In July, 2008, Dennis Hopper answered questions from the Television Critics Association members during their summer press tour. At that time, Hopper was working on what would be one of his last projects. His TV series Crash, on the Starz network, was a series based on the feature film about racial tensions in Los Angeles.
He was both serious as well as playful with the members as he talked about his role and his career.
Dennis Hopper Enjoyed Working on His TV Series Crash
About his character in Crash, Hopper said, “he seems to have a tremendous empathy and understanding of things, and at the same time, he has no limitations how he addresses other people or other races or other genders, -- he's totally a loose cannon.” Hopper said, “He doesn't have an edit button. But it's wonderfully written. The shows have been just brilliantly written and wonderfully directed. … I've had a few 17-hour days, which on most things I'd be screaming and bitching and moaning. I'm not screaming, bitching, and moaning at all. I'm loving this show. I'm loving doing this show. And it's because of the material, and it's because the people I'm working with are just terrific. So I've never been under an experience like this or had such good writing. So I'm very happy.”
Hopper obviously was enjoying the last years of his life. “I play a guy that's very -- very far out, but, you know, I don't see him as a bad guy or a good guy necessarily. But I think he has more good feelings for people than bad at the moment.”
At the time of the press conference, the SAG strike was looming on the horizon. Hopper was asked about this. “Well, I don't want to get between Jack Nicholson and Tom Hanks, you know, not a good place to be here right now. And I would have to side with Jack, so you know, that puts me in a really weird place. No, I think the unfortunate thing is that out of the 120,000 people that are in Screen Actors Guild, there are only 7,000 that make their living acting and the others have other jobs. So generally, if it comes to strike, they generally strike because they want more benefits, but it's not necessarily great for the industry. So I hope it doesn't come to strike. I hope it doesn't come to a vote for strike because I'm afraid that we'll go out on strike. I hope we don't go out on strike. But beyond that, I have no knowledge.”
Dennis Hopper’s Career
Throughout his career, Dennis Hopper played some unconventional characters. When asked about this and whether he had the desire to play a straight laced man, he simply answered, “Well, sure. I mean, you know, I'm an actor. I like to act. I don't think that I can only play crazy people, but maybe that's all I can play. No, I love acting, and as long as I can act, I will be doing it. But I'm rather a mild-mannered quiet kind of guy, an introvert, so these characters that I play have very little to do with my reality. That's interesting for me and it's a drag for me also. I really don't know how to answer that. Sure, I would love to play that part. But I love this part. He has a lot of different levels. So it's an interesting go. And it's always surprising every time I pick up the script and read it, how my character is out there.”
While he had been acting for many years prior to his big 1969 hit film Easy Rider, although that is the thing that propelled him into the stratosphere of public awareness. Hopper not only acted in the film but he also directed the film and co-wrote it with costar Peter Fonda.
Dennis Hopper has a long and varied career, from television to the big screen, writing, directing, acting, and doing voice-overs for animated characters. While he didn’t have the ‘movie star’ handsome looks of George Clooney or Cary Grant, Hopper had a talent that kept him in the industry for over fifty years.
