Although he wasn't as prolific, as respected or as memorable as many of his contemporaries (Pacino, De Niro, etc.), cinema lost a truly unique talent on May 29 when Dennis Hopper passed away at the age of 74. Here are five of his most distinctive and notable roles:

5.) Billy in "Easy Rider" (1969)

Hopper is hilarious and endearing as a free-spirited drug dealer motorcycling across the United States with Peter Fonda's Captain America. Hopper also directed the film -- a watershed of American cinema that played no small role in ushering in the creative freedom that directors enjoyed in the 1970s.

4.) Spy Richard Tremayne in "The Osterman Weekend" (1983)

The movie isn't the best you'll ever see, but Hopper delivers a convincing and understated performance as a crafty Soviet spy. He is far from the focus of the film (he admitted that he only took the role to work with director Sam Peckinpah), but his performance is the standout in a cast that includes John Hurt, Rutger Hauer and Craig T. Nelson.

3.) "Shooter" in "Hoosiers" (1986)

Hopper gives a memorable performance as sidekick to Gene Hackman's Coach Norman Dale in this high-school basketball saga. It snagged him his only Academy Award nomination for acting (best supporting actor) -- he was nominated once before for best original screenplay for "Easy Rider."

2.) "Photojournalist" in "Apocalypse Now" (1979)

A genuinely unsettling and creepy performance as a deranged "war correspondent" in Vietnam who worships a rogue officer played by Marlon Brando. Of all the cryptic and disturbing dialogue in this classic film, nothing is more memorable than Hopper stuttering through "He's a big man, man. I'm a little man."

1.) Frank Booth in "Blue Velvet" (1986)

In my opinion, one of the best and most frightening performances in cinema history. Hopper plays a ruthless, disturbed criminal who travels with a peculiar breathing apparatus (presumably filled with some kind of narcotic). The film's protagonist, Jeffrey (Kyle MacLachlan), runs afoul of Booth when he stumbles on a sinister plot of kidnapping, extortion and rape that Booth is orchestrating. Much of the film concerns Booth's malevolent tormenting of Jeffrey and the extorted woman (Isabella Rossellini) he is trying to help. Hopper breathes terrifying life into the brutal and eccentric character; he is intense and nuanced throughout, whether he is viciously beating the film's other characters or curiously entranced when a fellow drug dealer (Dean Stockwell) serenades him with Roy Orbison's "In Dreams." The latter scene, with Hopper's face contorting as he gently sings along with the cryptic lyrics, ranks among the most memorable and disturbing in cinema.

His career was sporadic and uneven, and his performances were nowhere near as consistent as some others' (Nicholson, Hoffman), but during a good year Dennis Hopper was an engaging and impressive actor. He's a big man.