Hopper's rep may have been as a counter-culture icon but he earned his keep in the occasional Hollywood biggie during his early years. He's the youngest of the outlaw Clanton family in the glossy Kurt Douglas-Burt Lancaster retelling of the Western legend, for example.

Already studying at the Actors Studio, Hopper was starting to obsess about method acting.

By the time he made From Hell To Texas (1958) he was asking for skywards of 100 takes in order to improv his role in the bog-standard western.

Director Henry Hathaway soon lost patience with the wannabe Brando and Hopper found parts tricky to come by over the next few years.

Hop Triv – Weirdly, Hopper actually was born and raised in Dodge City, Kansas, where OK Corral is set.