Dennis Hopper

The American actor and director Dennis Lee Hopper was born on May 17, 1936, in Dodge City (USA) and passed away on May 29, 2010, in Los Angeles. He had his first acting roles in the James Dean films 'Rebel Without a Cause' (1955) and 'Giant' (1956).

One film certainly contributed decisively to the Dennis Hopper legend. Together with his friend, actor Peter Fonda, Hopper directed and starred in the 1969 film 'Easy Rider'. This cult film of the hippie movement is certainly firmly anchored in viewers' minds through its title song 'Born to Be Wild' by the hard rock band Steppenwolf. 'New Hollywood' was born: traditional Hollywood cinema was fundamentally transformed. With Dennis Lee Hopper, Peter Fonda, and Jack Nicholson, this young movement had its first three stars.

However, Dennis Hopper's further career proved difficult, especially in Hollywood during the 1970s and 1980s. He was considered eccentric and had a reputation for quickly falling out with directors. At times, he was also on the blacklists of many studios, and commercial success eluded him. An exception was his supporting role as a journalist in Francis Ford Coppola's 'Apocalypse Now' (1979).

Dennis Hopper played a much-discussed role in 1986 in the film 'Blue Velvet', directed by David Lynch, in which he portrayed the sadist Frank Booth. In 1988, Hopper once again found success as a director with his film 'Colors'.

Hopper's career was also marked by heavy alcohol and drug use. Nevertheless, Hopper appeared in over 50 productions during the 1990s. One of his most well-known roles was in Jan de Bont's film 'Speed' (1994) as the psychopath Howard Payne.

Dennis Hopper's main German dubbing voice since 1976 has been Joachim Kerzel.