Oscar-nominated actor and director Dennis Hopper was born on May 17, 1936 in Dodge City, Kansas. He got interested in acting during his high school years, and eventually studied at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego and the Actors Studio in New York City. He started his career in the mid-1950s, making his debut playing an epileptic in an episode of Medic. But it was in films where he established himself, appearing in two of his idol James Dean’s films: Rebel Without a Cause and Giant. Upon moving to New York to train, he appeared in numerous episodes of television shows such as Combat!, The Twilight Zone, The Big Valley, The Time Tunnel and The Defenders; his acquired passion for art led to a successful stint as a photographer, painter and art collector.
After being blacklisted from films due to a widely-publicized spat with director Henry Hathaway in the 1950s, Hopper resumed acting with appearances in 1960s films such as The Sons of Kate Elder, True Grit and Cool Hand Luke. He further rose to prominence, however, with the film Easy Rider, which he produced, directed, and starred in. The film earned praise for its innovative editing and improvisational methods, and earned him his first Oscar nomination, for best writing. The next film he directed, The Last Movie, earned praise at the Venice Film Festival in 1971 but was derided by audiences and critics.
The Last Movie’s failure led Hopper to be shunned by the mainstream film industry, although he continued to star in several low-budget and European releases. He made his triumphant return to prominence in the 1979 war film Apocalypse Now, where he played a hypomanic photojournalist in the Vietnam War era. He returned to directing a year later, in the film Out of the Blue, and was similarly triumphant. After suddenly entering rehab in 1983, he starred in several films before earning wide praise for his portrayal of violent gangster in Blue Velvet. Later in 1986, he earned his second Oscar nomination for his role in the film Hoosiers.
Hopper continued his return to prominence with the 1988 crime film Colors, which he directed. Back in full swing, he starred in other major films, such as Speed and Waterworld, and in television features such as Paris Trout, both for which he earned an Emmy nomination. More recently, he had regular roles in television shows such as 24 and E-Ring, and is set to play the lead role, that of maverick music producer Ben Canders, in the television adaptation to the Oscar-winning film Crash.