Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp – Biography

Johnny Depp is an actor, whose name has become a recognized symbol of eccentricity and madness. Making his debut in the horror picture «A Nightmare on Elm Street», he didn’t even plan to become a professional actor. But, fate said otherwise. Today Johnny Depp is one of the few most original and recognizable actors.

Johnny Depp, one of the most unordinary actors

Childhood and Family

John Christopher «Johnny» Depp II father, a namesake of his son, was a civil engineer. The actor’s mother, Betty Sue Palmer, had worked as a waitress for 14 years. Before she met Johnny’s father, she was already married, and got two sons, Debbie and Daniel. Johnny Depp has only one sister. Her name is Christy.

Johnny Depp’s mom was half Indian. Her father belonged to the tribe of the Cherokee. So much beloved by Johnny, the second grandfather, Jim was a full-blooded Irishman. In addition, the actor’s family tree includes German siblings.

Johnny Depp’s native town is Owensboro, Kentucky. However, the boy's parents were always on the move. When the guy was fifteen, he has already changed several towns and more than a dozen of homes. As the actor said, once a family moved in the next house down the street. Parents just could not stand sitting in one place.

It is difficult to name Johnny Depp's childhood happy. His mother was the wrong person. From morning to evening, she worked hard in a roadside cafe to feed the kids. «Mother swore like a sailor, played cards and smoked» said Johnny. His father drank a lot in his spare time. He wasn't ashamed to beat his wife and children regularly while drunk. To top it off, grandpa Jim died when Johnny was 9 years old. The loss of a beloved relative finally knocked the boy off the balance. He began to swear with the parents. In 12 years, he began to smoke and abuse alcohol. At age 13, he began to be sexually active.

In 1978, Johnny Depp's parents divorced. This only aggravated the situation. Fifteen-year-old young man began to experiment with drugs. As a result, he was expelled from school. However, this couldn’t upset her since he waved goodbye to education and began to live his life.

Youth: Musician Career and the First Movie Roles

In 12 years, Johnny became the owner of a cheap 25-dollar electric guitar. It was a gift from his mom. He mastered the instrument on his own. When his parents divorced, the guy moved to the car of his friend Sal as the protest. He also began performing as a part of garage band Young and Modern. He made his living on the fees for performances in nightclubs. Over the next four years, he has changed 14 such boys’ bands. In addition, the future star worked as a laborer on construction sites.

At the age of 20, he became a guitarist in the well-known in the narrow circles punk band The Kids. Once Iggy Pop heard their performance. After that, he invited them to perform at his concert as a «warming up» band.

This is the way Johnny Depp became popular on a local scale. Soon he struck up a close relationship with 25-year-old makeup artist Lori Anne Allison. It was she, who introduced the future celebrity to Nicolas Cage. He was three years younger than Depp. However, he has managed to play in «Rumble fish» by Francis Ford Coppola and other films. So he had some experience, which allowed to detect acting inclinations in a rebellious and rowdy Johnny.

Johnny Depp and Nicolas Cage are old friends

Cage introduced Depp to his agent, who took the musician to audition for the film «A Nightmare on Elm Street». Johnny counted for a cameo role in maximum, but the film directors decided another way. Touched by the naturalistic style Johnny expressed on cameras, they decide that Depp has even the tiny features of their hero, down to the yellow nicotine stains on the fingers that were making him «real».

Johhny Depp first role (A Nightmare on Elm Street)

As a result, Johnny got the role of Glen, one of the main protagonists of the story. However, the guy didn't even think to become a professional actor; he believed that a horror movie will serve a «springboard» for his musical career.

Released in 1984, «A Nightmare on Elm Street» was a breakthrough, and Johnny Depp drew the attention of other Hollywood figures. He accepted an invitation to the teenage comedy «Private Resort» immediately. He first had to appear naked in this picture.

Johnny Depp about his childhood

Later on, the actor starred in TV-series «Hotel» and «Lady in blue» episodes, wanting to save enough money to producing his own album. He also played a Donnie Fleischer’s minor role in the picture «Slow Burn» by Eric Roberts. The acting hooked the guy more. Finally, he spent the money earned on acting classes.

Perhaps, this gesture provided him with a role in the war drama «Platoon» by Oliver Stone. He was full of desire to play the main role, but the film director decided that the rookie was not yet ready to assume such responsibility. He gave this role to Charlie Sheen. Depp had to settle for a co-starring role of private solder Lerner. Alas, almost all scenes with his participation were cut during the final editing. Under the meanness law, in 1987 «Platoon» received eight nominations for Oscar, of which exactly half went into an eligible Golden statuette.

Depp heard about the casting for a new teenager TV series «21 Jump Street» when he was back to Florida from «Platoon» filming in the Philippines. Johnny successfully passed the audition and became one of the four police officers that disclosed crimes in the schoolboys’ environment. The series made a splash, and a few months after the premiere, Depp had to literally run away from the pursuit of his girls-fans. However, the glory of «the teen idol» was repulsive to him.

«Jump 21 street» made Johnny Depp famous

He therefore gladly accepted an invitation of the infamous film director John Waters, whom we met on the «21 Jump Street» shooting stage. Waters approved Depp for the lead in a grotesque musical «Cry-Baby». According to the plot, the actor’s hero, a handsome rebel named Cry-Baby, was the complete opposite of his «series» role.

In 1989, Johnny Depp finally got lucky. Tim Burton chose him for the lead role in the movie «Edward Scissorhands». Although, there were so many talented applicants for the role, such as Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr., Jim Carrey... The fantasy adult drama quickly helped Johnny Depp to climb the Hollywood Olympus top. Besides, his life was enriched by Winona Ryder, with whom the actor was dating more than four years.

In addition, this picture puts the beginning to Tim Burton and Johnny Depp friendship. Later on, it presented the world such movies as «Sleepy Hollow», «Charlie and the Chocolate Factory», «Sweeney Todd», «Dark shadows» and other outstanding works of these tandem. Rather, the trio. Burton's films were invariably added by Helena Bonham Carter, who quickly became a good friend of Depp.

Johnny Depp, Tim Barton and Helena Bonham Carter

Career Peak

After the premiere of «Edward Scissorhands» Johnny Depp was instantly increasing his «acting rank». He ceased to be just the star of «soap» series. Eminent film directors were keen on him, whose list was added even by Emir Kusturica. He took johnny for the lead role in his new picture «Arizona dream».

Then there was the tandem with Mary Masterson in a touching melodrama «Benny & Joon», the experience of playing together with Leonardo DiCaprio, being a young teen, participation in Tim Burton's another biographical picture «Ed Wood», filming in a western by Jim Jarmusch called «Dead Man». That period in Johnny Depp’s filmography includes two works with the great Marlon Brando – «Don Juan deMarco» and «The Brave». The last film was also the directorial debut of Johnny Depp.

Young Johnny Depp and Leonardo Dicaprio (What's Eating Gilbert Grape?)

After that, a certain «criminal» period started in the career of Johnny Depp. He had to portray a humble cowardly accountant, who was forced to take up arms, in the blockbuster «Nick of Time». The actor played in «Donnie Brasco», where his character was a young FBI agent under the guise of assistant to an elderly gangster, who was masterfully played by Al Pacino.

«Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas»

This picture comes in the mind of the majority of fans, if to speak about truly iconic roles of Johnny Depp. The infamous writer Hunter S. Thompson novel’s screen adaptation hadn’t gained a commercial success, but it got into the annals of cinema history forever.

The actor read this book in 15 years. He read it on a par with the works of Jack Kerouac. It provided an indelible impression on the teenager. Johnny met the author in 1994. He was immediately struck by its openness and extravagance, bordering with madness. When Terry Gilliam decided to film the acclaimed book about the adventures of Dr. Gonzo and Raoul Duke, the writer called Depp and asked: «Will you play me in a movie about Las Vegas? Good thing anyway».

The hallucinogenic adventures of Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro were nominated for the Palme d'or at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. However, jury members, among whom the ex-girlfriend of Depp was, Winona Ryder, awarded a prize to the independent work of the Greek filmmaker Theo Angelopoulos.

A few months Johnny Depp lived in Hunter’s home to understand the role. During this time, the joint work on the project has outgrown in a strong friendship. It was so strong that after the writer's death, Johnny Depp paid for an expensive funeral of a friend (Hunter wanted his ashes shot from a giant cannon), has paid all his debts and became the producer of the film «The Rum Diary» based on the eponymous novel by Thompson, in which he played a major role.

At the turn of the new millennium, several very dark pictures with Johnny Depp featuring were released. First, the actor has appeared in a mystical thriller by Roman Polanski «The Ninth Gate». Then, he starred the previously mentioned «Sleepy Hollow» by Burton. In 2001, the world saw the horror film «From Hell», where Johnny appeared in the image of inspector Frederick Abberline, a brilliant detective, always staying under the influence of opium fumes.

Sleepy Hollow trailer

In 2000, Johnny Depp took part in an independent film project «Before Night Falls» by Julian Schnabel. The film was shot on the memoirs of Cuban poet Reynaldo Arenas. Depp was given two supporting roles: he played an inmate transvestite and the jailer, which was a sadist. The role of Arenas was played by Spanish actor Javier Bardem. The picture was shot in two months under the scorching Mexican sun. However, Depp didn’t take a penny for the work in Arenas respect. The same Sean Penn did, involved in the project.

In 2001, the big screen showed one of the most successful works of Johnny Depp in the opinion of many critics. It was a drama «Blow», based on real events. In these two hours the film director Ted Demme showed the whole life way of drug dealer George Jung, a colleague of the great Pablo Escobar. Depp is so seriously approached this role that before filming, he personally paid a visit to the prison cage of George Jung and spent a few days tete-a-tete with him.

Captain Jack Sparrow

By the early 2000s, Johnny Depp starred in more than thirty films. None of them was panned by critics. However, the actor was unofficially called an «iconic loner» of Hollywood. The major studios were outraged that Depp neglected the commercial expectations of the films, choosing the roles that he liked only. Independent projects caused the actor’s interest mostly.

However, a new large-scale project by the Disney Studio, in particular, a character named Jack Sparrow, caused a genuine curiosity of the actor. Initially, he was not supposed to be the protagonist of the picture. He was introduced to set off a violent temper of captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush). However, when Johnny was approved for this role, bypassing the other serious contenders (Christopher Walken and Michael Keaton), the storyline of a boozer Jacky turned from a minor into a lead role.

25 great Jack Sparrow quotes

It is a merit of Johnny Depp, who felt what must be his hero very sensitively. He worked a lot on the character of Sparrow, borrowing a large part of the habits and elements out of the image of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. Moreover, each of the beads in dreadlocks and marks on the skin had its history!

Disney Studio paid $10 million for captain Jack Sparrow only. Meantime, they spent $140 million for the shooting. Another $40 million they spent on advertising. However, the success of pirate’s blockbuster more than threefold compensated the expenses. In 2004, the film received five nominations for Oscar, including the category The Best Male Role, which was, of course, presented to Johnny Depp.

In 2006, the second part of the sequel roll out the red carpet, grossing over a billion dollars. A year later, viewers saw the third and the final episode. However, in 2011, the screens showed «Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides», without the participation of Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. These actors said that they grew out of these characters. However, Johnny Depp has agreed to shoot even before the script was written.

In pauses between «Pirates» filming Depp has been busy with other pictures. First, it was a fantasy film by Terry Gilliam's «The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus», the last acting job of Heath Ledger. Johnny Depp gave his fee for shooting to the daughter of the late actor.

The next film was radically different from Gilliam’s mystery. It was a criminal biopic «Johnny D.» about the legendary robber John Dillinger and his confrontation with FBI agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale). By the way, Depp invited to the film a charming French Marion Cotillard. In December 2010, the audience could enjoy the brilliant duo of Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie in the thriller «The Tourist».

Further Career

In 2011, Gore Verbinski, the film director of the first three parts of «Pirates of the Caribbean», presented the animated film «Rango». Johnny Depp voiced the main character, a pet chameleon, trapped in the desert by coincidence.

Chameleon Rango was voiced by Johnny Depp

In 2013, Johnny Depp has turned into an Indian in the movie «The Lone Ranger». His colorful character was nominated for Golden Raspberry Anti-Award along with the characters of Adam Sandler and Sylvester Stallone, an honored «veteran» of this award. The most interesting question for the viewers was the following: «Why Johnny Depp is wearing a crow on his head?».

Since then, the films with Johnny Depp began to be net coolly. The same fate was waiting for the film «Transcendence» released in 2014. Oversaturated with the genre of «cyberpunk» the public did not appreciate the visual experiment of the film director Wally Pfister, a former operator of Christopher Nolan.

Many people said that after the «Pirates of the Caribbean» Depp has lost some of his individuality. This could once again be convinced after the premiere of «Mortdecai», the main characters in which were a resourceful rogue and an art businessman and his wife, played by Gwyneth Paltrow. This film brought Johnny Depp another two nominations for Razzie in categories The Worst Actor and The Worst On-Screen Tandem» («Johnny Depp and his fake moustache»).

The Mad Hatter surprise

After the failure, the first «serious» role in a long time that followed was the biographical drama «Black Mass». The actor performed the mobster Whitey Bulger, whose name has not yet had time to be forgotten by the people of Boston. The film has received a high critical acclaim. However, we can say that Johnny Depp rehabilitated. He and the star of the British TV series «Sherlock» Benedict Cumberbatch, who played Bulger’s brother, has diverted attention from the ill-conceived script.

In 2016, Johnny Depp was busy in the new comedy by Kevin Smith's «Yoga Hosers» while his daughter played main role.

Yoga Horses Trailer

In May of the same year, the sequel «Alice in Wonderland» and «Alice Through the Looking Glass» was released with Mia Wasikowska in the lead role. As in the last part, Depp has turned into the Mad Hatter.

Johnny Depp – Private Life

The legends go around the number of women in Johnny Depp’s biography. Over the years, his charisma and bright appearance won dozens of women, but none of them connected her life with the actor.

The first time Johnny Depp got married in 20 years. His choice was a make-up artist Lori Anne Allison, who was older than the guy for 5 years. They lived together for two years until breaking up in 1985.

Some time later, Depp has a new girlfriend, the actress Jennifer Grey. However, the love affair ended before it really began; the same fate was waiting for Sherilyn Fenn, Depp’s colleague on «21 Jump Street».

In 1989, the actor was dating with 16-year-old Winona Ryder, who fascinated the actor by her soft Lolita-baby face. Their relationship was cloudless, Depp even had a tattoo on his forearm «Winona forever». The peace was spoiled by the yellow press representatives, which were constantly writing about on-the-side Depp and Ryder’s love affairs. The young actress was not able to close her eyes to dirty gossip so familiar to Hollywood residents. In May 1993, the couple split, and Depp’s tattoo transformed into «Wine forever».

A year later, Depp stopped at the cafe for a cup of coffee. A top model with a worldwide reputation sat at the table in the company of his friends. It was the infamous Kate Moss. After a week of dating, they went out together into the light as a couple.

Johnny Depp and Kate Moss’s relationship have been a boon for the paparazzi and tabloids. Both actors were famous for heavy disposition, a love for the bizarre antics and addiction to alcohol and drugs. Their passionate temperaments found each other. The shocking couple was constantly caught in the lenses of photographers and looked very happy.

In September 1994, the NY hotel, the Mark Hotel, residents witnessed the noisy mayhem with shouting and stools crashing and flying out of the window. The scandal ended when police withdrew dejected Johnny Depp in handcuffs from the doorstep. The reason for the arrest was a quarrel with Kate Moss. It was the first fight in a long series of quarrels.

In 1998, Kate and Johnny split completely. The official cause of the rupture was not named. However, Depp has repeatedly said that he was grateful to the girl for four years together.

In the same year, Depp met a French actress Vanessa Paradis in the picture «The Ninth Gate». The actor moved to an apartment in the suburbs of Paris, purchased the mansion in Saint-Tropez and pulled himself together for her sake. It seemed that Depp has turned into an exemplary family man, having put all his efforts on the education of children, the firstborn Lilly Rose Melody and son Jack. By the way, Depp's daughter is following in the footsteps of her parents. She inherited the mother's beauty and acting talent of her father. She made her debut in the Kevin Smith picture «Tusk» and starred together with Johnny in another picture «Yoga Hosers».

Vanessa Paradis and Johnny Depp has two kids

However, after 14 years of marriage, Depp dumped Vanessa for the love affair with actress Amber Heard, whom he met on the set of the film «The Rum Diary». He was conquered not the appearance of a young beauty in the first place. He was amazed by her erudition and education. In addition, it was found that Amber passionately loves the blues. In February 2015, they exchanged with wedding vows.

Johnny Depp daughter – Lily-Rose Melody Depp

However, in May 2016, after a year of marriage, Amber Heard filed for divorce. The cause of the quarrel was «irreconcilable differences». The documents were filed on May 26 – three days after the death of Depp’s mother.

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard broke up in May, 2016

In Spring 2019 media told about a new actor's beloved. The lucky one was Polina Glen, Russian go-go dancer living in the US. They were a coulpe for a half year. After that Polina admitted that she hated so much attention to her when she was a Depp's girlfriend.

Johnny Depp Now

In recent years Johnny Depp devotes more time to his music superband "The Hollywood Vampires", where Alice Cooper and Joe Perry also plays. The last album "Rise" was released in 2019.

The Hollywood Vampires – Heroes (Jimmy Kimmel Live)

He less often acts in films. He playes colonel Joll in Italian film "Waiting for the Barbarians" along with Robert Pattinson. In 2021 we will see him as young Grindelwald in the 3rd part of "Fantastic Beasts".