Working with Gene Hackman, the actor earned respect and an Oscar nomination for his moving portrayal of an alcoholic haunted by a missed opportunity in this basketball drama.
How many films are said to define a generation? Not many, but this tale of two bikers set loose on the American road remains for many what the 1960s were all about.
Need a bad guy? Hopper delivered the goods in the box office hit Speed.
Hopper played a small but memorable role in the film that made James Dean a star.
In 1983, the veteran actor teamed up with then-youngsters like Mickey Rourke, Lawrence Fishburne and Matt Dillon in Francis Ford Coppola's Rumble Fish.
Perhaps no character was ever as creepy as Hopper's Frank Booth in David Lynch's Blue Velvet.
As a spaced-out photo journalist, the actor (and real-life photographer) presented a dark portrait of 60s idealism gone awry.
The actor appeared in this 1993 film scripted by Quentin Tarantino.
The young thespian joined a star-studded cast featuring Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor and pal James Dean in his final role.
Hopper headed up the cast of TV's version of the acclaimed film.
Along with Ben Kingsley, two acting greats go head to head in the drama about life, love and growing old.