From Birth To Stardom

The delicate-featured Johnny Depp played with over 15 rock bands before turning to acting. While he could have been a conventional leading man, the charismatic actor has, instead, often chosen unusual and odd roles. Although he has not proven to be "big box office" for these quirky choices, Depp has nevertheless won the respect of Hollywood and the critics as a serious and dedicated actor. Debuting as the heroine's doomed boyfriend in Wes Craven's original "A Nightmare on Elm Street" (1984), he next starred alongside Rob Morrow in the teen romp "Private Resort" (1985) and appeared as the translator in Oliver Stone's Oscar-winning "Platoon" (1986).
With his chiseled looks, thick hair and sleepy-smoky voice, Depp achieved teen idol status as Officer Tom Hanson in Stephen J Cannell's "21 Jump Street" (Fox, 1987-90). His character, established in the pilot as the son of a cop, looked too young to intimidate street thugs, despite being over 21 and an honors graduate of the Academy. Instead, he was assigned to a unit of undercover cops who infiltrates a seemingly never-ending supply of high schools where ne'er-do-wells want to keep the good kids from learning. After four seasons of the foolishness, Depp wanted out, and the show did not survive his withdrawal. Hoping to make the transition to the big screen, he eschewed offers of conventional young leading man roles and returned to features with two memorable, offbeat characterizations: John Waters' "Cry-Baby" and Tim Burton's "Edward Scissorhands" (both 1990). His physical grace and expressive features proved apt for the Chaplinesque Edward and the nimble Elvis-inspired Cry-Baby.

Depp's subsequent film career has exhibited an unwillingness to settle for standard heartthrob roles and a predilection for distinctive filmmakers and material. In Emir Kusturica's cult film "Arizona Dream" (1992), Depp, portrayed a young man unwillingly called to Arizona by his uncle (Jerry Lewis) who wants him to take over the family car dealership, anchoring the uneven feature which veered from slapstick to bathos. "Benny & Joon" (1993) presented Depp as a modern-day circus performer who, in the course of romancing a mentally disturbed woman (Mary Stuart Masterston), performs set pieces that recall the silent clowns (i.e., Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd). That same year, he lent gravity to the title role in Lasse Hallstrom's "What's Eating Gilbert Grape", a Midwesterner trapped in a small town by familial obligations. He went on to win considerable critical acclaim in a reunion with Burton, "Ed Wood" (1994), a biopic that cast him as the famed cult director whose fondness for cross-dressing doesn't prevent him from creating delightfully bad films.

Finally capitalizing on his good looks, Depp donned a mask and Castilian accent for the title role in the contemporary fairy tale "Don Juan DeMarco" (1995), playing a modern incarnation of the famous lover opposite fellow risk takers Marlon Brando and Faye Dunaway. Following his foray to action features in John Badham's "Nick of Time" (also 1995), he turned up in Jim Jarmusch's quirky Western "Dead Man" (1996), as a mild-mannered accountant named William Blake who finds himself branded as an outlaw. Adding to his cast of outsiders, Depp essayed the title role in Mike Newell's "Donnie Brasco" (1997), an FBI undercover agent who infiltrates a crime family and befriends its volatile leader. Well cast (in his first truly adult role) and more appealing than in some of his previous efforts, Depp won much praise for his layered portrayal and especially for his interplay with co-star Al Pacino (as his mentor). Their surrogate father-son relationship drove the film and brought humanity to a story that could have devolved into standard Hollywood cliche.

Depp made his feature directorial debut with "The Brave" (1997), a film he also co-wrote (with his older brother D P Depp and Paul McCudden) and in which he starred as a father who agrees to play the victim in a snuff film to earn money for his family's well-being. Premiering at the Cannes Film Festival, "The Brave", which also featured Brando and Clarence Williams III, earned mostly negative reviews, with most faulting its weak script. He suffered another box office disappointment as gonzo journalist Hunter S Thompson's drug-crazed alter ego Raoul Duke in Terry Gilliam's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" (1998). Always looking to step away from his pretty boy persona, Depp shocked some fans by sporting a bald pate, but his clipped staccato delivery and unusual body language could not bring substance to the essentially one-dimensional character. Still, he was the glue to this "bad trip", perhaps destined for "stoner" cult status, and the question remains: Who ever thought a mainstream audience would go for this full-frontal assault on normalcy?

Depp may have chosen "The Astronaut's Wife" (the first of his three 1999 thrillers) for its opportunity to play good boy-gone wrong under alien influence, but the result was another one-note performance in a film that was not as bad as the studio's failure to screen it for critics had suggested. From one movie resembling Roman Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby", he moved to "The Ninth Gate" (released in the USA in 2000), another supernatural thriller, this one actually directed by Polanski. As a rumpled, bespectacled book dealer in search of a 17th-century volume allegedly co-authored by Satan, Depp was the soft, unassertive core of a film thought by most (but not all) to be a journey to nowhere. His last movie that year, "Sleepy Hollow" (based on the Washington Irving "legend"), matched him again with the imaginative vision of friend Burton and officially ended his losing streak. The studio nixed his notion of playing Ichabod Crane with a long pointy nose, so he appeared looking quite beautiful for most of his biggest commercial hit yet, though he did go against the heroic type with his prissy, neurotic and not very courageous characterization.

The success of "Sleepy Hollow" will not make Depp pursue more mainstream fare. Desperately afraid of complacency and astonished that he can still get work, he continues to make movies at breakneck speed. He and friend Sean Penn acted in Julian Schnabel's anything-but-commercial "Before Night Falls", the story of Cuban poet-novelist Reinaldo Arenas, and he also donned gold teeth for his role as Christina Ricci's gypsy love interest in Sally Potter's World War II drama "The Man Who Cried" (both lensed 1999). He returned to the world of drugs for Ted Demme's "Blow" (lensed 2000), playing George Jung, an American who became one of the major traffickers of cocaine for Colombian kingpin Pablo Escobar. There was also the project ("From Hell") where Depp with the Hughes brothers are involved in the ongoing saga of Jack the Ripper, and he has expressed interest in again collaborating with directors Kusturica and Hallstrom.

Johnny will star as Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie in a movie to be filmed in Britain this June. The film titled, "Neverland", follows the story of how Barrie wrote the children's classic after becoming friends with four fatherless boys and their mother at the turn of the century in London. The Miramax film, based on the play by Allan Knee entitled, "The Man Who Was Peter Pan", will also recreate how the book made it to the stage. A spokesman for Johnny said: "He wants to make a film his little girl can see." Filming has been completed.

The Hollywood Reporter - 6/9/02 --- Johnny Depp, action star? Jerry Bruckheimer thinks so. The independent-minded Depp -- who has worked with such talents as the eccentric Tim Burton ("Sleepy Hollow") and the exiled Roman Polanski ("The Ninth Gate") -- is in the process of agreeing to star in two films for action impresario Bruckheimer. Depp signed a two-picture deal with the Walt Disney Co. that will see the actor working on back-to-back action projects for the producer, "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Takedown." The actor would shoot "Pirates" for director Gore Verbinski in October and then segue into the March start for "Takedown," which Michael Haussman is directing. Although the deal with Bruckheimer marks a departure for Depp, it will reunite him with Disney, where he's worked only once before, in the 1994 Touchstone Pictures feature " Ed Wood," directed by Burton. "Pirates" focuses on a daring attempt to rescue someone from dangerous pirates who are trying to reverse an ancient curse. Depp will play the lead pirate, Jack. The most recent draft of "Pirates," which is based on the legendary Disney theme park ride, was penned by "Shrek" scribes Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott, working from earlier drafts from Jay Wolpert and Stuart Beattie. "Takedown," based on Carsten Stroud's 1996 graphic nonfiction book "Deadly Force: In the Streets With the U.S. Marshals," revolves around a U.S. marshal (Depp) in pursuit of an assassin who raped and almost killed a female colleague/former lover. The marshal eventually learns that his target is added to another branch of the U.S. government. Jerry Stahl wrote the most recent draft of the script. Previous writers include John Lee Hancock, Henry Bean, Laith Zawawi and John Norville. Bruckheimer Films' Mike Stenson and Chad Oman are executive producing both projects. Depp is repped by UTA and Bloom, Hergott, Deimer & Cook. He will begin shooting Miramax Films' "Neverland" for director Marc Forester next week. He next stars in Miramax's "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" for writer-director Robert Rodriguez. Filming began on Pirates of the Caribbean in Los Angeles during October, 2002.

Johnny, Willem Dafoe and Eva Mendes round out the cast of Robert Rodriguez's Columbia Pictures/Dimension Films feature Once Upon a Time in Mexico. The project began shooting in Mexico in June, 2001. Mexico, starring Antonio Banderas, is the long-anticipated third installment in Rodriguez's trilogy that began with 1992's El Mariachi and continued with 1995's Desperado, the latter of which also starred Banderas. Quentin Tarantino and Salma Hayek, both of whom star in Desperado, are back to star, with Mickey Rourke also on board. Mexico is loosely based on Sergio Leone's classic spaghetti western The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Mariachi and Desperado are homages to Leone's A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More, respectively. Columbia, which owns the rights to the first two movies in the series, will take domestic rights to Mexico. The Dimension label, which has three pictures remaining in an overall deal with Rodriguez, will take international rights. By shooting on a tight schedule and using digital camera equipment, Rodriguez is expected to keep the budget at less than $30 million. Johnny will be playing a corrupt FBI agent who hires Banderas to prevent a plot to kill the President of Mexico. This movie may be released in Spring 2003.

Johnny was rumored to play a small part in the movie, "Nailed Right In". The production companies, Gold Circle Films (Double Whammy), Southpaw Media Group, Weed Road Pictures (Deep Blue Sea) continue to seek distribution in the USA. The Director will be Griffin Dunne (Addicted to Love, Practical Magic; his latest before this is Lisa Picard is Famous) and the Screenwriter is Terence Winter (feature debut; he's a writer and producer of The Sopranos). Set in 1985 Brooklyn, during the height of mob boss John Gotti's reign, the friendships of three young Catholic men are threatened as personal ambitions come in conflict with a citizen effort against a local mob boss. Johnny may play a mobster who serves as a mentor/role model. Filming was originally announced as a possible pre-strikes project starting in April, 2001, filming was then scheduled to start in late September, 2001 in New York (with some filming in Toronto) on a budget of $10-15 million. However, the 9/11/01 tragedies apparently delayed production. There's no current word about when they might reschedule filming now.

Terry Gilliam's documentary "Lost in La Mancha" with Johnny was presented at the Berlin Film Festival. After spending years to make "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" -- the film's collapse was the subject of the documentary. Kyoko furnished us with this photo from the documentary (Pia magazine 3/25/02).

Johnny was a surprise star guest at the World Music Awards at the Ocean venue in Hackney, East London. Johnny Depp presents Taraf De Hadouks with the European/Middle East category prize at the World Music Awards at Hackney Ocean. Irene provided a transcript of the show. AND Kyoko provided a great photo from the 4/02 issue of MovieStar magazine.

Johnny appeared on a TNT show called, "Hollywood Salutes Nicolas Cage" that aired on February 26th at 9 p.m. ET. Johnny appears on this show with a prerecorded tribute to Nic. Oprah reported that Johnny said - "Nick got me started and sort of put me on this road. Nick is one of the very, very gifted, very important actors out there." Christine said the program also led off with a quick quip from Johnny. He basically told the story of when he lived with Nicholas Cage and stole Mexican money from him to buy food and cigarettes. He basically apologized for these actions and offered restitution and he said thanks for Cage's help in starting his career. He was soft spoken and appeared uncomfortable, looked down and away a lot. He also stroked his face, his chin, his mouth a lot - a nervous habit. He wore a hat that looked like his Venice picture hat and what looked like a lavender sweater with a white t-shirt under it.

Johnny was interviewed on Bravo's Inside the Actor's Studio on February 25th. The show aired September 8. You can read close encounters from John "Arm" Bogdan and Linda Naughtin when they saw Johnny on the day the show Inside the Actor's Studio (IAS) was filmed, February 25th. John "Arm" was clever enough to find Johnny outside the taping of IAS and obtained an autograph. Linda received an invitation to the taping and has provided us with some inside information. You can read their encounter reports at beginning with John Arm's. You can read the transcript from the show on the Interview page. Also, there is a Bravo Profile in the works that will feature Johnny that was set for release June 23, 2002 but postponed until spring 2003.

Johnny was in London May 2002 with friend and writer Nick Tosches. He recorded the audiobook of Tosches' much-hyped September thriller "In the Hand of Dante", reciting lines like "Louie pulled off his bra and threw it down upon the casket." "Johnny was one of the first people to read the book," says Tosches' agent Russell Galen. "Nick was prepared to kill the audio deal if Johnny coudn't read it. He literally would not have let anyone else read his book." While nothing's been confimed, look for Johnny on the Los Angeles leg of Tosches' five-city tour.

Johnny is romantically involved with French Singer/Actress Vanessa Paradis. The couple became parents of a baby girl on 5/27/99. Lily-Rose Melody Depp was born at 8:25 p.m. in a hospital outside of Paris with Johnny by Vanessa's side. You can find photos of Johnny and Vanessa at vj.htm. Johnny played guitar on Vanessa's CD "Bliss" and directed her music video for the single, "Pourtant". Vanessa and Johnny became the proud parents of a 7 pound baby boy named JACK, born on Tuesday, April 9th at 1:30 am at the American hospital of Neuilly (a suburb close to Paris). Lily-Rose who will be 3 years old on May 27 was born at the same hospital as her little brother."