We lost a screen presence this weekend past that's unlikely to ever re-emerge in Hollywood quite the same way...

‘As the sun sets slowly in the west we bid a fond farewell to all the friends we've made... and, with a touch of melancholy, we look forward to the time when we will all be together again.’

Clarence Worley (Christian Slater) to Clifford Worley (Dennis Hopper) - True Romance

With the sad news over the bank holiday weekend that cinema has lost one of its most memorable characters and, truly, one of its greatest acting talents, Shadowlocked thought it only fitting to furnish a list of some of Dennis Hopper’s most memorable performances and his most impressive roles. Like the quote above says, we bid the man a fond farewell and look forward to the time when we will all be together again…

6) Victor Drazen – 24 (season one - 2001)

The season that started it all for Jack Bauer and his one-man mission to save the world from terrorists and presidential assassins was also the series that pitted him against Hopper’s Victor Drazen, a Serbian warlord and mercenary. While Hopper’s Serbian accent might have been somewhat questionable, his ability to play the villain was not. Vowing revenge on Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland), Drazen’s bloodlust knows no bounds as he does everything in his power to kill our (so it seems) un-killable hero. It was a role that reminded everyone what a gifted actor Hopper really was, and helped a new and different show gain a bit of credibility while it found its feet.

What did we learn? ‘Of course we will kill him, that is the point.’

5) Howard Payne – Speed (1994)

Ever the villain, Hopper delivered yet another standout performance as bomb-maker and extortionist Howard Payne in 1994’s Speed. Playing tormentor to LAPD cops Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves) and Harry Temple (Jeff Daniels), Hopper’s Payne holds them, and the city of LA, to ransom. With one of the most ingenious movie plots ever, Payne explains to Jack that somewhere in the city there is a bus with a bomb on it – if the bus reaches 50mph it will automatically activate the bomb, if it then drops below 50mph the bomb will automatically detonate. Clearly relishing the role, Hopper was perfectly cast as the villain in this mid-90s blockbuster, providing him, and us, with one the most impressive performances of his career.

What did we learn? ‘Pop quiz, hotshot. There's a bomb on a bus. Once the bus goes 50 miles an hour, the bomb is armed. If it drops below 50, it blows up. What do you do? What do you do?’

4) Photojournalist – Apocalypse Now (1979)

Seeming to have a penchant for playing maniacs, crazies and slightly unhinged members of society, it comes as no surprise that Hopper would be drawn to, and excel in, the role of a manic photojournalist in, possibly, one if the most insane productions in movie history, Apocalypse Now. Based on real life journalist Sean Flynn (a photographer who went missing in Cambodia on 6 April, 1970 – declared legally dead in 1984), Hopper once again proves his worth as the babbling photographer who incorporates both poetry and cynicism into his obscene ramblings. The film is notorious for attracting madness from all corners, and Hopper doesn’t disappoint with his contribution, delivering one of his most fascinating and disturbing performances and adding an extra nugget of gold to an already rich and talented cast.

What did we learn? ‘This is the way the fucking world ends! Look at this fucking shit we’re in, man! Not with a bang, but with a whimper. And with a whimper, I’m fucking splitting, Jack.’

3) Billy – Easy Rider (1969)

Dennis Hopper was more than just an actor – he was more, much more. He was also a writer, director, painter and sculptor – an artist. In 1969, along with Peter Fonda, Hopper took full reign of his talents and showcased them in the era-defining classic Easy Rider. Written by Hopper, Fonda and Terry Southern, the film follows two bikers – Wyatt (Fonda) and Billy (Hopper) – as they journey into the heart of the American dream, hoping to find and define true freedom, not only on the open road, but also in their hearts, minds and souls. Hopper directs this odyssey into 1960s America, telling the tale of the two ‘hippies’ and their journey to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, encountering on the way casual drug use, bad ‘trips’ with LSD, bigotry, hatred and narrow-mindedness, rednecks, local law enforcement, an alcoholic lawyer (portrayed by a young Jack Nicholson) and even death. It was the first film to truly encapsulate 1960s America, mad all the more important too because it was actually filmed during the time period in which it was set, achieving what Hopper set out to do, for Easy Rider ‘to be a time capsule for people about that period’. The film certainly does that, while also allowing Hopper to really cut loose as an actor, and as an artist – delivering one his most authentic and memorable performances, and confirming him as a true legend of the silver screen.

What did we learn? ‘We blew it.’

2) Clifford Worley – True Romance (1993)

The tastiest scenes are always the juiciest, and they don’t come much juicier than this. But before you get the juice, you have to have the flavour, and this was a scene that had all the right ingredients: A Tarantino script, direction by Tony Scott and a back and forth between acting legends Hopper and Christopher Walken. In what must be one of Hopper’s most breathtaking performances, we watch with open mouths as his Clifford Worley, knowing full well that death is close at hand, tells his Sicilian killer (Walken) that the Sicilian race was, and we quote, ‘spawned by niggers’. In a diatribe only Tarantino could write, Hopper seals his own fate in a gloriously defiant attack on his killer’s heritage and, amazingly, even their grandmothers. Hilarious and touching all at once.

What did we learn? That Vincezo Coccotti hasn’t killed anyone since 1984…

1) Frank Booth – Blue Velvet (1986)

As dark roles in dark films go, they don’t get much darker than this. In David Lynch’s pre-Twin Peaks classic, Hopper delivered his most memorable and most terrifying performance as the psychotic Frank Booth. A foul-mouthed and violent sociopath, Hopper’s extremes as Booth seemed limitless, being sexually inclined toward dry humping and sadomasochism with Isabella Rossellini, while at the same time inhaling nitrous oxide and crying ‘Mommy!’ Even more disturbing is the often-told tale of Hopper’s call to Lynch to secure the role: ‘I am Frank,’ is what the actor apparently said to the director of all things surreal, thus landing himself the role of a lifetime and providing us with one of the most terrifying monsters in cinema history.

What did we learn? ‘In dreams you’re mine… all the time.’

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