Barry Pepper is the fifth actor to portray Tom Ripley on film, after Alain Delon in Purple Noon (1960), Dennis Hopper in The American Friend (1977), Matt Damon in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), and John Malkovich in Ripley's Game (2002). The "Ripley Under Ground" novel was released and takes place in between "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Ripley's Game," but none of the films have been officially connected to one another.