"A legendary hero with a legendary story; live fast and die young"

This is the way in which we are introduced to James Dean in his official page, but even if we haven't heard of his name before just by that phrase: "live fast and die young" we can identify him with this well-known rebel attitude and famous life-style. To do a briefly summary of his life we can start by saying he is an American film actor that has become a cultural icon due to the complexity of the roles he got involved with, portraying this (now iconic) rebel guy that nevertheless seems to be widely misunderstood by everyone and seems to be fighting with a lot of emotional issues (some regarding parenthood).

He is also known for becoming a big star in little time (3 films only) due to the personification of "the restless American" in his films, the most popular being Rebel Without a Cause (1955) in which he portrayed Jim Stark (the troubled teenager), nevertheless, the think that impacted the most was his dead, being killed in a highway while going to compete on a race in Salinas.

In conclusion, James Dean remains an iconic idol due to the life-style he was able to portrait in his movies and life, opening the gate in which we found all the fears and hopes of teenagers being totally exposed.

Famous Quotes:

"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today."

"The gratification comes in the doing, not in the results."

"If a man can bridge the gap between life and death, . if he can live on after he's dead, then maybe he was a great man."

"Only the gentle are ever really strong."

Reference:

CMG Worldwide, Inc., . (n.d.). James dean official website. Retrieved from http://www.jamesdean.com/about/quotesby.html