Dennis Hopper lived in the 20th century.
Dennis Lee Hopper ( May 17 , 1936 -- May 29 , 2010 ) was an American actor , filmmaker , photographer and artist . He attended the Actors Studio , made his first television appearance in 1954 , and soon after appeared alongside James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause ( 1955 ) and Giant ( 1956 ) . Hopper also began a prolific and acclaimed photography career in the 1960s . Journalist Ann Hornaday wrote : `` With its portrait of counterculture heroes raising their middle fingers to the uptight middle-class hypocrisies , Easy Rider became the cinematic symbol of the 1960s , a celluloid anthem to freedom , macho bravado and anti-establishment rebellion '' .