Total Film, Summer 2013 – Return of the Native
Title: Return of the Native
Author: Holly Grigg-Spall
Publication: Total Film
Issue: Summer 2013
Johnny Depp does not watch himself on screen. Ever. Something about preferring to be ignorant of the results of his work. That once it’s cut and locked, it’s none of his business. But he’s not ignorant to the fact that he’s raged against the machine on numerous projects. “Somebody once put together a reel of various bits of different films that I have done,” he admits in his trademark quiet drawl, while sipping a sneaky beer in Vegas. “When I saw all the characters lined up in a row like that, I thought it was amazing that I was able to get away with it. I still feel lucky to be in the game… well, to be in the game without having to play the game too awful much, you know?”
Getting away with it is something Depp has turned from a career reinvention (wilfully rejecting easy heartthrob fame in favour of the weird and wonderful wilderness) into a billion-dollar franchise cash cow. Cast as Jack Sparrow in Pirates Of The Caribbean back in 2003, Depp horrified studio bosses during filming with his decision to play Sparrow as a sozzled, seafaring Keith Richards replete with dreads and guyliner. (“I think it was Michael Eisner, the head of Disney at the time, who was quoted as saying, ‘He’s ruining the movie’,”
