20 Mind-Blowing Facts About George A. Romero’s Living Dead Movies

13. The Inspiration Behind Dennis Hopper’s Performance In Land Of The Dead

Land Of The Dead Simon Pegg
Universal Pictures

Ever wondered what made the late, great Dennis Hopper’s character Paul Kaufman in Land of the Dead so abhorrent? Well, apart from the fact he was a great actor with a knack for playing villains that is.

It’s because Hopper based his performance on American politician Donald Rumsfeld, the evil Republican who served on the administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford in the 1970s and later acted as George W. Bush’s Secretary of Defence while helping him orchestrate the Iraq War – a man so awful that even the equally terrible Nixon saw fit to call him a “ruthless little bastard”.

Good choice, Mr. Hopper, good choice.

Contributor

Helen Jones hasn't written a bio just yet, but if they had... it would appear here.