The American actor and filmmaker Dennis Hopper was born on this day in 1936. Hopper had already made a name for himself in Hollywood, having appeared in films such as 'Giant' (1956) and 'Cool Hand Luke' (1967), when he made his directorial debut in 1969 with the landmark counterculture film 'Easy Rider'.

After the commercial and critical failure of his second film as director: 'The Last Movie' (1971) he continued to work on various independent and foreign projects until a career resurgence came when he played the American photojournalist in 'Apocalypse Now' (1979).

His third and fourth directorial outings 'Out of the Blue' (1980) and 'Colors' (1988) were both well received as was his legendary performance as Frank Booth in David Lynch's 'Blue Velvet' (1986).

Later in his career he found greater fame playing villains in such films as 'Speed' (1994) and 'Waterworld' (1995). Dennis Hopper passed away in 2010, having left a significant impression on modern cinema.