Dennis Hopper: No Regrets
In the 1991 Letterman interview above, Dennis Hopper tells the host that he has no regrets. The star passed away yesterday at the age of 74 after battling prostate cancer for some time. His personal life had its challenges; a reformed alcoholic, he was married five times and his last divorce got really ugly. But career-wise, Hopper certainly should have had few regrets. When he was 18, he was hired as a contract player in Hollywood and he remained a talent to reckon with throughout his professional life. Never one of the most celebrated stars, Hopper nevertheless delivered a few performances that made him an icon, especially to moviegoers who sympathized with his bad-ass attitude and outsider status. Easy Rider (1969) became his most famous work, perhaps the key symbol of the period where Hollywood transformed into something newer and bolder, at least in comparison with the early 1960s when the Dream Factory was running out of steam creatively.
Dennis Hopper’s story is full of memorable turns. This was the guy who played against James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause (1955), did a lot of Westerns in the 1960s (TV as well as movies), played a crazy photographer in Apocalypse Now (1979), was Oscar-nominated for Hoosiers (1986) and uttered the line “Baby wants to fuck” in Blue Velvet (1986). One of his last roles was particularly memorable. In Elegy (2008) he played Ben Kingsley’s best friend, an older man who is unable to follow his own advice. Hopper was a flawed man and that was often mirrored in his work, lending it extra sustenance.
This terrific Hopper quote from People Magazine (borrowed from CNN’s obituary) is another take on his career: “I can be in the 24-hour grocery store at midnight, and suddenly someone come up and says, ‘Man, you know I loved you in Chainsaw Massacre 2. Well, Chainsaw Massacre 2 is not my favorite film to be remembered for. Then there was Hoosiers, which was a very likable, inspirational sports film. Kids will come up asking for the coach’s autograph. Somewhere in my strange career, someone has liked something.”
Published by Stefan Hedmark 2010-05-30 09:32
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