred in the tepid spy thriller The Osterman Weekend (1983), played a groovy school teacher in My Science Project (1985), was a despicable and deranged drug dealer in River's Edge (1986) and, most memorably, electrified audiences as foul-mouthed Frank Booth in the eerie and erotic David Lynch film Blue Velvet (1986). Interestingly, the offbeat Hopper was selected in the early 1980s to provide the voice of "The StoryTeller" in the animated series of "Rabbit Ears" children's films based upon the works of Hans Christian Andersen!Hopper returned to film direction in the late 1980s and was at the helm of the controversial gang film Colors (1988), which was well received by both critics and audiences. He was back in front of the cameras for roles in Super Mario Bros. (1993), got on the wrong side of gangster Christopher Walken in True Romance (1993), led police officer Keanu Reeves and bus passenger Sandra Bullock on a deadly ride in _Speed (1994)_ and challenged gill-man Kevin Costner for world supremacy in Waterworld (1995). The enigmatic Hopper has continued to remain busy through the 1990s and into the new century with performances in The Night We Called It a Day (2003), The Keeper (2004) and Land of the Dead (2005).As well as his acting / directing talents, Hopper is a skilled photographer and painter, having had his works displayed in galleries in both the US and overseas. He is additionally a dedicated and knowledgeable collector of modern art and has one of the most extensive collections in the US. Spouse Victoria Duffy (13 April 1996 - present) 1 child, Katherine La Nasa (17 June 1989 - April 1992) (divorced) 1 child, Daria Halprin (1972 - 1976) (divorced) 1 child, Michelle Phillips (31 October 1970 - 8 November 1970) (divorced), Brooke Hayward (1961 - 1969) (divorced) 1 child.
America (2006) , Alpha Numeric (2007) , The Poison Rose (2006) , Forever (2006/I) , Tainted Love (2006) , "E-Ring" (2006) , 10th & Wolf (2006) , Gorillaz: Live in Manchester (2006) , Mem-o-re (2005) , Land of the Dead (2005) , The Crow: Wicked Prayer (2005) , Americano (2005) , Hoboken Hollow (2005) , House of 9 (2005) , The Last Ride (2004) , Out of Season (2004) , The Keeper (2004) , Bad Boy's 10th Anniversary... The Hits (2004) , "Las Vegas" (2004) , Legacy (2004) , The Night We Called It a Day (2003) , Suspense (2003) , The Groovenians (2002) , Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) , The Piano Player (2002) , "24" (2002) , Unspeakable (2002) , Firestarter 2: Rekindled (2002) , "Flatland" (2002) , Knockaround Guys (2001) , L.A.P.D.: To Protect and to Serve (2001) , Choke (2001) , Ticker (2001) , Held for Ransom (2000) , Jason and the Argonauts (2000) , Luck of the Draw (2000) , The Spreading Ground (2000) , Bad City Blues (1999) , The Venice Project (1999) , Jesus' Son (1999) , Straight Shooter (1999), Edtv (1999) , Lured Innocence (1999) , Justice (1999/II) , The Prophet's Game (1999) , Meet the Deedles (1998) , Tycus (1998) , Michael Angel (1998) , Black Dahlia (1998) , Road Ends (1997) , The Blackout (1997) , The Last Days of Frankie the Fly (1997), The Good Life (1997) , Top of the World (1997/I) , Samson and Delilah (1996) , Space Truckers (1996) , Basquiat (1996) , Carried Away (1996) , Waterworld (1995) , Search and Destroy (1995) , Hell: A Cyberpunk Thriller (1995) , L.A. Blues (1995) , Witch Hunt (1994) , Speed (1994/I) , Chasers (1994) , True Romance (1993) , Super Mario Bros. (1993) , Boiling Point (1993/I) , The Heart of Justice (1993) , Rabbit Ears: Aladdin and the Magic Lamp (1993) , Nails (1992) , Rabbit Ears: Jonah and the Whale (1992) , Rabbit Ears: Annie Oakley (1992) , Rabbit Ears: Rip Van Winkle (1992) , Red Rock West (1992) , Eye of the Storm (1991) , The Indian Runner (1991) , Doublecrossed (1991) , Paris Trout (1991) , Rabbit Ears: King Midas and the Golden Touch (1991) , Sunset Heat (1991) , Rabbit Ears: The Fool and the Flying Ship (1991) , "Saturday Night Live" (1990) , Flashback (1990) , Catchfire (1990) , Rabbit Ears: Paul Bunyan (1990) , Chattahoochee (1989) , Blood Red (1989) , Rabbit Ears: How the Leopard Got His Spots (1989) , Rabbit Ears: Thumbelina (1989) , Rabbit Ears: The Fisherman and His Wife (1989) , Black Leather Jacket (1988) , Santabear's High Flying Adventure (1987) , The Pick-up Artist (1987) , O.C. and Stiggs (1987) , Straight to Hell (1987) , Rabbit Ears: The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1987) , Black Widow (1987) , Rabbit Ears: The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher (1987) , Running Out of Luck (1987) , Hoosiers (1986) , Blue Velvet (1986) , River's Edge (1986) , The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) , Stark: Mirror Image (1986) , Riders of the Storm (1986) , My Science Project (1985), Stark (1985) , A Hero of Our Time (1985) , Rabbit Ears: The Ugly Duckling (1985) , Rabbit Ears: The Steadfast Tin Soldier (1985) , Slagskämpen (1984) , Euer Weg führt durch die Hölle (1984) , Little Ears: The Velveteen Rabbit (1984) , White Star (1983) , The Osterman Weekend (1983) , Rumble Fish (1983) , Neil Young: Human Highway (1982) , King of the Mountain (1981) , Reborn (1981) , Out of the Blue (1980) , Wild Times (1980) , Flores del vicio, Las (1979) , Apocalypse Now (1979) , Ordre et la sécurité du monde, L' (1978) , Couleur chair (1978) , Apprentis sorciers, Les (1977) , Amerikanische Freund, Der (1977) , Mad Dog Morgan (1976) , Tracks (1976) , I'm a Fool (1976) , Kid Blue (1973) , Crush Proof (1972) , The Other Side of the Wind (1972) , The Last Movie (1971) , True Grit (1969) , Easy Rider (1969) , Panic in the City (1968) , Hang 'Em High (1968) , The Glory Stompers (1968) , "The Big Valley" (1967) , "The Guns of Will Sonnett"(1967) , Cool Hand Luke (1967), The Trip (1967/II) , "Combat!" (1967) , "The Time Tunnel"(1966) , Queen of Blood (1966) , "The Legend of Jesse James" (1966) , "Convoy" (1965) , The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) , "Gunsmoke" (1965) , "Bonanza" (1964) , "The Lieutenant" (1964) , "Arrest and Trial" (1964) , "Petticoat Junction" (1964) , Tarzan and Jane Regained... Sort of (1964) , "The Greatest Show on Earth" (1963) , "Espionage" (1963) , "The Defenders" (1963) , "Wagon Train"(1963) , "The Dakotas" (1963) , "The Twilight Zone" (1963) , "Surfside 6" (1962) , "General Electric Theater" (1962) , "The Investigators" (1961) , "87th Precinct" (1961) , "Naked City"(1961) , Night Tide (1961) , "The Barbara Stanwyck Show" (1960) , Key Witness (1960) , "Zane Grey Theater" (1960) , "The Millionaire" (1960) , The Young Land (1959) , "The Rifleman" (1959) , "Pursuit" (1958) , "Studio One" (1958) , From Hell to Texas (1958) , Sayonara (1957) , The Story of Mankind (1957), "Sugarfoot" (1957) , Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957) , "Conflict" (1957) , "Cheyenne" (1957) , Giant (1956) , "The Kaiser Aluminum Hour"(1956) , "Screen Directors Playhouse" (1956) , "Kings Row" (1956) , I Died a Thousand Times (1955) , Rebel Without a Cause (1955) , "Letter to Loretta" (1955) , "Medic" (1955) , "The Public Defender" (1955) , Johnny Guitar (1954)