Dennis Hopper (May 17, 1936May 29, 2010) was an American actor, director, writer, film editor, photographer and artist. 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 Writing (Original Screenplay) as co-writer. He had a featured role in Apocalypse Now (1979). 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). Hopper starred in the 1990 Motion Picture Flashback which was inspired by the 1960s Love Movement. He also played the villains King Koopa in Super Mario Bros (1993), and Howard Payne in Speed (1994). A total of six films starring Dennis Hopper have been selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. Hopper died of prostate cancer on May 29, 2010, 12 days after his 74th birthday and two months after he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Hopper's film career spanned 55 years and encompassed appearances in over 150 films. Of those films: Rebel Without a Cause,[1] Giant,[2] Cool Hand Luke, Easy Rider,[3] Apocalypse Now,[4] and Hoosiers[5] have been selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Rebel Without a Cause | Goon | ||
| I Died a Thousand Times | Joe | Uncredited | ||
| 1956 | Giant | Jordan Benedict III | ||
| 1957 | Gunfight at the O.K. Corral | Billy Clanton | ||
| Napoleon Bonaparte | ||||
| Sayonara | MP in Kelly's house / MP at Tokyo airport | Voice, Uncredited | ||
| 1958 | From Hell to Texas | Tom Boyd | ||
| 1959 | Hatfield Carnes | |||
| 1960 | Key Witness | William "Cowboy" Tomkins | ||
| 1961 | Night Tide | Johnny Drake | ||
| 1964 | Short film | |||
| Tarzan and Jane Regained... Sort of | ||||
| 1965 | Dave Hastings | |||
| 1966 | Queen of Blood | Paul Grant | ||
| 1967 | Max | |||
| Cool Hand Luke | Babalugats | |||
| Luke | Himself | Short film | ||
| The Glory Stompers | Chino | |||
| 1968 | Panic in the City | Goff | ||
| Hang 'Em High | The Prophet | |||
| Head | Long haired guy in restaurant | Extra, uncredited | ||
| 1969 | Easy Rider | Billy | ||
| True Grit | Moon | |||
| 1970 | Himself | Documentary | ||
| 1971 | Kansas | |||
| Himself | Documentary | |||
| 1972 | Crush Proof | Himself | Cameo | |
| 1973 | Kid Blue | Bickford Waner | ||
| 1976 | Mad Dog Morgan | Daniel Morgan | ||
| 1977 | Tracks | 1st Sgt. Jack Falen | ||
| Tom Ripley | ||||
| The Sorcerer's Apprentice | A Spy | |||
| 1978 | Flesh Color | Mel | ||
| CIA contro KGB | Medford | |||
| 1979 | Apocalypse Now | Photojournalist | ||
| Bloodbath | Chicken | |||
| 1980 | Out of the Blue | Don | ||
| 1981 | King of the Mountain | Cal | ||
| 1982 | Human Highway | Cracker | ||
| 1983 | Rumble Fish | Father | ||
| The Osterman Weekend | Richard Tremayne | |||
| White Star | Kenneth Barlow | |||
| 1984 | Jungle Warriors | Deleted scenes | ||
| The Inside Man | Miller | |||
| 1985 | A Hero of Our Time | Moguel | Short film | |
| O.C. and Stiggs | Sponson | |||
| My Science Project | Bob Roberts | |||
| 1986 | Riders of the Storm | The Captain | ||
| Lieutenant 'Lefty' Enright | ||||
| River's Edge | Feck | |||
| Blue Velvet | Frank Booth | |||
| Hoosiers | Shooter | |||
| 1987 | Reborn | Rev. Tom Hartley | ||
| Black Widow | Ben Dumers | |||
| Straight to Hell | I.G. Farben | |||
| Running Out of Luck | Video Director | |||
| Flash Jensen | ||||
| 1989 | Blood Red | William Bradford Berrigan | ||
| Chattahoochee | Walker Benson | |||
| Self | Documentary short film[6] | |||
| 1990 | Flashback | Huey Walker | ||
| Catchfire | Milo | |||
| 1991 | Caesar | |||
| Eye of the Storm | Marvin Gladstone | |||
| Himself | Documentary | |||
| 1992 | Sunset Heat | Carl Madson | ||
| 1993 | Boiling Point | Rudolph 'Red' Diamond | ||
| Red Rock West | Lyle from Dallas | |||
| Super Mario Bros. | King Koopa | |||
| True Romance | Clifford Worley | |||
| 1994 | Chasers | Doggie | ||
| Speed | Howard Payne | |||
| 1995 | Search and Destroy | Dr. Luther Waxling | ||
| Waterworld | Deacon | |||
| 1996 | Carried Away | Joseph Svenden | ||
| Basquiat | Bruno Bischofberger | |||
| Space Truckers | John Canyon | |||
| The Last Days of Frankie the Fly | Frankie | |||
| 1997 | The Blackout | Mickey Wayne | ||
| Top of the World | Charles Atlas | |||
| Road Ends | Sheriff Ben Gilchrist | |||
| Mr. B | Unreleased[7] | |||
| Cannes Man | Himself | Cameo | ||
| Who Is Henry Jaglom? | Himself | Documentary | ||
| 1998 | Meet the Deedles | Frank Slater | ||
| Welcome to Hollywood | Himself | Cameo | ||
| 1999 | Tycus | Peter Crawford | Direct-to-DVD | |
| EDtv | Henry 'Hank' Pekurny | |||
| Straight Shooter | Frank Hector | |||
| Jesus' Son | Bill | |||
| Roland / Salvatore | ||||
| Bad City Blues | Cleveland Carter | |||
| Robert Rauschenberg: Inventive Genius | Narrator | Voice Documentary | ||
| William S. Burroughs | Documentary | |||
| 2000 | The Apostate | Lewis Garou | ||
| The Spreading Ground | Det. Ed DeLongpre | |||
| Lured Innocence | Rick Chambers | |||
| Vincent Swan | Direct-to-DVD | |||
| Michael Angel | Lewis Garou | Direct-to-DVD | ||
| Luck of the Draw | Giani Ponti | Direct-to-DVD | ||
| Held for Ransom | JD | |||
| 2001 | Ticker | Alex Swan | ||
| Choke | Henry Clark | Direct-to-DVD | ||
| Knockaround Guys | Benny Chains | |||
| L.A.P.D.: To Protect and to Serve | Captain Elsworth | Direct-to-DVD | ||
| 2002 | Unspeakable | Warden Earl Blakely | ||
| Leo | Horace | |||
| The Piano Player | Robert Nile | Direct-to-DVD | ||
| 2003 | Frank Sinatra | |||
| New Scenes from America | Himself – Actor | Short film | ||
| Easy Riders, Raging Bulls | Himself | Documentary | ||
| 2004 | Legacy | CHP Officer | Short film | |
| Out of Season | Harry Barlow | |||
| Krebs | ||||
| 2005 | Americano | Riccardo | Direct-to-DVD | |
| House of 9 | Father Duffy | |||
| El Niño | Direct-to-DVD | |||
| Land of the Dead | Kaufman | |||
| Inside Deep Throat | Narrator | Voice Documentary | ||
| Sketches of Frank Gehry | Himself | Documentary | ||
| 2006 | Hoboken Hollow | Sheriff Greer | ||
| 10th & Wolf | Matty Matello | |||
| Memory | Max Lichtenstein | |||
| Rising Son: The Legend of Skateboarder Christian Hosoi | Narrator | Voice Documentary | ||
| Himself | Documentary | |||
| 2008 | Sleepwalking | Mr. Reedy | ||
| Hell Ride | Eddie Zero | |||
| Elegy | George O'Hearn | |||
| Swing Vote | Donald Greenleaf | |||
| Palermo Shooting | Frank | |||
| An American Carol | The Judge | |||
| Himself | Documentary | |||
| Bananaz | Himself | Documentary | ||
| 2010 | Alpha and Omega | Tony | Voice Released posthumously | |
| 2016 | The Last Film Festival | Nick Twain | Released posthumously | |
| 2018 | The Other Side of the Wind | Himself | Cameo Released posthumously | |
| 2020 | Jay Sebring....Cutting to the Truth | Himself | Documentary Released posthumously |
| Year | Title | width=65 | Director | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Mary Jennifer at the Beach | Short film | |||
| 1967 | The Trip | Uncredited | |||
| 1969 | Easy Rider | ||||
| 1971 | The American Dreamer | Documentary | |||
| The Last Movie | Also editor | ||||
| 1980 | Out of the Blue | ||||
| 1988 | Colors | ||||
| 1990 | Catchfire | Credited as Alan Smithee | |||
| The Hot Spot | |||||
| 1994 | Chasers | ||||
| 2000 | Homeless | Short film | |||
| 2008 | Pashmy Dream | Short film |
Early in his career, Hopper made multiple appearances on television series, beginning with a single appearance on the anthology series Cavalcade of America. Hopper continued guest starring on television throughout the 1950s and '60s. Late in his career, Hopper returned to television with a recurring role on 24, a one-time appearance on Las Vegas, and starring roles on E-Ring and Crash.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Cavalcade of America | Episode: "A Medal for Miss Walker" | ||
| 1955 | Medic | Robert | Episode: "Boy in the Storm" | |
| The Public Defender | Frankie | Episode: "Mama's Boy" | ||
| Letter to Loretta | Ross Morton | Episode: "Inga II" | ||
| 1956 | Kings Row | Tod Monaghan | Episode: "Carnival" | |
| Screen Director's Playhouse | Steve Redman | Episode: "High Air" | ||
| Pauly | Episode: "Carnival" | |||
| 1956–1957 | Cheyenne | Abe Larson / Utah kid / Roden's Ranch Hand | 3 episodes | |
| 1957 | Conflict | Ed Novak | 2 episodes | |
| Sugarfoot | Billy the Kid | Episode: "Brannigan's Boots" | ||
| 1958 | Studio One | David Williams | 2 episodes | |
| Swiss Family Robinson | Fritz | Television film | ||
| 1958–1959 | Zane Grey Theater | Vernon 'Vern' Tippert / Denny Sunrise | 2 episodes | |
| Vernon Tippert / Johnny Clover | 2 episodes | |||
| 1959 | Leighton | Episode: "Wake Up to Terror" | ||
| 1960 | Mike | Episode: "Goldie Meets Mike" | ||
| Adam Spencer | Episode: "Millionaire Julie Sherman" | |||
| Gerald Collins | Episode: "No One" | |||
| 1961 | Naked City | Vinnie Winford | Episode: "Shoes for Vinnie Winford" | |
| 87th Precinct | Andrew Mason | Episode: "My Friend, My Enemy" | ||
| The Investigators | Adrian Brewster | Episode: "The Mind's Own Fire" | ||
| 1962 | General Electric Theater | Fred Judson | Episode: "The Hold-Out" | |
| Surfside 6 | Trask | Episode: "Vendetta Arms" | ||
| 1962–1963 | Alfred Carter Jr / Jason Thomas | 2 episodes | ||
| 1963 | Peter Vollmer | Episode: "He's Alive" | ||
| Ross Kendrick | Episode: "Requiem at Dancer's Hill" | |||
| Wagon Train | Emmett Lawton | Episode: "The Emmett Lawton Story" | ||
| Espionage | Ferno | Episode: "The Weakling" | ||
| Rhymer | Episode: "The Wrecker" | |||
| 1964 | Petticoat Junction | Alan Landman | Episode: "Bobbie Jo and the Beatnik" | |
| Arrest and Trial | Coley Mitchum | Episode: "People in Glass Houses" | ||
| Peter Devlin | Episode: "To Set It Right" | |||
| Bonanza | Dev Farnum | Episode: "The Dark Past" | ||
| 1965 | Gunsmoke | Billy Kimbo | Episode: "One Killer on Ice" | |
| Convoy | Roger Small | Episode: The Many Colors of Courage" | ||
| 1966 | Jud Salt | Episode: "South Wind" | ||
| Passenger | Episode: "Rendezvous with Yesterday" | |||
| 1967 | Combat! | Zack Fielder | Episode: "A Little Jazz" | |
| Vern Reed | Episode: "Find a Sonnett, Kill a Sonnett" | |||
| Leon Grell / Jimmy Sweetwater | 2 episodes | |||
| 1980 | Wild Times | Doc Holliday | 2 episodes | |
| 1985 | Stark | Lieutenant Ron Bliss | Television film | |
| 1986 | Stark: Mirror Image | Lieutenant Ron Bliss | Television film | |
| 1987, 1990 | Saturday Night Live | Himself (host) | 2 episodes | |
| 1988 | Black Leather Jacket | Narrator | Voice Television film | |
| 1991 | Doublecrossed | Barry Seal | Television film | |
| Paris Trout | Paris Trout | Television film | ||
| Fishing with John | Himself | Episode: "Dennis Hopper Parts 1 & 2" | ||
| 1992 | Nails | Harry 'Nails' Niles | Television film | |
| The Heart of Justice | Austin Blair | Television film | ||
| 1994 | Witch Hunt | H. P. Lovecraft | Television film | |
| 1995 | Dennis Hopper: L.A. Blues | Himself (host) | Television special | |
| 1996 | Samson and Delilah | Generale Tariq | Television film | |
| 1997 | King of the Hill | Himself (guest voice) | Episode: "Hank's Got The Willies" | |
| 2000 | Jason and the Argonauts | Pelias | 2 episodes | |
| 2002 | 24 | Victor Drazen | 5 episodes | |
| Flatland | Smith | Pilot | ||
| The Groovenians | Dad/King Norman | Voice Television short | ||
| James Richardson | 2 episodes | |||
| 2003 | Suspense | Narrator | Voice Television film | |
| 2004 | Las Vegas | Jon Castille | Episode: "New Orleans" | |
| Ronnie Purnell | Television film | |||
| 2005–2006 | E-Ring | Col. Eli McNulty | 23 episodes | |
| 2007 | Entourage | Himself | Episode: "Malibooty" | |
| 2008–2009 | Crash | Ben Cendars | 26 episodes |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Mr. Beautiful | |||
| 1998 | Black Dahlia | Walter Pensky | ||
| 2002 | Steve Scott | |||
| 2009 | Deadly Creatures | George Struggs | ||
| 2021 | Steve Scott | Archival recordings Remaster of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City only. |