Title: Johnny Depp the Outsider
Author: John Lancer
Publication: UK-Caesars Player
Issue: December 2009
Depp may have been master of his own fate, beginning with his decision to desert his starring role in the hugely popular television series 21 Jump Street to act on the big screen. But it hasn’t always been easy.
“I was Sort of thrown into becoming famous he remembers.”There were some battles l had to fight to retain my individuality. I’d get agents who’d say to me,’ Why are you going against the grain?’ But I knew that if I continued the way they wanted me to, it was death; it was just going to be over with. It was a question of standing tall and saying, I’m not going to be what you want me to be. I’m going to be what l want to be.”‘
Instead of trying to become a leading man, Depp picked unconventional roles ranging from the strange teen in cult filmmaker John Waters’ Cry-Baby to the outcast with shears for hands in Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands. And he remained a reluctant celebrity battling against fame with occasional outbursts of pubic anger fuelled by drugs and alcohol. Looking back, he says simply, “I think in many ways I was existing without living”
Now, Depp has left personal angst behind to become one of the hottest stars In Hollywood. The three-time Oscar nominee [for Pirates of the Caribbean, Finding Neverland and Sweeney Todd] reflects “The first thing you’ve got to trust is your instincts your gut. That‘s really how I’ve been able to stick around for such a long time. I just rely on my instinct and do what l think is right for me.”
A MAD, MAD WORLD
Depp’s current choice unites film with Burton for the seventh time as he takes on the role of the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland. “Lewis Carrolls book was my starting point” he says. ‘There are little mysteries, little clues, in it that l found fascinating and were keys to my understanding of the Mad Hatter. i also thought about what he should look like, and I made little weird drawings and watercolors and brought them to Tim Burton. Then, he showed me his weird little drawings and watercolors and they were not dissimilar. You could’ve put them right together and they were pretty darn close”
Over the years, starting with Depp’s first collaboration with Burton on Edward Scissorhands and taking him through Sleepy Hollow and the hit Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the pair has forged a close working relationship and friend-ship that seems to always revolve around the creation of oddly unique characters.
“There‘s no real definition other than there is some kind of connection, some sort of understanding that Tim and I have that is at most times unspoken” Depp explains. Burton says of Depp ‘From the first time I ever worked with him, he was willing to try anything. As an actor, he’s totally fearless. I sometimes think of actors like Johnny as silent films stars. It’s like they don’t even need to speak when you see them on the screen because they’re so fascinating to watch”
A PIRATE’S LIFE
It was Depp’s wildly offbeat take on Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean that propelled him to the top of the A-list.”I never really thought about it much; he says of becoming wealthy and successful.”Somebody mentioned something about me being on the Forbes list and it just made me laugh. It just didn’t make any sense no me at all. But if that’s where they want to put me, that’s great. It doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll be there next year. I figure if this is what the ride is for the moment, great.”
Depp isn’t apologizing for his biggest indulgence, the purchase of an island in the Bahamas where Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed.”It‘s a tiny place that I fell in love with,” he explains. “I can divide my time between there and the South of France, where I live with my family. For me, the place to be Is where there is an opportunity for normalcy and simplicity. I sort of slum around the world on location, battling incessantly to get other people’s words right in front of a camera, so to go and sit and stare at the horizon on my island for a little while is pretty good. I think it might add a couple of minutes to your life”
So what’s guiding him now? “Remembering that you make your own reality” Depp says.”You don’t have to stay in a little shell that was hammered out for you from childhood. I think that at a certain point, you have come out and live your life the way you want to live it and not have to answer to anybody”
In fact, Depp does answer to a couple of people who he admits have changed his life; his son and daughter with French actress Vanessa Paradis. “The greatest thing is just the sort of beauty of watching my kids grow up and become little adults” he says.“The kiddies give you strength and perspective. When the fame thing would make me angry, I’d sort of go ‘Oh bug off! I’m just going to play Barbies with rny daughter”
And while Depp is clearly proud of his track record in a tough business, he insists he tries not to become too preoccupied with what he puts on the screen. ‘I prefer to stay as ignorant as possible about my work.” he says.”It takes a while for me to watch a movie I’ve done because I may start having regrets. My philosophy is once they wrap the film, my job is done. I’ve done my damage. It’s up to somebody else to clean up the mess and put it all together.”
But there’s one thing that Depp almost always misses: the characters he plays. “l remember when l was doing Edward Scissorhands he says.”I really feel like a dunce saying this, but it’s the truth—the last day of filming, it was like the eighty-ninth day. I had my makeup on and I looked in the mirror and went, ‘This is the last time I’ll see you! I had that feeling about Captain Jack too. It’s a weird thing, and l don’t think it’s normal.”
