Dennis Hopper switched his political allegiance and pledged his support for Democrat Barack Obama, after the Illinois senator charmed him with kindness.

The pair met the day Obama kicked off his presidential campaign - and the Easy Rider star was stunned when the 47-year-old candidate took the time to talk about the actor's recently-deceased mother. The incident - and his dislike of Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin - convinced him to end his long support of the Republican Party, and vote for the Democrats.

Speaking on Tuesday, the day of the election, Hopper says, "I voted for Obama. I've been a republican since Reagan and I stayed a long time, but Palin finally sent me over the other side."

He adds of his encounter with Obama: "My wife's been a big fan of Obama, and we met him the day he announced he was running for president. We saw him in Chicago. I was in an elevator with him; he turned to me and said, 'I know that your mother died a couple of months ago. I know your mother was from Kansas, my mother was from Kansas. I know what it's like losing a mother.' My wife had obviously said something to him, but I thought the fact the man had the presence in mind to think of me at that time, when he had so much going on - the day he announced he was running for president - it moved me."

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(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)