Like most Hollywood actors, his particular journey has been something of a rollercoaster ride and right now he couldn’t be higher off the ground by LAWRIE MASTERSON for the Sunday Mail.
Depp admits that even his mother, Betty Sue, was impressed when he landed on the cover of Newsweek recently and his star power drew comparisons between him and Tom Cruise.
But while Cruise, 44 on July 3, routinely tops lists as Hollywood’s most powerful and bankable star, it’s 43-year-old Depp who has the acting credibility, the reputation for uncanny choices of material.
And while Cruise’s personal life has taken turns towards what some regard as bizarre in recent years, Depp, who certainly had some wild days early in his career, now is the epitome of the happy family man. He is the father of Lily-Rose, seven, and four-year-old Jack with his partner of the past eight years, French singer and actor Vanessa Paradis.
“Even before the ride took this particular turn (with Pirates) I never really went out much, so nothing has changed in that regard,” he says. “My kids have a super-normal life. They do their school, they play with their friends.
“OK, they get to go to Disneyland maybe a little more often than other kids, but that’s part of the gig.”
Depp and his family divide their time between homes in Los Angeles and the south of France and, having spent more than two years in the Bahamas making the three Pirates movies and earning about $A47 million for the two sequels, he also has bought a small island about 100 km south of Nassau.
The retreat has become a “very necessary part of the balance”, he says.
“Here in Hollywood with this work, that’s one type of animal. The island and the idea of going to a place where there are no telephones, no cars, no street lights or noises – there’s just nature and the sea and the wind and the sun – that brings things down to their absolute base level.
“It’s a great education for the kids. It serves a lot of purposes and it’s good to get away, definitely.”
Depp, who has always spoken openly, says being the father of a seven-year-old and a four-year-old is “a high-energy, high-stakes experience”.
“Vanessa and I have been lucky to have spent so much time with our kids, but we’re also lucky enough to take time for ourselves because you’ve got to remain not only lovers and all that stuff, but friends. It can’t always be talking about the kids.”
