If my brief here was to list the most terrifying performances ever, this would be a surefire contender for the number one slot. As it is, Dennis Hopper's performance as Frank Booth in David Lynch's 1986 classic is surely one of the most powerful ever put to film: aggressive, intimidating, and in many respects utterly contemptible, but with a sense of underlying tragedy which makes the character curiously sympathetic. and endlessly fascinating. Hopper felt a close connection to the character, telling David Lynch, "I am Frank Booth." Famously, it was at Hopper's suggestion that the character inhales amyl nitrate in moments of heightened emotion; Lynch had initially intended him to inhale helium. Question is, would that have made things more or less sinister...?
