Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#5406
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Dennis Hopper represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 71 years in, and Dennis is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Dennis Hopper appears in 30 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Dennis. Apocalypse Now is the clearest case: a film rated 8.4 by our editors, where the performance carries weight the script only implies.
The recognisable elements are versatility, transformation, quiet performance. Watch two of these films back to back and the method separates from the material — the same instrument, tuned differently for documentary, action, thriller. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Mark Pellington, Eric Friedler, Larry Bishop and others, Dennis Hopper helped set a standard other performers now audition against. Awards bodies have been slower than the work, which is usually the sign of a career built on choices rather than campaigns.
Apocalypse Now (1979) as Photojournalist · Wim Wenders, Desperado (2020) as Self (archive footage) · Blue Velvet (1986) as Frank Booth
Career snapshot
Ranked #5406 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
30
1955–2026
Career length
71 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.4
Apocalypse Now
Average Nutevio score
6.3
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.3
Apocalypse Now
Most frequent director
Francis Ford Coppola
2 films together
Longest collaboration
2×
With Francis Ford Coppola
Most common genre
Drama
11 titles
Average runtime
1h 52m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
7.1
out of 10
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio metric
Cultural impact and legacy, measured separately from craft — how far the work travelled once it left the cinema.
Nutevio Influence Score
6.9
out of 10
A quieter influence — felt inside the films rather than across the industry.
How far the work travelled past the people who saw it first.
What survives once the release-week conversation has burned off.
Institutional acknowledgement, weighted but never decisive.
Years of chosen, relevant work rather than years merely employed.
Statuettes, read as evidence rather than verdict.
Roles named without needing the film named alongside them.
Directors who wrote parts because this performer existed.
The reading other performers now have to answer.
Actor DNA
A fingerprint derived from the roles themselves — register, range and the kind of film they carry.
The shape of a career
Every performance plotted in time. Hover a point to read the title behind it.
Peak years
Where the scores, the awards and the sheer volume of work agree with each other.
Best decade
1970s
8.4 average MV
The 1970s are where the work and the material meet. Apocalypse Now — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
1970s
8.4
Across 1 catalogue film in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
1970s
8.3
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
1950s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Giant, Rebel Without a Cause.
Most productive era
1990s
8 films
The busiest stretch of the catalogue — volume that reads as appetite rather than availability.
Range, mapped
Genres down the side, decades across the top. Warmer cells mean stronger titles.
| Genre | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 7.32 films | 7.13 films | 8.41 film | 7.01 film | 6.52 films | 6.02 films | — |
| Action | — | — | — | — | 7.13 films | 4.52 films | — |
| Thriller | — | — | — | 7.61 film | 7.31 film | 5.93 films | — |
| Comedy | — | 6.31 film | — | — | 5.32 films | 5.81 film | — |
| Crime | — | 7.51 film | — | 7.32 films | 7.51 film | 6.11 film | — |
| Romance | — | — | — | 7.01 film | 7.51 film | 6.31 film | — |
| Horror | — | — | — | 7.61 film | — | 5.02 films | — |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Goon.
Highest rated performance · Career peak
1979Apocalypse Now
8.4 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer. Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Most recent film
2026This Is Buzz
The current state of the argument, as Self (archive footage).
Our order
Every performance in the catalogue, ordered by Nutevio Score.
Every title
Filter by genre or decade, and compare any two titles side by side.
30 of 30 films
as Photojournalist
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
as Frank Booth
Directed by David Lynch
as Clifford Worley
Directed by Tony Scott
as Howard Payne
Directed by Jan de Bont
From the library
Every movie and TV credit stored for this name in the Nutevio catalogue — filter by media, role or sort by rating.
Loading credits…
The defining work
#1
Self
Jay Sebring… Cutting to the Truth (2020)
Performance score8.1
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Self gives Dennis Hopper a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Photojournalist
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Performance score8.1
Apocalypse Now asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Photojournalist is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Frank Booth
Blue Velvet (1986)
Performance score7.9
Blue Velvet asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Frank Booth is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Clifford Worley
True Romance (1993)
Performance score7.8
True Romance asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Clifford Worley is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movieStart here
A guided path through the work, ordered so each film explains the next.
Best entry point
as Self
Start here. Jay Sebring… Cutting to the Truth is the clearest statement of what Dennis Hopper does — accessible, 91 minutes, and rated 7.5 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Dennis at the most legible performance, then move forward in time so each film reads as a response to the one before it rather than a repetition of it.
Apocalypse Now (1979)
A deliberate change of key after Jay Sebring… Cutting to the Truth — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Blue Velvet (1986)
A deliberate change of key after Apocalypse Now — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
True Romance (1993)
Keeps the crime register of Blue Velvet but asks for a colder reading of it.
Speed (1994)
Keeps the action register of True Romance but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Henry Hathaway
Director
2 films together
Notably True Grit
Francis Ford Coppola
Director
2 films together
Notably Apocalypse Now
Nicholas Ray
Director
1 film together
Notably Rebel Without a Cause
George Stevens
Director
1 film together
Notably Giant
John Sturges
Director
1 film together
Notably Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
Stuart Rosenberg
Director
1 film together
Notably Cool Hand Luke
Bob Rafelson
Director
1 film together
Notably Head
Ted Post
Director
1 film together
Notably Hang 'em High
Dennis Hopper
Director
1 film together
Notably Easy Rider
David Lynch
Director
1 film together
Notably Blue Velvet
Sean Penn
Director
1 film together
Notably The Indian Runner
Fax Bahr
Director
1 film together
Notably Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse
Tony Scott
Director
1 film together
Notably True Romance
Jan de Bont
Director
1 film together
Notably Speed
Kevin Reynolds
Director
1 film together
Notably Waterworld
Ron Howard
Director
1 film together
Notably EDtv
Brian Koppelman
Director
1 film together
Notably Knockaround Guys
George A. Romero
Director
1 film together
Notably Land of the Dead
Isabel Coixet
Director
1 film together
Notably Elegy
Larry Bishop
Director
1 film together
Notably Hell Ride
Eric Friedler
Director
1 film together
Notably Wim Wenders, Desperado
Mark Pellington
Director
1 film together
Notably This Is Buzz
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Francis Ford Coppola
Director
2 films together · 7.7 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Apocalypse NowHenry Hathaway
Director
2 films together · 6.9 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
True GritEric Friedler
Director
1 film together · 7.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Wim Wenders, DesperadoDavid Lynch
Director
1 film together · 7.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Blue VelvetTony Scott
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
True RomanceStuart Rosenberg
Director
1 film together · 7.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Cool Hand LukeJan de Bont
Director
1 film together · 7.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
SpeedFax Bahr
Director
1 film together · 7.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's ApocalypseGeorge Stevens
Director
1 film together · 7.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
GiantNicholas Ray
Director
1 film together · 7.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Rebel Without a CauseDennis Hopper
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Easy RiderTed Post
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Hang 'em HighJohn Sturges
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Gunfight at the O.K. CorralSean Penn
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Indian RunnerKevin Reynolds
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
WaterworldIsabel Coixet
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
ElegyGeorge A. Romero
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Land of the DeadBob Rafelson
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
HeadBrian Koppelman
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Knockaround GuysRon Howard
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
EDtvLarry Bishop
Director
1 film together · 5.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Hell RideMark Pellington
Director
1 film together · 1.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
This Is BuzzSix degrees
Follow the thread outward — director, film, co-star, and the film after that.
Categories of our own
Six editorial categories we apply to every performer we cover.
Most rewatchable
Apocalypse Now
as Photojournalist
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Elegy
as George O'Hearn
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Apocalypse Now
as Photojournalist
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Head
as Self (uncredited)
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Jay Sebring… Cutting to the Truth
as Self
If the career had to be argued in a single scene, our editors would pick one from this film and rest the case.
In their films' words
“You can build a whole film around a performer who knows when not to speak. Dennis Hopper has known it for a long time.”
Head to head
Put two careers on the same scale and see where the argument actually sits.
Ours alone
Recognitions handed out by this desk, on criteria no awards body uses.
Career Achievement
Awarded
71 years of relevant work — not merely a long career, but a long career of choices.
Modern Classic Performer
Awarded
Defining performances delivered inside the last twenty-five years, in films already being taught rather than merely remembered.
Drama Legend
Awarded
11 catalogue titles in drama, each one a reference point for the films that followed.
Our desk
Best ending, best opening, best twist and the rest — categories we apply to everyone we cover.
Best ending
Apocalypse Now
as Photojournalist
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Blue Velvet
as Frank Booth
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Elegy
as George O'Hearn
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Blue Velvet
as Frank Booth
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Apocalypse Now
as Photojournalist
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Waterworld
as Deacon
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Apocalypse Now
as Photojournalist
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Waterworld
as Deacon
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
If you like this performer
Matt Damon
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Michael Caine
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Al Pacino
Works with the same directors — shared collaborators
David Krumholtz
Built a career in the same territory: action and adventure
Tom Hanks
Built a career in the same territory: family and comedy
Bonnie Hunt
Built a career in the same territory: family and comedy
Have your say
Community
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Reference
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