Dennis Hopper's IMDB page lists 203 productions he was supposed to have participated in between 1954 and 2010. So he had a good run.
Most people will think of his role in "Easy Rider" which was memorable in its own right although not necessarily for the acting. However, for me there were two of his performances that stand out from all the others.
One was his role as the psychotic Frank Booth in Blue Velvet, the David Lynch horror thriller. The performances were good, the story was compelling, and the action was terrific. It's probably fairly tame by today's standards, but I had nightmares after I saw it.
Hopper's second standout performance was on "Saturday Night Live" shortly after "Blue Velvet" made it's first run in the theaters. It was a spoof of the ancient TV show "This Is Your Life" in which the guests were surprised by people brought in from their childhood and younger years. In the SNL spoof Hopper was the guest who was supposed to be surprised by all his old teachers, relatives and acquaintances. But the joke was on him because his drug wasted mind could not recollect any of them or his younger years. It was a wonderful, funny, parody. And it was probably pretty close to home for the addled old Hopper.
George, I want to offer for consideration Hopper's supporting role as 'Shooter' in "Hoosiers." It remains one of my favorite performances by the man.
Posted by: Jeff | May 31, 2010 at 08:52 PM
Yes, another fine performance, Jeff.
Posted by: Geo | June 01, 2010 at 06:14 AM