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# ‘Easy’ does it: Hopper takes TV gig
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/whipping-boy-made-simple-book-is-wifes-best-friend/
- Published: 2005-10-21T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T08:01:19.000Z
- Author: Dan Dunn
- Tags: Entertainment, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*By EMILY CHRISTIANSON Special to the Daily Press*

Fifty years ago, Dennis Hopper believed starring in a television series would ruin his film career. He now admits “I was totally wrong about that.”

Catch the 69-year-old in his first series, “E-Ring” as Colonel McNulty in special ops at the Pentagon every Wednesday at 8 p.m. on NBC.

He recently talked about his television experience and his career.

QUESTION: You play a good guy in “E-Ring”. Do you prefer playing a good guy or a bad guy?

ANSWER: “Right now, I’m loving playing Col. McNulty. He’s quite a character; a colorful character … His back story is in the Green Berets in Vietnam with four years as a prisoner of war. He comes back out and retires and goes into real estate in Florida and becomes a multi-millionaire … The young major that was below him in Vietnam is now Secretary of State for Special Ops. Joe Morgan plays him, wonderful actor. And he asks me to come back into the Pentagon out of retirement.”

Q: How did you get involved with “E- Ring”?

A: “Taylor Hatford directed the pilot, that’s how I got involved. He directed Ray and was nominated for an Academy Award. I was at the Academy Award party and … he said ‘You ever thought about doing episodic television?’ I said ‘absolutely not’ He said ‘that’s too bad because I have this great part for you. That’s the good news; the bad news is it starts in two days.’ So I read it the next morning and he was right, it was a wonderful part.”

Q: Why was your initial reaction no? A: “I “(I) started out at Warner Bros. when I was 18 years old and at that time we were doing Cheyenne and Sugarfoot, Maverick, Wagon Train and all those television shows and they tried to put me in a series of my own and I kept fighting them and saying I didn’t want to do it. I didn’t think anyone would come out of a television series as a regular and have a film career, but I was totally wrong about that”

Q: Do you think people find it ironic that you are in a military show with a certain political aspect?

A: “It’s probably ironic to everyone but me because I am a news buff. I watch CNN and the Fox Channel. I watch the news all day long.”

Q: What is the biggest misconception about you?

A: “I’ve played so many bad guys I think they expect an extroverted guy, which I’ve played a lot of extroverted bad guys, but I’m really an introvert, I’m not an extrovert.”

Q: Who influenced you the most in your life?

A: “The first one is James Dean who died very young. I did two films with him when I was 18 and 19, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant and then he died. That influenced me. My present wife I’ve been with for 12 years and we have a little two and a half year old daughter and 15-year-old son … my current wife Victoria has certainly given me a comforting and wonderful life.”

Q: Why James Dean? A: “He had something no other actor had. He studied dance a lot and he expressed himself better with his body than probably any actor that I’ve ever seen. I think of him as an expressionist. He had this great inner life going on, pretty emotional capacities and inner life, but then he expressed himself so well physically... when he hit the oil and the way he danced in the oil (in Giant). Just his hand movements, his gestures were just remarkable.”

Q: Can you think of any contemporary actors with his skill?

A: “I can’t really put anybody into that space. We have some wonderful actors, I mean I think Sean Penn is doing such great emotional work, he’s terrific.”

Q: What was your favorite role over the past 50 years?

A: “Writing and directing Easy Rider … That was probably the highlight of my life.”

Q: Do you hang out with Jack Nicholson?

A: “I see him all the time. As a matter of fact Jack Nicholson just had his first golf tournament down at Donald Trump’s.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 21, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/102105.pdf?ref=smdp.com)