These films include Rebel Without a Cause (1955), in which he portrayed a disillusioned and rebellious teenager, East of Eden (1955), which showcased his intense emotional range, and Giant (1956), a sprawling drama released a year after his death.

Dean's film roles and style had a strong impact on Hollywood, capturing the spirit of 1950s youth and creating an enduring legacy that shaped American pop culture and defined rebellious, countercultural attitudes for generations.

[6] Unable to care for his son, Dean's father sent him to live with his aunt and uncle, Ortense and Marcus Winslow, on their farm in Fairmount, Indiana,[8] where he was raised in their Quaker household.

[25][26] He quit college to act full-time and was cast in his first speaking part, as John the Apostle in Hill Number One, an Easter television special dramatizing the Resurrection of Jesus.

During that time, he met Rogers Brackett,[30] a radio director for an advertising agency, who offered him professional help and guidance in his chosen career, as well as a place to stay.

Positive reviews for Dean's 1954 theatrical role as Bachir, a pandering homosexual North African houseboy, in an adaptation of André Gide's book The Immoralist (1902), led to calls from Hollywood.

[40] In 1953, director Elia Kazan was looking for a substantive actor to play the emotionally complex role of Cal Trask for screenwriter Paul Osborn's adaptation of John Steinbeck's 1952 novel East of Eden.

Though he initially seems more aloof and emotionally troubled than his twin brother Aron, Cal is soon seen to be more worldly, business savvy, and sensible compared to their pious and constantly disapproving father (played by Raymond Massey), who seeks to invent a vegetable refrigeration process.

Cal is bothered by the mystery of their supposedly dead mother and discovers she is still alive and a brothel-keeping 'madam'; the part was played by actress Jo Van Fleet.

[41] Before casting Cal, Elia Kazan said he wanted "a Brando type" for the role, and Osborn suggested Dean, a relatively unknown young actor.

[42][43][44] Much of Dean's performance in the film was unscripted,[45] including his dance in the bean field and his fetal-like posturing while riding on top of a train boxcar (after searching out his mother in nearby Monterey).

Instead of running away from his father as the script called for, Dean instinctively turned to Massey and, in a gesture of extreme emotion, lunged forward and grabbed him in a full embrace, crying.

[51][52] Following East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause, Dean wanted to avoid being typecast as a rebellious teenager like Cal Trask or Jim Stark, and hence took on the role of Jett Rink, a Texan ranch hand who strikes oil and becomes wealthy, in Giant, a posthumously released 1956 film.

[3] Having finished Giant, Dean was set to star as Rocky Graziano in a drama film, Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956), and, according to Nicholas Ray himself, he was going to do a story called Heroic Love with the director.

[68] Angeli, during an interview 14 years after their relationship ended, described their times together: We used to go together to the California coast and stay there secretly in a cottage on a beach far away from prying eyes.

[70] An Order for the Solemnization of Marriage pamphlet with the name "Pier" lightly penciled in every place the bride's name is left blank was found among Dean's personal effects after his death.

While he felt compelled to adopt a rebellious identity reminiscent of Marlon Brando's character in The Wild One, he ultimately sought to distance himself from that image, which prompted him to pursue therapy later in life.

[89] Accompanying the actor on his way to the track on September 30 were stunt coordinator Bill Hickman, Collier's photographer Sanford Roth, and Rolf Wütherich, the German mechanic from the Porsche factory who maintained Dean's Spyder, "Little Bastard" car.

[105] There is a James Dean monument, financed by a Japanese businessman, in front of the former Cholame post office (which closed in 1994) and a restaurant (until its closure in 2022), one half-mile from the site of the accident.

"[127] For Terrence Malick's debut film Badlands, Sheen based his characterization of Kit Carruthers, a spree killer loosely inspired by Charles Starkweather, on Dean.

"[134] Salman Shah, commonly regarded as one of the most popular and influential figures in Bangladesh's film history,[135] is often compared to James Dean, due to the similarities in their lives and careers.

Shah had an ephemeral but prolific impact as an actor, was a major enthusiast of fashion and automobiles, died when he was 24, the exact same age as Dean, and has an enduring legacy.

The persona Dean projected in his movies, especially Rebel Without a Cause, influenced Elvis Presley[137] and many other musicians who followed,[138] including the American rockers Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent.

[147][148] In his book, The Origins of Cool in Postwar America, Joel Dinerstein describes how Dean and Marlon Brando eroticized the rebel archetype in film,[149] and how Elvis Presley, following their lead, did the same in music.

"[151] Dean and Presley have often been represented in academic literature and in journalism as embodying the frustration felt by young white Americans with the values of their parents,[152][153] and depicted as avatars of the youthful unrest endemic to rock and roll style and attitude.

The rock historian Greil Marcus characterized them as symbols of tribal teenage identity, which provided an image that young people in the 1950s could relate to and imitate.

[165] He has also been referenced in some pop songs of the 2010s, such as "Blue Jeans" by Lana Del Rey (2012), "Style" by Taylor Swift (2014),[166] "Ghost Town" by Adam Lambert (2015), and "Ordinary Life" by The Weeknd (2016).

"[181] James Dean's signature style, consisting of jeans, white T-shirts, and leather jackets, left a lasting mark on youth culture and influenced broader fashion trends.

In modern times, his casual look has become a universal wardrobe staple, with his style continuing to influence men's fashion, as seen in the clothes worn by celebrities and actors.

[184] Montblanc honored Dean as part of its "Great Characters" collection which celebrates influential figures from various fields who have had a lasting impact on culture and society.