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"Drinking, Drugs and 'Hillbilly Rage': Johnny Depp's Own Words About His Troubled Past", People, (2016)

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"Drinking, Drugs and 'Hillbilly Rage': Johnny Depp's Own Words About His Troubled Past", People, (2016)

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This article examines Depp's struggles with substance abuse. As he admits, he lived a very unhealthy lifestyle, and he believes that his addiction to drugs and alcohol is the result of his chaotic and damaged upbringing. As a result, he embeds a negative image of himself as an irate, drug-addicted person in the public mind.

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In recent court documents Amber Heard filed a week after obtaining a restraining order against Johnny Depp for alleged domestic violence, the actress claims her estranged husband is "an alcoholic and drug addict" - vices he said in recent years were long in the past.

"Depp had relapsed into a cycle of substance abuse," Heard alleged in recent court documents obtained by PEOPLE in her defamation suit against comedian Doug Stanhope, who published an article in TheWrap.com accusing Heard of "blackmail" and other criminal behavior against her husband. "His drug and alcohol abuse has increased dramatically in recent years, as has his violent behavior."

Depp has been candid about his struggles with substance abuse, but mostly attributed the bad behavior to his early days in Hollywood - long before becoming a father to Lily-Rose, 17, and Jack, 14.

"I'm a dumb-a-, and I poisoned myself for years," Depp told Rolling Stone in 2008 of past experiences with alcohol, noting of then-partner Vanessa Paradis, "Now I understand things better."

Depp cited the early 1990s as a "darker period" in his life during a 2005 interview with the magazine, explaining that while he wasn't "completely unhappy," he still "couldn't get a grasp on it."

That "darker period" fell around the time Depp was in a volatile relationship with model Kate Moss. During one shouting match, Depp was arrested for criminal mischief at New York's Mark Hotel for trashing his room. Police found Depp "in a state of possible intoxication," but a criminal court judge dismissed the charge against him on the condition that he stay out of trouble for six months. Depp paid the Mark $9,767.12 - more than $2,000 for damages, plus the bill for the remainder of his reservation.

"I spent years poisoning myself," he told Rolling Stone in 2005. "I was very, very good at it. But finally I was faced with a critical decision: Do I want to continue to be a dumb-a- or do I want to not be a dumb-a-? It was best to stop. Now I look back and say, 'Why? Why did I do that?' "

Depp, now 52, specifically noted that he drank heavily not to have fun or for recreational purposes, explaining, "I never had that. It was never about recreation. Not. Ever. That was never my motivation."

He revealed that he began smoking at age 12, a vice closely followed by drugs and alcohol.

"I never wanted to be the guy people looked at," Depp told The Boston Globe in 2008. "I felt I could only be myself when I was alone, that I turned into some kind of novelty. The only way I could get through that time was to drink."

In 2004, Depp told Playboy that although he abused alcohol, "I was never a cokehead or anything like that," according to The Chicago Tribune. "I always despised that drug. I thought it was a waste of time, pointless. But I was poisoning myself with alcohol and medicating myself. I was trying not to feel things, and that's ridiculous."

Seven years earlier, Depp also opened up about past issues with alcohol in a 1997 interview with Vanity Fair.

"Oh, man, yeah. Johnny was unhappy then ... It was a pretty dark time for me. I don't know what was going on. Well, I was poisoning myself beyond belief," he said, then pointed to his soda. "I'd eat that glass, man. There was a lot of liquor. A lot of liquor. I was pretty unhealthy."

In the same interview, he was also coy when asked if he used heroin during that "dark time."

"Oh, let's not talk about that ... It was a very sad time for me. I've never seen Gilbert Grape, actually. I can't watch it."

In addition to family influence, Depp has said challenging roles have helped him back from the brink. 1994's Ed Wood, Depp told ABC News, "was the rocket ship that took me away from that horrible, black, bleak time."

Depp has also acknowledged he has a temper. He talked about drawing on what Depp called his "old hillbilly rage" to portray gangster Whitey Bulger in an interview with last year

Related Video: Johnny Depp Visits Dracula's Castle

"That's not necessarily that far from the surface at times," Depp said.

Heard alleges that she's been a victim of this violent streak, claiming in court documents that "Depp has hit and kicked Heard on numerous occasions, has thrown objects at her, at one point nearly suffocated her to the point where she feared for her life."

Friends of Depp told PEOPLE that the pair's four-year romance was "nonstop drama," and that they are simply "just not good together."

Yet many close to the Black Mass star are sticking by his side, including Paradis, who reportedly wrote a letter explaining that he was never abusive to her.

"This looks nothing like the man I lived with for 14 wonderful years."

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Johnny Depp's History with Alcohol, Drugs, 'Hillbilly Rage' in His Own Words

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In recent court documents Amber Heard filed a week after obtaining a restraining order against Johnny Depp for alleged domestic violence, the actress claims her estranged husband is "an alcoholic and drug addict" - vices he said in recent years were long in the past.

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Reports on the "unrecognisable" Johnny Depp, (2022)

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Reports on the "unrecognisable" Johnny Depp, (2022)

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After the deformation trial was concluded in April, Depp has received almost no media attention. Despite this, publicists have captured Johnny with a completely different look; his hair is flowing to his shoulders with no facial hair. A dramatic change for an actor whose signature look was always his trademark. As a result, Depp is portrayed as a reworked character, yet he still retains his cheerful, comical traits.

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Clean-shaven Johnny Depp looks unrecognisable without his trademark goatee and man bun as he greets fans during US tour with friend Jeff Beck

Johnny Depp looked unrecognisable as he ditched his trademark goatee and man bun on Saturday greeted fans in New York while clean-shaven and his hair worn loose and wavy.

The Pirates Of The Caribbean actor, 59, is on tour with rocker friend Jeff Beck, and the pair were met with a great reception outside the Capital Theatre in NYC.

He sported his typical rock star look, wearing a pair of blue reflective sunglasses and a matching blue oversized baker boy hat.

Donning a layered look, Johnny wore a white shirt under a black cardigan, casual black jacket and black jeans on Saturday afternoon.

The black jacket was a quirky choice from Johnny, with cream detailing on the collar panels, sleeves and front, adding some design into the monochromatic look.

He also added a black and white thin neck tie, adding flair to his stylish ensemble.

Later in the evening Depp smiled as he jammed with Beck, who has been inducted twice into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Over his storied career, Beck has won eight Grammy awards, been nominated into the top 100 guitarists of all time by Rolling Stone and played an expansive list of hits across many different genres.

Rocker Beck, who is older than Depp at 78, looked spry as he wore a short-sleeved white shirt under a black and white vest.

Depp and Beck met in 2016 and became good friends, bonding over their shared love of music and cars.

They eventually started playing music together in 2019, and have toured in Europe ahead of their first US tour.

The embattled 59-year-old has embarked on the music tour, playing multiple concerts and releasing new music after his high-profile legal battle against ex-wife, Amber Heard.

Johnny's happy appearances like that in New York on Saturday has been commonplace since his win at Fairfax County Circuit Court in Virginia earlier this year.

Heard had claimed in a 2018 op-ed for the Washington Post that she was a domestic abuse survivor. She's now been ordered to pay Depp $10 million in compensation and $5 million in punitive damages.

A court ruled that Heard had defamed him in the article, but the jury also awarded Heard $2 million in her countersuit against Depp.

Amber has recently been spotted in Mallorca, with it emerging that she's trying to 'escape the spotlight by living under a pseudonym in a luxury villa'.

According to Spanish press reports, the 36-year-old actress is said to be renting the multi-million-euro mansion from the family of Maria Antònia Munar, a local politician who was sentenced to 14 years in prison for corruption in 2013 but released early in 2020.

The property, built in 2020, is in the historic centre of the small rural town of Costix, which is located in the centre of the Spanish island.

One local shopkeeper, Miguel, told El Mundo that his wife 'recognised her right away', but no one said anything because people in Costix, a town of just 1,270 inhabitants, 'don't bother anyone' and just 'live and let live'.

The grocer added: 'She is like anyone else, she buys fruit and vegetables, she speaks Spanish with a Mexican accent and she's very polite. She always says good morning to us.'

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Johnny Depp looks unrecognisable without his goatee and man bun

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Johnny Depp looked unrecognisable as he ditched his trademark goatee and man bun on Saturday greeted fans in New York while clean-shaven and his hair worn loose and wavy. The Pirates Of The Caribbean actor, 59, is on tour with rocker friend Jeff Beck, and the pair were met with a great reception outside the Capital Theatre in NYC.

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The Defamation suit began in Virginia on April 11, 2022. Depp is suing Heard for a statement she released which indirectly refers to Depp as abusive. Despite Heard's false accusations, the jury sees through Depp's drug and alcohol past, and Depp leaves the trial with "my life back". The court claimed that Heard, who made the defamatory statement, did so with malice.

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Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation trial: Summary and timeline

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Although their marriage lasted a matter of months, Depp and Heard’s relationship spanned more than a decade.

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"Amber Heard admits 'hitting' ex Johnny Depp in audio confession", Daily Mail, (2020)

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"Amber Heard admits 'hitting' ex Johnny Depp in audio confession", Daily Mail, (2020)

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This article exclaims that Heard was instead the perpetrator in the relationship. Daily Mail exclusive audio recording includes Heard admitting to hitting Depp and throwing objects, accusing her of being irrational and violent. Heard hurled a vodka bottle at Depp, ripping off the tip of his finger as a result. This incident paints Depp as the victim.

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Amber Heard admits to 'hitting' Johnny Depp in an explosive audio confession from 2015, obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com

The estranged couple tried to talk through their marriage problems and Heard opens up about her violent tantrums in a series of taped conversations

'Baby, I told you this once. I'm scared to death we are a f**king crime scene right now,' Depp told his wife

She said: 'I f**king was hitting you... I don't know what the motion of my hand was, but you're fine, I did not hurt you, I did not punch you, I was hitting you'

The 33-year-old taunts Depp for fleeing the late night dust-up, telling him: 'You are such a baby. Grow the f**k up'

There's a possible veiled reference to an incident in Australia where Depp suffered a severed finger one month into their marriage

The troubling episode is one of numerous clashes the couple argue over during the informal two-hour 'therapy' session recorded consensually on Heard's phone

As part of Depp's $50m defamation case against Heard, he previously included images of his own bruised and battered face following Heard's alleged attacks

Heard also accused Depp of attacking her, providing photos of bruises, scars, clumps of hair torn from her head and pictures of smashed furniture

Amber Heard admits to 'hitting' ex-husband Johnny Depp and pelting him with pots, pans and vases in an explosive audio confession obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com.

The Aquaman actress, 33, opens up about her violent tantrums in a series of taped conversations the estranged couple made in 2015 as they tried to talk through their marriage problems.

'I'm sorry that I didn't, uh, uh, hit you across the face in a proper slap, but I was hitting you, it was not punching you. Babe, you're not punched,' Heard tells Depp, attempting to downplay her outburst the previous evening.

'I don't know what the motion of my actual hand was, but you're fine, I did not hurt you, I did not punch you, I was hitting you.'

Heard - an ambassador for women's rights and outspoken domestic violence advocate - taunts Depp for fleeing the late night dust-up, telling him: 'You are such a baby. Grow the f**k up Johnny.'

She warns the 56-year-old Oscar nominee: 'You poke an animal enough, it is eventually, it doesn't matter how friendly it is, it's not cool.'

The troubling episode is one of numerous clashes the couple argue over during the informal two-hour 'therapy' session recorded consensually on Heard's cell phone and supplied to DailyMail.com by a well-placed source.

It's understood there are several more tapes out there, each promising further bombshells as the former lovers trade blood-curdling allegations of domestic violence in a civil defamation case brought last year by Depp.

'I left last night. Honestly, I swear to you because I just couldn't take the idea of more physicality, more physical abuse on each other,' an exasperated Depp pleads in the recording.

'Because had we continued it, it would have gotten f**king bad. And baby, I told you this once. I'm scared to death we are a f**king crime scene right now.'

But Heard - who filed for divorce in May 2016 accusing Depp of beating her during their toxic 18-month marriage - warns: 'I can't promise you I won't get physical again. God I f**king sometimes get so mad I lose it.'

Depp filed his $50 million defamation suit in Virginia after Heard penned an op-ed for the Washington Post detailing her experiences as an alleged domestic violence victim.

Baby, I told you this once. I'm scared to death we are a f**king crime scene right now.

Johnny Depp to Amber Heard

'I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture's wrath for women who speak out,' she wrote in the December 2018 article, which didn't mention the Pirates of the Caribbean actor by name.

Depp claimed, nonetheless, that it implicated him as the abuser, damaging his reputation and causing him to lose his prized role of Captain Jack Sparrow.

His suit says he's the victim of an 'elaborate hoax' instigated by Heard to generate positive publicity and advance her career.

'Ms. Heard is not a victim of domestic abuse; she is a perpetrator,' it claims.

'She hit, punched and kicked me. She also repeatedly and frequently threw objects into my body and head, including heavy bottles, soda cans, burning candles, television remote controls and paint thinner cans, which severely injured me.'

Heard responded with a lurid 300-page filing of her own, cataloging the 'horrific' abuse she claims to have suffered at Depp's hands, describing him as 'the monster' and recalling many of the allegations she made during their divorce.

The filing included photos of bruises and scars, clumps of hair apparently torn from Heard's head and pictures of smashed up furniture to illustrate the violence she was allegedly subjected to after hooking up with Depp, her co-star in The Rum Diary, back in 2011.

Timeline of Amber Heard and Johnny Depp's relationship

February 3, 2015

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard marry in a private civil ceremony at their LA home, four years after they met as co-stars on the set of The Rum Diaries. The couple celebrate with a lavish reception on an idyllic private island in the Bahamas that Depp bought in 2004 for $3.6 million.

April 21, 2015

Heard breaches Australia's biosecurity laws after she and Depp fail to declare their two Yorkshire terriers when they arrive Down Under on a private jet for the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Charges of illegally importing animals are dropped but Heard admits falsifying quarantine documents and is placed on a $1,000 one month good behavior bond.

Heard files for divorce after 15 months of marriage, citing irreconcilable differences. Four days later a judge issues a temporary restraining order against Depp over domestic violence allegations. Pictures of Heard's alleged injuries hit the tabloids but the LAPD finds no evidence of a crime.

August 16, 2016

Heard retracts her allegations as she and Depp reach a $7 million divorce settlement. Their marriage was 'intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love,' the former actors say in a statement. 'There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm'.

December 18, 2018

The Washington Post publishes an op-ed by Heard, an ambassador for women's rights at for the American Civil Liberties Union, urging support for women who suffer domestic violence. 'Two years ago, I became a public figure representing domestic abuse, and I felt the full force of our culture's wrath for women who speak out,' Heard writes.

March 1, 2019

Despite not being named in the article, Depp files a $50 million defamation suit in Fairfax Circuit Court, Virginia saying it insinuated he was an abuser and got him fired from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Depp dismisses Heard's allegations as a 'hoax' and claims he was actually the victim of her violence.

April 10, 2019

Heard files a motion to dismiss the complaint, cataloging more than a dozen instances of abuse between 2012, when she moved in with Depp, and the May 2016 bust up that preceded their divorce. She refers to him as 'the monster' in the 300-plus page filing.

Depp hits back against the motion to dismiss claiming Heard painted bruises on her face, scrubbed metadata and fabricated evidence against him. He denies ever abusing any woman and says of her allegations: 'I will continue to deny them for the rest of my life.'

The pair married in February 2015 but split less than two years later when Heard had a restraining order slapped on Depp over claims he threw a cellphone in her face at their downtown Los Angeles loft.

Heard claimed police had evidence of the May 27, 2016 attack but two LAPD officers later said in a deposition that they found nothing to suggest a crime took place.

The estranged couple eventually agreed to a $7 million divorce settlement in August 2016 - which Heard says she donated to charity - but their back-and-forth feud was only getting started.

DailyMail.com's exclusive tape recording was made around a year earlier when the caustic marriage was rapidly crumbling.

Their heart-to-heart quickly descends into bickering as Heard accuses Depp of taking her for granted, behaving like a 'vacation husband' and 'splitting' every time they have an argument.

Depp complains he's forced to leave when she becomes 'manic and angry', telling Heard: 'I'm not going be in a physical f**king altercation with you... you f**king hit me last night.'

He goes on to add: 'I'm not the one who throws pots and whatever the f**k else at me.'

Heard responds: 'That's different. That's different. One does not negate the other. That's irrelevant, that's a complete non sequitur.

'Just because I've thrown pots and pans does not mean you cannot come and knock on my door. '

When Depp cuts in to suggest he's also had vases hurled at him, she replies: 'Just because there are vases does not mean that you come and knock on the door.'

'Really, I should just let you throw?' Depp replies, tailing off as they carry on sniping.

'The only time I ever threw anything at you was when you f**king threw the cans at me in Australia,' he admits.

Heard asks: 'Why are you trying to justify who throws things based on whether or not you come knocking on the door? I don't get why one informs the other.'

Depp says, raising his voice: 'Because that is a f**king irrational and violent f**king maneuver. So a man would want to get out of that area so that he doesn't get so f**king angry that he actually does pop the f**king wife.'

The exchange doesn't point to any specific event but it has a possible reference to the contentious and bloody incident in which Depp suffered a severed finger one month into their marriage in Australia.

He claimed his then-wife 'went berserk' when he asked her to sign a prenup and hurled a Vodka bottle at him which shattered on a marble counter-top, ripping off the tip of his finger.

Heard maintained, however, that Depp cut the digit off himself during an argument while he was 'drunk and high on ecstasy.'

Their taped conversation moves on to dissect the previous evening's bust up, with Depp accusing Heard of getting 'f**king violent' and punching him in the jaw.

'You hit back. So don't act like you don't f**king participate,' she tells Depp, who replies: 'I pushed you'.

He says he texted his building manager Travis to come to their home because he was afraid the fight would escalate.

'I said to you, ''hey tell Travis what just happened'... And that you that you punched me in the f**king thing... In the face''. And you said, ''no I f**king didn't. What the f**k are you talking about?''' And I watched you lie,' he says.

Heard replies: 'I didn't punch you. I didn't punch you, by the way. . . I'm sorry that I didn't, uh, uh, hit you across the face in a proper slap, but I was hitting you, it was not punching you. Babe, you're not punched. '

Depp cuts in to protest: 'Don't tell me what it feels like to be punched.'

Heard sarcastically replies: 'I know, you've been in a lot of fights, been around a long time. I know, I know. Yeah.'

Getting audibly upset, Depp fires back: 'No! When you have a f**king closed fist.'

Heard responds: 'You didn't get punched. You got hit. I'm sorry I hit you like this. But I did not punch you. I did not f**king deck you.

'I f**king was hitting you... I don't know what the motion of my actual hand was, but you're fine, I did not hurt you, I did not punch you, I was hitting you.'

As the argument rumbles on, Heard questions whether Depp's 'edgy' mood is prompted by his use of Adderall.

She also attacks his 'chronic' moods swings from 'Up, down, like really aggressive, then really cool and calm.'

Dad-of-two Depp lists at least three 'physical fights' they have had in the previous month and a half to two months.

'If things get physical, we have to separate. We have to be apart from one another,' he pleads.

'Whether it's for f**king an hour or 10 hours or f**king a day. We must, there can be no physical violence towards each other.

'All I'm saying is we need to take whatever time we need. You need, I need, to kind of let things settle for a minute.

'So that we don't f**king kill each other or f**king worse, you know, f**king really kill each other or f**king break up or whatever.'

Both Heard and Depp concede their wild marriage fails to offer security or a 'safe environment' for either star despite rare moments that are 'wonderful' and 'beautiful'.

Using language similar to her later court submissions, Heard also questions whether the 'monster' with Depp is gone.

'What are we going to do different in the moment when you're mad, and you go f**k it and you decide all bets are off?' she asks Depp.

He replies: 'Look what I did in Australia, look what I accomplished. I put the f**ker away. I told myself every f**king day, no, he's gone. No he's f**king, put him away.'

The tape eventually leads to a moment of reconciliation, with Depp urging Heard: 'Let's do our best to fix what's broken within the machine. The machine that is us.

'I love you and I want you to be my wife. And I want to be your husband. And I want to be a good husband.'

Heard responds, tenderly: 'I love you. I know so we can be so good.'

She filed for divorce months later.

Heard has thus far failed to have Depp's defamation case thrown out or moved from Virginia, where the Post is based, to California.

However she did succeed in having it pushed back from last December to August of this year.

'Amber Heard recorded multiple conversations between her and Johnny Depp,' Depp's attorney Adam Waldman told DailyMail.com in a statement.

'These tapes containing Amber Heard's chilling confessions of violence further expose and destroy her abuse hoax.'

A spokeswoman for Heard accused Depp of 'vindictively' leaking the tape and trying to victim-blame their client.

'Anyone familiar with the dynamics of domestic abuse would immediately recognize what is really going on here. Throughout the extended tape recording that Johnny Depp vindictively turned over to the press, Ms Heard repeatedly attempts to placate Mr Depp, ignore his accusations, and force him to acknowledge what was really happening in their relationship,' the spokeswoman said.

'For Mr Depp, who lived and lives in an echo chamber of his own making, to try to twist this private conversation to suggest either that he didn't abuse Ms Heard or that she somehow 'deserved it' is nothing more than the latest misogynistic effort at victim-blaming.'

What Amber Heard told Johnny Depp during 'informal' two-hour therapy session day after actress 'hit' Pirates of the Caribbean star

Johnny Depp: I'm not going be in a physical f**king altercation with you.

Amber Heard: Don't. Then don't.

JD: You f**king hit me last night. You f**king...

AH: What about all the other times you split? C'mon you cannot act like that's about that.

JD: Well on a plane, I can't split.

AH: No, and you hit back. So don't act like you don't f**king participate.

JD: I pushed you.

AH: I'm not going to get into the details of that fight. You and I both know that you split when there is no physical violence involved and that you do it... like at the very beginning of fights these days. And if you split and you go into a different room and you don't actually leave that house, it does nothing but perpetuate the fight and you don't actually do it respectfully.

JD: You were f**king screaming at me.

AH: I'm not going to validate my actions last night. I feel very bad about what I did.

JD: No, I'm talking about Toronto.

AH: I did not start screaming until you had f**king said all the s**t - you poke an animal enough, it is eventually, it doesn't matter how friendly it is, it's not cool.

JD: That's not true. It's the same for me, it's the same for me.

AH: I stayed cool for so long and you kicked and kicked and kicked.

JD: I need the same things but when you start flipping out, and I can't get a word in, and it's manic and angry, what the f**k Amber?

AH: I get angry. I'm human. This is the kind of situation when one gets angry.

JD: Just try. Let's both try. If there's anger, if there's something really, really poking us in the a** let's try not to f**king fight. Try to address it without jumping down each other's throats because all that's gonna do is build a mountain of f**king, uh, resentment, some species of f**king hatred.

AH: You take me for granted.

JD: It's not true. It's not true. I'm not the one who throws pots and whatever the f**king else at me.

AH: That's different. That's different. One does not negate the other. That's irrelevant. That's a complete non sequitur. Just because I've thrown pots and pans does not mean you cannot come and knock on my door.

JD: Vases and f**king...

AH: Just because there are vases does not mean that you come and knock on the door.

JD: Really, I should just let you throw?

AH: No, I'm not saying that. You're saying that. You're putting words in my mouth.

JD: The only time I ever threw anything at you was when you f**king threw the cans at me in Australia.

AH: Why are you trying to justify who throws things based on whether or not you come knocking on the door? I don't get why one informs the other.

JD: Because that is a f**king irrational and violent f**king maneuver. So a man would want to get out of that area so that he doesn't get so f**king angry that he actually does pop the f**king wife.

JD: You're just afraid that the truth will come out.

AH: What truth?

JD: That you lied. No, I said to you, tell Travis what you just did, did you punch me in the f**king jaw.

AH: What are you f**king talking about? I didn't f**king even have a f**king thing to lie about. What are you f**king talking to? Every f**king fight. There's a new thing that you've convinced yourself there's a lie.

JD: No, I said to you, Amber, tell Travis what you just did. Did you just f**king did you punch me in the f**king jaw? Did you f**king kick? Did you? Did you? And you wouldn't say a f**king, you said I don't know what you're talking about. I never f**king, it never f**king happened.

AH: I see the lie. I see the lie. You should really run with this. In fact maybe you and Travis can like, go and like do a tell about a, you know an investigative study.

JD: Listen, I was not high. You lied your a** off.

AH: You're f**king full of s**t.

JD: You lied your a** off.

AH: What conversation did I have with Travis, big, big investigative study you've done. I'm not sitting here fighting with you about the fight that we had last night.

JD: No I was in a situation with you. After you physically f**king got violent with me, I texted Travis, I said come up here, because I didn't want anything to happen.

AH: I know, come and save me.

JD: Come and what, save me?

AH: No go ahead, continue, Travis to the rescue.

JD: No, that was the last one. You can go, ah, you can go. That was the last insult.

AH: Oh yeah, you called me a liar, and yet, yet...

JD: I watched you lie.

AH: You called me a liar.

JD: I watched you lie.

AH: You're full of s**t. You still haven't told me what lie it is.

JD: We'll talk to Travis..

AH: You do this every single f**king time.

JD: We'll talk to Travis...

AH: I'm not f**king talking to nobody. F**k that. You go f**king j**k, go j**k him off. I don't care. I really could care less. It's you every single f**king time, you latch onto some sort of thing. I already told you. I don't know what you're f**king talking about. You don't even know what you're talking about. You still haven't even told me what it is, but run with it. You run with it.

JD: I have told you what it is.

AH: No you haven't.

JD: I said to Travis, I said, no, I said to you, hey tell Travis what just happened.

AH: Oh, you told me to do it. You told me to. You said 'go do that'

JD: I said tell no, tell him what just happened.

AH: And I lied!

JD: And that you that you punched me in the f**king thing.

AH: You're right! You figured it all out!

JD: In the face. And you said, no I f**king didn't. What the f**k are you talking about?' And I watched you lie.

AH: I didn't punch you. I didn't punch you, by the way.

JD: You punched me.

AH: I'm sorry that I didn't, uh, uh, hit you across the face in a proper slap, but I was hitting you, it was not punching you. Babe, you're not punched.

JD: Don't tell me what it feels like to be punched!

AH: I know, you've been in a lot of fights, been around a long time. I know, I know. Yeah.

JD: No! When you have a f**king closed fist.

AH: You didn't get punched. You got hit. I'm sorry I hit you like this. But I did not punch you. I did not f**king deck you. I f**king was hitting you.

JD: You can't deck me.

AH: I don't know what the motion of my actual hand was, but you're fine, I did not hurt you, I did not punch you, I was hitting you.

JD: How are your toes?

AH: What am I supposed to do, do this?

JD: How are your toes?

AH: I'm not sitting here b***hing about it am I, you are.

JD: Oh, your poor toes.

AH: That's the difference between me and you, you're a f**king baby.

JD: Because you start physical fights?

AH: You are such a baby! Grow the f**k up Johnny!

JD: Because you start physical fights?

AH: I did start a physical fight.

JD: Yeah, you did. So I had to get the f**k out of there.

AH: Yes, you did, so you did the right thing. The big thing, the, you know what? You are admirable. Every single time, what, what's your excuse, when there's not a physical fight, what's your excuse then? You're still being admirable, right, by running away? And you can sit here and call me names, but you get called a name and what do you do - 'that's the last insult!' You're a baby. You're a hypocrite. You don't do anything that you actually do. You expect from people what you can't give them. If they do something a taste of it to you, you f**king lose it. But yet you dish it out.

JD: I left last night. Honestly, I swear to you because I just couldn't take the idea of more physicality, more physical abuse on each other because I had, we continued it. It would have gotten f**king bad. And baby, I told you this once. I'm scared to death we are a f**king crime scene right now. If we don't get our s**t together by getting our s**t together, that might mean f**king a, we do this and we make it. That might mean Goddamn. You know, you say I've tried and done to Lou, but we've got to get our s**t together as individuals and as a couple. Because I love you and I do not want to leave you. I do not want to divorce, I do not want you out of my life. I just want peace.

JD: If things get physical, we have to separate. We have to be apart from one another. Whether it's for f**king an hour or 10 hours or f**king a day. We must, there can be no physical violence towards each other.

AH: I agree about the physical violence, but separating for a day, taking a night off from our marriage?

JD: All I'm saying is we need to take whatever time we need you. You need, I need, to kind of let things settle for a minute. So that we don't f**king kill each other or f**king worse, you know, f**king really kill each other or f**king break up or whatever.

JD: If the fight escalates to the point of where it's just insulting for both of us, uh, or if it gets to that physical f**king s**t, the violence, that's when we just said, look, let's go to our corners, man, you hang wherever you want, baby. I'm going in the office and I'm just gonna f**king sit there and try and de-jellify my f**king brain.

AH: I can't promise that it will all be perfect. I can't promise you I won't get physical again. God I f**king sometimes I get so mad I lose it. I can f**king promise you I will do everything to change. I promise you. I'm not going to throw around divorce I not say divorce unless I really mean it.

JD: I love you and I want you to be my wife. And I want to be your husband. And I wanna be a good husband. If I haven't been, I'll do everything I can to find out how to be a good husband.

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Amber Heard admits 'hitting' ex Johnny Depp in audio confession

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The couple tried to talk through their problems and Amber Heard opened up about her violent tantrums in a series of taped conversations from 2015, admitting to 'hitting' Johnny Depp.

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There are many articles that discuss the repercussions of Depp losing his libel case. Depp was asked to leave the role of Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts, by Warner Bros request. This presents Depp as untrustworthy in the acting role

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Johnny Depp is set to exit the Fantastic Beasts franchise after being asked to resign by Warner Bros.

The actor announced the decision in a statement on Instagram, one that comes just days after he lost his libel case against the Sun over claims he abused his ex-wife Amber Heard.

"I wish to let you know that I have been asked to resign by Warner Bros from my role as Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts and I have respected and agreed to that request," Depp wrote.

He then followed the news with an insistence of his innocence and a promise to continue his legal battle to prove it. "The surreal judgment of the court in the UK will not change my fight to tell the truth and I confirm that I plan to appeal," he wrote. "My resolve remains strong and I intend to prove that the allegations against me are false. My life and career will not be defined by this moment in time."

The news was also confirmed by Warner Bros in a statement which details that his role of the villainous Grindelwald will be recast.

Earlier this week, Depp lost his libel case against the Sun after he was called a "wife-beater" following stories of alleged abuse against Heard. "I have found that the great majority of alleged assaults of Ms Heard by Mr Depp have been proved to the civil standard," the judge said.

Principal photography on the untitled third Fantastic Beasts movie was set to begin in March but was postponed after the start of the pandemic. It commenced in September with safety precautions and is unclear whether Depp filmed any scenes alongside stars Jude Law and Eddie Redmayne.

The second film, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, was seen as a major box office disappointment in 2018 after making $564m worldwide, the lowest total of any film within the Harry Potter universe. Depp's reprise of his role in the sequel led to a backlash at the time but was defended by author JK Rowling. "Based on our understanding of the circumstances, the film-makers and I are not only comfortable sticking with our original casting, but genuinely happy to have Johnny playing a major character in the movies," Rowling said.

The actor's most recent performance, as war photographer W Eugene Smith in drama Minamata, premiered this year at the Berlin film festival to middling reviews. Depp had also been rumoured to return to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise in Margot Robbie's upcoming reboot yet he currently has no future acting credits confirmed.

* In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women's Aid. In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org.

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Johnny Depp says he has been asked to resign from Fantastic Beasts franchise

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Johnny Depp is set to exit the Fantastic Beasts franchise after being asked to resign by Warner Bros. The actor announced the decision in a statement on Instagram, one that comes just days after he lost his libel case against the Sun over claims he abused his ex-wife Amber Heard.

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This headline of the Sun newspaper does great damage to his star image, this follows Heard's article about support for domestic violence victims. It paints Depp as the offender, beastly and merciless.

Although Depp sued the tabloid for alleged libel, and he eventually lost the defamation case. The judge who ruled the case claimed that the alleged assaults have been "proved to the civil standard", so they did not wrong spreading awareness of the maltreatment. This further bad publicity chipped away at his star reputation.

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"Johnny Depp, Amber Heard's Divorce Settled, Domestic Violence Case Dismissed", Variety, (2016)

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"Johnny Depp, Amber Heard's Divorce Settled, Domestic Violence Case Dismissed", Variety, (2016)

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As soon as the divorce was finalised, Amber Heard denied the allegations of physical abuse by her estranged husband. As a result, both members of the party issued a joint statement terminating that the relationship was not intended to be harmful physically or emotionally. In spite of the cessation of charges and assumptions, he was still surrounded by images of his brutality on the Internet.

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Amber Heard and Johnny Depp have settled their divorce case, Variety has confirmed.

Heard has thereby dismissed allegations that her estranged husband physically abused her and has retracted her request for a restraining order, which she filed on April 27 in Los Angeles Superior Court. She dismissed the case with prejudice, TMZ first reported, which means she cannot re-file it.

"We are very pleased that this matter has been settled and Amber has been vindicated in the Court of Public Opinion," Heard's legal team, Samantha F. Spector and Joseph P. Koenig, said in a statement obtained by Variety. "The case was incredibly challenging and demanding on everyone involved, but mostly on Amber, who showed great grace and strength under fire. It was an honor to represent her."

Spector later retracted the statement, saying "my assertion that Amber Heard has been vindicated in the court of public opinion is not true. We regret the error and apologize to Johnny Depp."

Heard has accused Depp of assaulting her on multiple occasions, citing in her sworn declaration on April 27 a May 21 altercation in their downtown L.A. home, when Depp allegedly threw a cellphone at her, hitting her cheek and eye. Police, however, said they found no evidence of an assault.

Heard was granted a 100-day restraining order after alleging a disturbing history of extreme anger, violent outbursts, and substance abuse by the 53-year-old actor. The filing came less than a week after "The Danish Girl" actress filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences, following 15 months of marriage.

A hearing on the divorce case was set to begin on Wednesday.

"Our relationship was intensely passionate and at times volatile, but always bound by love," Depp and Heard said in a joint statement.

"Neither party has lied nor made false accusations for financial gain," the statement continues. "There was never any intent of physical or emotional harm. Amber wishes the best for Johnny in the future. Amber will be donating financial proceeds from the divorce to a charity. There will be no further public statements about this matter."

Since April, Heard has continued to release new details of alleged abuse by Depp, which she called part of a "cycle of substance abuse and violence." The fights in question date around April 22, on May 21, in March of 2015, and in December of 2015.

"I live in fear that Johnny will return to (our house) unannounced to terrorize me, physically, and emotionally," Heard said in papers filed during her court appearance in April.

She detailed Depp's history of drug and alcohol abuse, saying she feared for her safety and claiming the "Edward Scissorhands" star has a short fuse, an "exceptionally scary" temper, and paranoia.

"I am extremely afraid of Johnny and for my safety," the actress said in her declaration for a restraining order. "Depending on his interaction with alcohol and drugs. Johnny has a long-held and widely-acknowledged public and private history of drug and alcohol abuse."

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Johnny Depp, Amber Heard's Divorce Settled, Domestic Violence Case Dismissed

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Amber Heard and Johnny Depp have settled their divorce case, Variety has confirmed. Heard has thereby dismissed allegations that her estranged husband physically abused her and has retracted her request for a restraining order, which she filed on April 27 in Los Angeles Superior Court.

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People Magazine Front Cover, Issue June 13, 2016 (2016)

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People Magazine Front Cover, Issue June 13, 2016 (2016)

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In the wake of Heard and Depp's divorce, similar sources like this flooded the internet. News sources made Depp to be the villain in their marriage, followed by accusations claiming Johnny to be domestically abusing his ex-wife.

People chose to believe Depp's story as a perpetrator after a restraining order was issued against him. His reputation as a well-balanced family man was called into question.

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Depp's Relationship with Amber Heard (2011)

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Depp's Relationship with Amber Heard (2011)

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The pair met on the set of Rum Diary in 2009 and allegedly started dating in 2012. They tied the knot in 2015.

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Interview on the Ophrah Winfrey Show (2004)

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Interview on the Ophrah Winfrey Show (2004)

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Even though Johnny Depp has a reputation for being unstable in his love life, he constantly portrays his love for his kids. Having a family has changed his perspective on being a celebrity. He does not seem bothered by paparazzi or the glare of cameras. He is too busy considering his children's well-being to think about it. He is portrayed as a thoughtful and loving father who protects and nurtures his children.

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Johnny Depp: "Vanessa and My Kids Gave Me Life" | The Oprah Winfrey Show | Oprah Winfrey Network

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Depp's Relationship with co-star Winona Ryder (1990)

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Depp's Relationship with co-star Winona Ryder (1990)

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Ryder and Depp's highly publicised relationship lasted four years, from 1989 to 1993. Edward Scissorhands created a fanbase around this likeable couple.

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This news article offers a quick glance at Depp's past dating history. He has suffered from many failed relationships and heartbreak. Many of Hollywood's most talented stars have dated him.

He went on to have children with Vanessa Paradis, who welcomed to children Lily-Rose and Jack. Accordingly, Depp can be seen as an unstable individual who finds it difficult to settle down, yet someone who also constantly looks for romantic relationships.

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Relationships fade, but "wino forever!" Before his rocky marriage and separation with Amber Heard made headlines, Johnny Depp had a slew of high-profile relationships with famous women, including Winona Ryder and Jennifer Grey. During his decades in the spotlight, he's romanced many of Hollywood's brightest stars.

Depp's first marriage was to makeup artist Lori Anne Allison. The pair tied the knot in 1983 and, although their marriage only lasted two years, it led to the Pirates of the Caribbean actor's big break in Hollywood. As it so happened, Allison's friendship with Nicolas Cage helped him land his first major acting gig in the 1984 horror classic A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Following the couple's 1985 divorce, the Sweeney Todd star met Twin Peaks alum Sherilyn Fenn. Though they were reportedly engaged for a time, the pair split after three-and-a-half years together.

Another broken engagement came soon after, when Depp and '80s film icon Jennifer Grey called off their relationship shortly after the actor proposed.

And then there was Winona Ryder, of course! After costarring in 1990's Edward Scissorhands, Depp proposed to the Stranger Things star. Though the pair broke up before they made it down the aisle, part of their iconic relationship lives in infamy: a tattoo on Depp's arm which once said "Winona forever" and now cheekily reads "wino forever."

After a few more failed relationships, Depp found his romantic footing with Vanessa Paradis, who he stayed with for 14 years. During their relationship, the pair welcomed two children: Lily-Rose in 1999 and Jack in 2002.

One year after their 2012 breakup, he opened up to Rolling Stone about the split.

"It wasn't easy on [Paradis]. It wasn't easy on me. It wasn't easy on the kids," he said in the June 2013 interview. "It doesn't stop the fact that you care for that person, and they're the mother of your kids, and you'll always know each other, and you're always gonna be in each other's lives because of those kids. You might as well make the best of it."

Here's a look back at the A-lister actor's most famous - and infamous - relationships.

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Johnny Depp's Romantic History: Winona Ryder, Kate Moss and More

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Relationships fade, but "wino forever!" Before his rocky marriage and separation with Amber Heard made headlines, Johnny Depp had a slew of high-profile relationships with famous women, including Winona Ryder and Jennifer Grey . During his decades in the spotlight, he's romanced many of Hollywood's brightest stars.

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A new success came for Depp in 2015 when he signed on to be the face of Dior's Sauvage fragrance. It exemplifies many of Depp's qualities - his swaggering confidence, his hint of mystery, and his refreshing class and style. The theme is also reminiscent of his role as Jack Sparrow, and there are references to his trademark as a rock star.

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Feature in Guinness World Records 2012 Edition

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Feature in Guinness World Records 2012 Edition

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In the 2012 edition of the GWR, Depp was listed the highest paid actor between 2009 and 2010, earning $47 million.

Consequently, this cements his status as a successful and most sought-after actor.

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Advertisements

Guinness World Records can today reveal the latest world-beating successes from the world of cinema and TV with the upcoming launch of the 2012 Edition of Guinness World Records.

Medical drama House is listed as the Most popular programme currently on TV, at its peak being watched by a phenomenal 81.8 million people in 66 countries - and edging out CSI:Miami with its viewership of 73.8 million.

House star Hugh Laurie, who earns nearly £250,000 per episode, can now claim to be the world's Most watched leading man on television.

However, despite the show's popularity, Hugh Laurie has not been able to wrestle the all-time title from David Hasselhoff who remains the world's most watched man on television - ever.

Hollywood actress Sandra Bullock earned a staggering £35million to become the "Highest Paid Actress" from June 2009 - June 2010, while Johnny Depp pirated wallets around the world to earn $47 million during the same period.

TV's young talent is not lounging on the job, either. Seventeen-year old Angus T Jones, the "half" in Two and a Half Men, reportedly earned £157,000 per episode to grab the title of "Highest-Paid TV Child Star" while iCarly star, Miranda Cosgrove, became the 'Highest-Paid Teen Actress" earning £113,000 per episode.

Royal Wedding fever proved to be record-breaking, with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge establishing a new title for the Most live streams for a single event.

The Royal Channel - the official YouTube Channel for the British Monarchy run by Clarence House - ensured that 72 million people worldwide watched the royal wedding live online, more online views than Barak Obama's inauguration.

Commenting on the record-breaking achievement, a spokesperson for Clarence House said: "We are thrilled that we were able to help enable millions of people from across the world to watch and enjoy the Royal Wedding."

Commenting on the new TV world records to make the 2012 edition, Craig Glenday Editor-in-Chief at Guinness World Records, said: "What a fantastic year it's been for Brits on both sides of the TV cameras. The UK's world-class broadcast output is a testament to the excellence and integrity of the country's creative talent."

For other entertainment and amazing world records across science, human body, sport, animal kingdom and many others, check out the new Guinness World Records 2012 published on 15th September 2011.

Advertisements

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Royal Wedding, Hugh Laurie and Johnny Depp make it into Guinness World Records 2012 edition

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Advertisements Guinness World Records can today reveal the latest world-beating successes from the world of cinema and TV with the upcoming launch of the 2012 Edition of Guinness World Records. Medical drama House is listed as the Most popular programme currently on TV, at its peak being watched by a phenomenal 81.8 million people in 66 countries - and edging out CSI:Miami with its viewership of 73.8 million.

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Johnny Depp Receives Three Oscar Nominations

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Johnny Depp Receives Three Oscar Nominations

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Depp has gained a lot of critical acclaim. In total, he has been nominated for three Oscars, his first on-screen nomination for Best Actor in the role of Jack Sparrow. Although he didn't take the award home, his nominations highlight the versatility and ingenious diversity of work throughout the years.

Nevertheless, he is not bothered by winning, preferring to focus on providing the highest quality version of roles. Essentially, Depp believes he is not worthy of material recognition as an actor and doesn't want to compete with others. This presents Depp as a genuine and sincere face of Hollywood

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Johnny Depp: How Many Oscars Does He Have?

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Many high profile female celebrities confess their attraction to Johnny Depp in this video. He shows a nonchalant attitude towards women lusting after him, accentuating his down-to-earth persona. His humour and carefree attitude often deflect these generous remarks in interviews.

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Johnny Depp Being Thirsted Over By Female Celebrities!

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Johnny Depp on the Graham Norton Show (2016)

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Johnny Depp on the Graham Norton Show (2016)

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During a talk show interview, Depp discussed his gratitude and the importance of visiting young, poorly children in the hospital. In this moving interview, he shares his own struggle with visiting Great Ormond Street Hospital when his daughter was ill, he appreciated the little things that bought magic to a dark situation. He can understand the tragedy faced by families in horrific circumstances. His humility shows he is very well-natured, humble and loves giving back to others.

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Johnny Depp on visiting hospitals as Jack Sparrow – The Graham Norton Show: Episode 9 – BBC One

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How Depp is Perfect for the Role of Jack Sparrow (2022)

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How Depp is Perfect for the Role of Jack Sparrow (2022)

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Creators of this video admit that without the key ingredient, Johnny Depp, the franchise would be less profitable. The video identifies the nuances which make Depp such a genius in the acting world. Throughout the video, Depp is demonstrated as an actor who gives a well-rounded performance by considering the physicality of his character while making subtle creative choices. It also discusses how Johnny once again took advantage of his creative freedom in order to add a bit of comedic flavour to his character. As such, Depp makes a strong case as a visionary who has a talent for constructing a memorable persona.

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How Johnny Depp Perfected Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean

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Johnny Depp on magazine cover, Rolling Stone (2006)

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Johnny Depp on magazine cover, Rolling Stone (2006)

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Depp is represented as an untamed and quirky caricature of a pirate. His distinctive pirate look and outfit, as well as his thick bandana, long dreadlocks, and weaponry complete his pirate persona. The appearance of Captain Jack Sparrow becomes synonymous with the actor.

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ELEGANTLY PAPERED Vintage Fashion Magazines

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ELEGANTLY PAPERED Vintage Fashion Magazines - Johnny Depp Tom Petty Rolling Stone magazine 13th July 2006 - Vintage Fashion Magazine Archive - 100,000+ Rare Magazines and Lookbooks

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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

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In the series, he portrays Captain Jack Sparrow, a fictional character who is the series' main protagonist. His eccentricity, charisma, intelligence, and unpredictable nature make him a unique individual.

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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) ⭐ 8.1 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy

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Pomerance, M (ed.) (2011), Shining in Shadows: Movie Stars of The 2000s. Rutgers University Press: Piscataway. 

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Pomerance, M (ed.) (2011), Shining in Shadows: Movie Stars of The 2000s. Rutgers University Press: Piscataway. 

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In this book, Depp was recognised as one of the most celebrated stars of the 2000s. This chapter quotes from Adam Sternberg that: “Depp has always seemed too special an actor to become a true leading man. His tenderfoot good looks and bad-boy lifestyle embodied a fantasy: he, too, is the boy who never grew up.”

By portraying his characters as childlike and naive, he blurs the boundaries between the adult and child worlds and makes his films magical and entertaining. He relishes nonsense and foolishness.

He enjoys playing characters that appeal to children. He portrays Willy Wonka in Burton's 2005 film adaption of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, with a characterisation commonly compared to Michael Jackson's "prepubescently smooth" appearance. His work has always been filled with a guileless purity.

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In the 2000s, new technologies transformed the experiences of movie-going and movie-making, giving us the first generation of stars to be just as famous on the computer screen as on the silver screen.

Shining in Shadows examines a wide range of Hollywood icons from a turbulent decade for the film industry and for America itself. Perhaps reflecting our own cultural fragmentation and uncertainty, Hollywood's star personas sent mixed messages about Americans' identities and ideals. Disheveled men-children like Will Ferrell and Jack Black shared the multiplex with debonair old-Hollywood standbys like George Clooney and Morgan Freeman. Iconic roles for women ranged from Renee Zellweger's dithering romantics to Tina Fey's neurotic professionals to Hilary Swank's vulnerable boyish characters. And in this age of reality TV and TMZ, stars like Jennifer Aniston and "Brangelina" became more famous for their real-life romantic dramas-at the same time that former tabloid fixtures like Johnny Depp and Robert Downey Jr. reinvented themselves as dependable leading men. With a multigenerational, international cast of stars, this collection presents a fascinating composite portrait of Hollywood stardom today.

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In the 2000s, new technologies transformed the experiences of movie-going and movie-making, giving us the first generation of stars to be just as famous on the computer screen as on the silver screen.Shining in Shadows examines a wide range of Hollywood icons from a turbulent decade for the film industry and for America itself.

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"Johnny Depp Contemplates Life As, and After, 'Scissorhands", NY Times, (1991)

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"Johnny Depp Contemplates Life As, and After, 'Scissorhands", NY Times, (1991)

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According to this article, Depp is so dedicated to his roles that he has earned such a high reputation. In order to perfect Edward's black locks, he dedicated countless hours to being sewn into his bodysuit and gave hours upon end perfect Edward's black locks.

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Credit... The New York Times Archives

This is a digitized version of an article from The Times's print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them.

Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions.

There were times when Johnny Depp, teen-age heart throb and god of the check-out tabloids, doubted he could play an innocent, soulful, bashful boy who happens to have scissors where his hands should be.

"It wasn't similar to anything I'd played before, to put it mildly," the 27-year-old actor said with a laugh. "I thought, 'No way that people would see me as Edward.' " Edward is, of course, his star turn in "Edward Scissorhands," a surprise hit since its release a month ago in a season glutted with mega-budget powerhouses. The film is a modern-day fable about a walking, talking inventor's creation: a naive lad who has shears for hands, and fingers so sharp they cut whatever they touch.

"Then I realized that Edward was all alone, and inside of all of us is this lonely little kid," Mr. Depp said. "Edward is a total outsider. I really know how that feels. And so, then, eventually, I found him. And Edward -- he just clicked." Swimming Above the Flood

Surprisingly, the film has clicked, too: it has grossed $33.8 million in four weeks, and is holding its own on more than 1,200 screens. "Edward Scissorhands" was directed by Tim Burton ("Batman," "Beetlejuice") and features Winona Rider as Kim, the girl Edward comes to love. Also appearing are Dianne Wiest as Kim's Avon-lady mother, Alan Arkin as Kim's father, and Vincent Price as the spooky inventor who got Edward into so much trouble by creating him.

"I was worried that we'd get buried by all the other Christmas-week blockbusters, but the word of mouth on the movie is great," Mr. Depp said. The chemistry between Mr. Depp and Ms. Rider, his fiancee in real life, has also given the film teen-idol potential, drawing younger audiences.

Mr. Depp has won critical raves for his work in playing the child-like Edward, who finds acceptance in small-town suburbia as a topiary trimmer and haircutter until fate intervenes. Janet Maslin, in her review in The New York Times, termed Mr. Depp's Edward "a stunning creation."

To the actor, though, his portrayal simply grew from his affinity for the character. "I hope this won't sound completely corny," he said, "but I loved playing Edward so much, because there is nothing cynical or jaded or impure about him, nothing mean about him. It's almost a letdown to look in the mirror and realize I'm not Edward. I really miss him." The Future: 'Who Knows?'

Mr. Depp is uncertain about what "Scissorhands" will mean for his career. "I may be around for 20 or 30 years, or 20 or 30 minutes," he said. "Who knows?"

But for now, he feels satisfaction that his teen-king image has been superseded. "That heart-throb, teen-idol stuff is so funny," said Mr. Depp, who spoke by telephone from Los Angeles. "It's funny in a novelty sense, like a corny greeting card." Millions of young hearts began beating for the actor when, for four seasons, he played Officer Tom Hanson, a policeman who goes undercover as a high-school student, in the Fox Television series "21 Jump Street."

"The series was great training, to work in front of a camera five days a week for four years," Mr. Depp said. "And it seems to have put me on the map, put me in a position to do things I really wanted to do, like 'Edward.' But it was never anything morally I felt comfortable with. I mean, the idea of cops in high school is a scary thought; I've been quoted as saying it's borderline fascist, but that usually gets me in trouble." Two Hours of Makeup

After "Jump Street," Mr. Depp played the part of a soldier, Lerner, in Oliver Stone's film "Platoon," a portrayal Mr. Depp refers to as "my three seconds in 'Platoon.' " Last April, he starred as Cry-Baby Walker, the heroic delinquent in "Cry-Baby," the John Waters's teen-age musical sendup.

While he might miss portraying Edward, Mr. Depp does not miss the two hours a day, during four months, he spent being made up to play the character, with its unearthly white face scarred by slashes from his 12-inch-long hand shears. Then Mr. Depp would spend 45 minutes in wardrobe being sewn into Edward's be-ringed black-leather body suit, and an hour with the hairdresser to create Edward's wild black Medusa locks.

Some of those who have sent Mr. Depp post-"Scissorhands" scripts recently "think I want to do Edward forever," he said. "They try for the same kind of naive, innocent character. But you have to move on. Of course, I would love to do Edward himself again -- with Winona. But there's no talk of a sequel."

Mr. Depp said that he was not exclusively looking for another film with Ms. Ryder, "but I would love to work with her again," he said. "You know, do that Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn thing." Love's Professional Advantages

It was not competitive, or stressful, to work with her, Mr. Depp added. "The fact that we were together, and in love, only fueled what was going on between the characters of Edward and Kim," he said. "The chemistry between us was even better for that."

He and Ms. Ryder have come to "no decision on the marriage thing," he said, referring to a wedding date. "We both want to be in a position where after we get married, it would be nice to take a year off and just span the globe, get away for a long time, and then come back to work."

Ms. Ryder had been scheduled to take the part of Michael Corleone's daughter in "The Godfather Part III" during filming in Rome. "Winona had just done 'Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael' and 'Edward' and 'Mermaids,' " said Mr. Depp, who accompanied her on the "Godfather" trip. "She got to Rome completely exhausted, and she had an upper respiratory infection. She was, physically, really sick. The production's own doctor told her she shouldn't work -- to go away." The part went to Sofia Coppola.

He sighed theatrically. "What a way to see Italy." Possibilities of Producing

Mr. Depp has a multi-picture development deal with Fox, "meaning I have a production company with my brother Danny, and we try to find material to do," he said. "If I find something I like, and they say yes, I get to produce it and see what that side of it is like."

So these days he is "reading like a maniac," he said. "I want to find something I feel good and passionate about."

As Mr. Depp reads script after script, he knows he must soon commit . "You want to go for the right choice," he said. "You want to stay true to yourself. You want to stay true to the thing you do."

He laughed. "But then, the money ," he said. "The money they offer you out in the land of tinsel and opportunity! To do things that are, some of them, abysmal. There is really a devil on the one side, and an angel on the other. Right now, the angel is winning." He sighed. "But every day I say to myself -- no, three times a day -- what role could possibly equal Edward?" His Impending Death

Nevertheless, Mr. Depp has made a small but definite decision about what film audiences will see him in first. It will be the next installment of "Nightmare on Elm Street." "I did a cameo role," Mr. Depp said. "Half a day of work -- I can't say who I play, but I will say that I do die." He laughed. "You can say it's a subtle statement on my situation on 'Jump Street.' "

Mr. Depp took the cameo because he got his big movie break in the very first "Nightmare on Elm Street," where he played the role of Glen, the kid across the street who was digested by a bed. Horribly.

At the moment Mr. Depp is not considering a career on the boards. "I've never done any stage work," he said. "I've thought about it, but that's about all I've done. But look, I'll probably be doing Burt Reynolds dinner theater some day. Neil Simon, perhaps."

And how does Mr. Depp see the great sweep of his future? "I still have the leather suit, and the hands," Mr. Depp said with a laugh. "At least I have something to fall back on. If things don't work out, in a couple of years I may be doing birthday parties at McDonald's -- as Edward. You know, 200 bucks a party."

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Johnny Depp Contemplates Life As, and After, 'Scissorhands' (Published 1991)

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Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. Give this article Give this article Give this article This is a digitized version of an article from The Times's print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996.

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The Truth About Tim Burton And Johnny Depp's Relationship, Looper, (2022)

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The Truth About Tim Burton And Johnny Depp's Relationship, Looper, (2022)

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In total, Depp collaborated eight times with Burton. The pair have captivated audiences for over thirty years with many cinematic classics.

Each cemented their reputations - one as an actor who could perfect films of morbidity and dark humour, and one as a filmmaker who had a knack for pleasing audiences with imagination and individual style. They both share the same passion and vision for artistic cinema, according to the article, they also share "a love of pop culture, old-time horror movies, resin grapes and poo jokes."

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You almost can't talk about Tim Burton without mentioning his frequent muse and longtime partner, Johnny Depp. The Hollywood iconoclasts have made so many unique, acclaimed, and successful (in some cases unexpectedly) films together that it's obvious their relationship goes beyond the average actor-director partnership.

The two have, in fact, been making films together for a span of three decades, beginning when 1990's "Edward Scissorhands" captivated audiences. As of 2021, they have made a total of eight films together, some of which - "Scissorhands" and "Ed Wood" chief among them - could be considered all time classics of cinema.

Over the years, their friendship has helped steer each other's careers and develop their respective legends. Any actor will tell you they must trust their director above all else, and Depp's clear trust in Burton has allowed both artists to explore the limits of cinematic storytelling - from the scary soap "Dark Shadows" to their deranged "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" reboot - and in turn develop their own indelible styles. But offscreen, their relationship seems to be just as interesting as what we see in front of the camera, filled with heartbreak and weird conversation, with chosen familial connections and a whole lot of poo talk.

Tim Burton changed Johnny Depp's career

In the late '80s, Johnny Depp was just another teen heartthrob. Sure, he'd blown up (literally) in Freddy's first "Nightmare on Elm Street" and starred in eccentric auteur John Waters' film "Cry Baby." But mostly, he was known as the good-looking guy on one of Fox's first TV shows, the teen crime drama "21 Jump Street." According to legend, when Depp first read the script for Edward Scissorhands, he wept. But this much is certain: when he met Tim Burton in a coffee shop, they hit it off.

"You don't get that many times in your life where you just connect with somebody and it's really simple ... it's just there," said Burton in an LA Times article. According to that same article, the studios wanted Tom Cruise instead of the relative newcomer, and Burton had to fight to cast Depp.

The film's unique concept - a suburban twist on "Frankenstein" about a man with scissors for hands - would set the tone for both men's oeuvre together.

Depp would cement his reputation as a different type of movie star, one with decidedly more edge and an embrace of the macabre than many of his contemporaries. Burton would find himself a dependable leading man he could lean on again and again, whose bankability would steadily increase over the next two-and-a-half decades.

Burton's Charlie-centered Chocolate Factory strayed

Many Roald Dahl fans were ready for an adaptation of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" that held closer to the book than Mel Stuart's 1971 "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory," considered a film classic but one that took considerable liberties with the source material.

Sure enough, Burton delivered a new Willy Wonka film that had a greater focus on Charlie, even putting his dad back into the story. Critics were quick to point out that this new version was closer to the book with one sizable exception: an entirely new Willy Wonka backstory.

Wonka's difficult childhood and strained relationship with his father wasn't in the book or the 1971 "Wonka," but now, for better or worse, we knew why the candy baron was such an eccentric. The explanation put forward by screenwriter John August (and quoted in the above Chicago Tribune article) was "When you're watching a movie for two hours, you have the need to understand why he is the way he is."

Shared abstract thinking

Both Burton and Depp have opened up about the fact that they hit it off almost immediately. Any fan of either artist can only wish to have been a fly on the wall during that meeting. But it seems like their initial conversations ever since have continued to be as colorful, jovial and weird as a fan could only imagine.

In a July 2009 Comic-Con appearance, according to MTV.com, Burton said about Depp, "It's very nice to have someone that you can have a completely abstract conversation with and leave the room, feel like everything's fine, and then realize that if you pick it apart, you have absolutely no idea what either of you said."

It would probably be captivating to watch these two having a casual, abstract conversation. Even if none of it would make any sense to anybody but them. Which is also probably what it would be like to sit in a meeting where Tim Burton pitches an idea about an animated movie centered on a sweet zombie wife.

They have their own shared language

In 2017, a heavily-sourced, in-depth film study essay explained Johnny and Tim's way of communicating onset as a type of verbal shorthand. "They would be speaking normal language, though shorter sentences, on the sets with everyone present but no one would be able to understand it but the person who it is intended for. A little saying, a gesture and certain look of the director will get a look out of the actor that will be termed as 'just what the doctor ordered'."

A film director usually has a vision for how the film should look as a whole, while an actor should have a vision for how their character should look, act, and interact. To create a film that works, the director's vision and the actor's vision ideally sync up. Unfortunately, just as often as not on movies this does not happen, but given the longstanding working relationship between these two, it doesn't seem to be a problem.

So it would make sense that they can get into each other's vision with a few words and looks that only they can understand. Especially since they've both proven their vision is far from ordinary.

Burton appreciates Depp's emotive face

In a 2008 LA Times article, Mark Salisbury dug into Depp and Burton's process going into "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street." In it, both men expressed some trepidation about Depp singing Stephen Sondheim's lyrics. But for Burton, he wanted Depp in the role of the demon barber because, along with other factors, Burton appreciates Depp's ability to emote so well through his looks and expressions. "Johnny can, just by looking and not saying anything, project pain and sadness and anger and longing," Burton said.

In the same article, both artists discuss their appreciation of the performances of classic actors from the 1920s and '30s whose performances were marked by their rich ability to emote through their facial expressions, especially in films made before spoken dialogue. Depp certainly filled "Sweeney Todd" with a wide range of looks and emotions showing excitement, depression, murderous rage and melancholy love.

Depp is a hands-off actor

Johnny Depp famously never watches his own movies. In an industry dominated by image and vanity, it's actually more common than you'd expect.

Depp's hands-off approach can be a blessing for directors who don't necessarily need somebody else looking over their shoulders at the dailies, asking to reshoot a scene because the actor doesn't like how they look. The director is in charge of the production and that can be difficult if a lead actor wants to challenge the director's decisions.

In an LA Times article, Burton talked about how much he appreciates the fact that Depp isn't interested in reviewing his performances.

"You're not having to sit there and go through the angst of somebody looking at the monitor. I love the fact that he doesn't like watching himself ... Keeps things moving, grooving, it's great," Tim Burton said.

Depp's star grew with and without Burton

When 2003's "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" came out, Johnny Depp entered the rarefied air of an actor that studios would do almost anything to employ. While this indulgence might have contributed to Depp's recent breakdown, the ensuing decade-and-a-half of blockbusters makes it strange to think of a time when Depp wasn't a household name.

Even looking beyond the Burton films, Depp engineered a career surge practically unrivaled by Hollywood leading men: A total of four blockbuster "Pirates" films, the delightful "Rango," and "Finding Neverland" are among the highlights. But, having Burton's blockbusters almost every other film during this period certainly didn't hurt. Ultimately, Burton's early loyalty paid off.

"Most of the times we've worked together he's had to go into great big battles to get them to hire me," Depp one said in an LA Times article. "I feel so lucky to be along for the ride, more than a couple few times."

They both idolize Lon Chaney

Tim Burton and Johnny Depp seem to have bonded over a wide range of artistic influences. But one of those connecting fibers must be their appreciation of an actor who died over 90 years ago, and is known mostly for playing the wolfman or the phantom of the opera if modern audiences know him at all.

"From day one, we've talked about people like Lon Chaney," said Burton in an LA Times article. "He is Lon Chaney. And that's what always got me into movies."

In another LA Times article, Depp heaped praise on the actor. "[John] Barrymore was a master, but the king for me was Lon Chaney. You go back and watch films like 'The Penalty' and see this rage and sadness, this huge range of emotions, without the luxury of dialogue."

Depp sees Burton as a rare True Artist

Depp has long been known for airing his disdain towards Hollywood. In a 1997 Hello! Magazine interview (via the Johnny Depp Zone Interview Archive), he talked about how he could make more money doing "dumb comedies or slick Hollywood garbage." In a 1997 Vanity Fair interview, he added: "I just don't know if movies can ever be considered art, because there's so much money involved. It's all about commerce. I don't think that art can come from that place. But, I aspire to be an artist someday."

Yet in the 2008 LA Times piece about Depp and Burton, Depp said about Burton, "Without embarrassing him, he's a true artist, which is something I wasn't sure was possible in today's cinema. But he's the real thing. He's a visionary, an auteur, totally uncompromising."

Depp would also say in the same piece, "He provides an atmosphere that you can try anything. It's so liberating . . . which is the most important thing for an actor."

Burton is reportedly still fighting for Depp

Looking at Johnny Depp's long climb to the top of the Hollywood pyramid, one can only be struck by how quickly he fell. It's been quite a ride. In 2018 Depp's bitter divorce from Amber Heard was drawing a lot of press, much of it detailing his vitriol towards seemingly almost everybody.

In 2020 it was announced that Depp was being dropped from the newest "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" film, his last remaining blockbuster role after Disney axed him from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise. Most of the attention Depp has received recently comes from his back-and-forth battle against Heard, as well as recent battles with everybody from his management to, seemingly, himself.

Needless to say, this kind of attention is undesirable for studios betting tens and in some cases hundreds of millions of dollars on projects. He has an upcoming movie scheduled, but it doesn't look like it will necessarily deliver the huge paychecks Depp has grown accustomed to.

Burton fans can look forward to a new TV project about the Addams Family, one in which there are rumors he's reportedly fighting to get his longtime friend a role, as Gomez Addams.

Burton was there for Depp during his split with Winona

Tim Burton was front and center when Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder fell in love and got engaged during "Edward Scissorhands." "They could have split up in mid-shoot," said Burton in Ryder's biography. Of course, he was also front and center when they broke up, while Depp was filming "Ed Wood" with the director.

According to a Mirror UK article, Burton said he would show up to the set sobbing. After the breakup, "I felt weird to be around him like he wasn't acting like Johnny anymore. It's almost like Winona took Johnny's soul, Johnny's love." Yet Burton was there to keep Depp working and be his friend.

Burton and Helena Bonham Carter were also there for Depp after his split from Amber Heard, the divorce that began Depp's plummet from the A-list to the blacklist.

They've made history together

Some actors rack up appearances with famed directors the easy way: lots of minor roles and easy-to-schedule cameos, a la Robert Altman and Michael Murphy (11 collaborations), Christopher Nolan and Michael Caine (8 collaborations), or Rian Johnson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (5 collaborations). But what has made the Burton-Depp partnership so unique is that Johnny Depp has been the unquestionable star of each film, with unquestionably the most on-camera time in all of them.

If you're looking for other partnerships that come close in terms of role size and decades-spanning partnership, you might consider Richard Linklater and Ethan Hawke (8 collaborations) or Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio (6 collaborations, one more on the way) or Scorsese and Robert DeNiro (10 collaborations, one more on the way). Also worth mentioning is such classic pairings as Sydney Pollack and Robert Redford (7 collaborations) and John Ford and John Wayne (an astounding 21 different collaborations between 1928 and 1963). But even adjusted for inflation, it's unlikely that any of those groupings had as high a box-office batting average.

While "Ed Wood" made less than $6 million, it won two Academy Awards and critical acclaim. Among the others, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" made $475 million and "Alice in Wonderland" surpassed $1 billion worldwide. Even "Edward Scissorhands" made a $60 million profit.

Depp is godfather to Burton's child, Billy Ray

When Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter had their first child, son Billy Ray Burton in 2003, they tapped Burton and Bonham Carter's frequent collaborator to be the boy's godfather.

"He's blood. He's family," Depp said about Burton in an LA Times interview. But while not technically of the same bloodline, Depp is connected to Burton and Bonham Carter through the title. Over the years, it has been fun for fans to see Billy attending events with his father, and with a godfather like Depp the boy will likely have a lot of artistic encouragement, as Depp has shown his willingness to support children.

Johnny Depp and Billy Ray Burton may be among the most famous, but they certainly aren't the only celebrity godparent pairing.

They get the same poo jokes

Read through interviews and articles, and you'll find quite a few references to Depp and Burton's shared love of scatological humor.

According to one of the previously-referenced LA Times articles, when Depp and Burton met they bonded "over a love of pop culture, old-time horror movies, resin grapes and poo jokes." This sounds at first like it might be an exaggeration, or at the most a funny one-time anecdote. But no, apparently their love of poo jokes is an actual longstanding thing.

When Burton and Helena Bonham Carter split in 2014, Playboy asked Bonham Carter who "gets" Johnny Depp, good friends with both. According to Vanity Fair, her response was "Oh, Tim can have him! They get the same poo jokes. Nothing will separate them."

So, where does the Burton/Depp partnership go from here? The latter's personal implosion and scandalous headlines regarding his relationship with ex-wife Amber Heard have been well-documented in recent years, reportedly costing him roles. But Hollywood has shown time and again that it loves a comeback - and it seems safe to say that if and when Johnny Depp is ready to mount one (and if the aforementioned "Addams Family" series isn't already it), Tim Burton will have a script waiting for him.

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The Truth About Tim Burton And Johnny Depp's Relationship - Looper

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Johnny Depp and Tim Burton have a friendship stretching back decades - and films like Edward Scissorhands and Ed Wood. Here are some fun friendship facts.

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The moment Johnny Depp was almost fired from 'Edward Scissorhands', Far Out, (2022)

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The moment Johnny Depp was almost fired from 'Edward Scissorhands', Far Out, (2022)

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Depp found working on Tim Burton sets quite overwhelming. As Depp described, Burton gave him free rein to explore Edward's portrayal. He outlines how, “Before we did Scissorhands, he rehearsed everyone. He didn’t rehearse me. He didn’t really know exactly what I was going to do when I walked on the set.”

Often he feared that he would be replaced by someone else. He was convinced that someone was taking over his role one time when people showed up at his door asking for Tom Hanks.

Awe-inspiring acting was displayed by Johnny Depp as the eponymous outcast. His contributions to this film were irreplaceable and unforgettable. It portrays Depp as a person who undervalued his abilities.

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The moment Johnny Depp was almost fired from ‘Edward Scissorhands’

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SBIFF 2016 interview with Johnny Depp (2016)

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SBIFF 2016 interview with Johnny Depp (2016)

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Edward Scissorhands is the first fantasy film Johnny Depp starred in. The part Depp played was that of an artificial humanoid that represented a solemn man named Edward, an unfinished creation with scissor blade fingers. Depp was director Tim Burton's preference for the lead, whereas production company 20th Century Fox pressed for Tom Cruise.

Depp believed he was not suited for Tim Burton's films, but when he came to meet him, they shared similarities in film choice and striking personalities. Depp thought Cruise was definitely going to earn the role.

Burton believed that Depp understood the premise of the film and its melancholic undertones, he knew that they could develop Edward's character together. Together, they created a lonesome, outcast character, complete with a gothic, physical appearance and a tender, soft heart.

This film marked the beginning of his long collaboration with actor Johnny Depp. The interview leads that this is perhaps Depp's most memorable character personas.

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SBIFF 2016 - Johnny Depp on Tim Burton & Edward Scissorhands

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Johnny Depp Makes Surprise Appearance at Hollywood Cemetery ‘Cry-Baby’ Screening, The Hollywood Reporter (2013)

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Johnny Depp Makes Surprise Appearance at Hollywood Cemetery ‘Cry-Baby’ Screening, The Hollywood Reporter (2013)

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He broke free of his imprisoning image as a TV star and teen idol in the 1990 satire Cry-Baby. This film centres on a group of delinquents, the Drapes, and their interactions with the Squares, the fronting subculture.

Taking cues from Grease and Romeo and Juliet, a respectable, intelligent schoolgirl falls in love with a motorcyclist who is a juvenile (JD). In spite of the fact that his character is still idolised for his single teardrop, Depp found the script to be overheated and satirical.

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Johnny Depp, whose film career began with John Waters' 1990 Cry-Baby, was a surprise guest at the 9th Annual Johnny Ramone Tribute on Sunday at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, where the film was screened on the mausoleum.

Depp joined a Q&A moderated by Sex Pistol Steve Jones and also featuring Waters and costars Traci Lords, Ricki Lake, Joe Dallesandro (of Andy Warhol film fame) and James Intveld (Depp's singing voice in the film and, according to Waters, "the real Hollywood crybaby"). Cry-Baby, a '50s satire, set Depp free by satirizing his then-imprisoning image as a TV heartthrob.
PHOTOS: Johnny Depp at 50: The Superstar's Life and Career in Pictures
"Johnny Depp was sick of playing a teen idol; he couldn't escape an image, so he embraced it and made fun of it," Waters told The Hollywood Reporter. "I think if you make fun of what the critics are using against you, nobody can ever use it against you again, and they didn't. I did that in my own career - I raced the critics to the typewriter to call my movie Pink Flamingos a 'trash classic.'"

The disarmingly self-mocking directing career Waters launched at Dreamland Studios, located in his bedroom at his parents' house, led to worldwide grosses of about $224 million, almost $7 million more than Depp's latest film, The Lone Ranger.
PHOTOS: Johnny Depp's Most Memorable Career Moments
" Cry-Baby had the wildest parties on the sets of any of my movies," said Waters. The outdoor Cry-Baby party was a success too, according to Johnny Ramone's punkily glamorous widow Linda Ramone.

"This event is something Johnny would have loved," she said in a statement. "Having these amazing autograph signings and screening cult films - this is what Johnny was all about."

Johnny Ramone was also one of "The Ten Greatest Guitarists of All Time," according to Time Magazine. The 9th Johnny Ramone tribute set a new attendance record. Guests included Ramone friends Shepard Fairey, Michael Des Barres, J.D. King, Pete Yorn, George Kotsiopoulos, Joel Madden, Slim Jim Phantom (Stray Cats), Billy Zoom of X, Keegan Allen, Susan McKagan, Liz Goldwyn, Tennessee Thomas and Justin Chambers.

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Johnny Depp Makes Surprise Appearance at Hollywood Cemetery 'Cry-Baby' Screening

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Johnny Depp , whose film career began with John Waters ' 1990 Cry-Baby, was a surprise guest at the 9th Annual Johnny Ramone Tribute on Sunday at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, where the film was screened on the mausoleum.

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Johnny Depp in his many acting executions 

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Johnny Depp in his many acting executions 

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This image unifies all of Johnny Depp's unique and impressive performances across his acting career. His choice of films have been regarded as wildly eccentric, unconventional and wacky. There are very few roles in which he plays any old average human. It signifies how Depp can fulfil the needs and demands of diverse characters, even when they are animated.

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Johnny Depp Starts Here (2005), Murray Pomerance

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Johnny Depp Starts Here (2005), Murray Pomerance

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'Dumb-founded, lost, shoved down the gullets of America as a young Republican. TV boy, heart-throb, teen idol, teen hunk. Plastered, postered, postured, patented, painted, plastic!!!'

Depp became rumbustious and unhappy with his objectification. He rescued his star image from an endlessly
circulated teen-idol persona. From then on, he was far more selective with his acting roles. After becoming dissatisfied with the direction of his career, he shifted his focus to primarily film roles.

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From beloved bad-boy to cool and captivating maverick, Johnny Depp has inspired media intrigue and has been the source of international acclaim since the early 1990s. He has attracted attention for his eccentric image, his accidental acting career, his beguiling good looks, and his quirky charm.

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"Johnny Depp Went To Extremes Trying To Get Fired From This Star Making Role", Thomas (2021)

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"Johnny Depp Went To Extremes Trying To Get Fired From This Star Making Role", Thomas (2021)

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Depp resented one of the original roles that made him a star, according to this article. Despite admitting that the role of Tom Hanson "put [him] on the map" of stardom, the pressure of performing in a teen idol role, and the burden of having to fit the image of a one-dimensional character, he was desperate to leave the role to reinvent his star image. To avoid contractual obligations to the show, he is alleged to have resorted to perverse escapades that were very discordant. Yet, 20th Century Fox didn't want to abandon its most popular asset midway through the season.

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Johnny Depp Went To Extremes Trying To Get Fired From This Star Making Role

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Since there are so many people who dream of making it big in the acting business someday, the competition for each notable role is extreme, to say the very least. For that reason, there are many examples of famous actors who've lied to land a role.

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According to this source, Depp despised having to pose mysteriously for the camera in order to satisfy teen lust. As he described it, he didn't want to build his career based on 'taking... [his] shirt off,' as he was too self-conscious and 'paranoid' his career would be built around this image in the future.

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Actor Johnny Depp despised his teen idol status in the 1980s - because he hated the idea of posing with his top off for girls magazines.

The actor first shot to fame in US teen show '21 Jump Street' and fast became a favourite with young female viewers.

But the "shy" star hated fans' lustful admiration and the fame which followed, prompting him to shave off his hair and eyebrows in a bid to distract attention.

He tells 'OK! Magazine': "I just didn't want to make a career of taking my shirt off. I wanted to shave off all my hair, even my eyebrows. And I did!

"I don't fault TV stars who do teen magazines. They took offers that gave the big money fast, but they were dead in two years. I never wanted that.

"Frankly, I've always been shy, paranoid, whatever word you want. I hate fame - I've done everything to avoid it."

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Actor Johnny Depp despised his teen idol status in the 1980s - because he hated the idea of posing with his top off for girls magazines. The actor first shot to fame in US teen show '21 Jump Street' and fast became a favourite with young female viewers.

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Johnny Depp on the front pages of teenage magazines

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Johnny Depp on the front pages of teenage magazines

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This compilation of magazine covers dates back to the time when 21 Jump Street was broadcast. It illustrates how the TV show was eager to provoke the public eye and every teen magazine it could. Teenage girls fell in love with his chiselled jawline, dazzling dark eyes, and personable charisma.

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Holly R-P looks back on her years working alongside Depp on 21 Jump Street. Peete describes their relationship as 'brotherly-sisterly,' denying any romantic involvement.

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Holly Robinson Peete Wouldn't Date Johnny Depp | HPL

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Johnny Depp, Dennis Abrams (2012) in 21 Jump Street

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Johnny Depp, Dennis Abrams (2012) in 21 Jump Street

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Depp's first television role was the premiere of the policing series 21 Jump Street in 1987. He played the role of Officer Tom Hanson, the protagonist of the show, who investigated crimes involving teenagers in an effort to target the younger, teenage audience. His popularity led to adulation from fans, and Depp came to be regarded as a clear favourite among many. He acquired a teen idol status, which cultivated a large female consumer base.

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Explores how a young Kentucky boy discovered music, acting, and fame and balances his family life with his success.

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In an article by an entertainment and celebrity gossip page, Cheat Sheet, film director Wes Craven denoted his first impressions of Depp as 'greasy and pale and sickly'. After seeing Depp's headshots, Craven's teenage daughters were convinced to choose him for the role because of his enigmatic, grungy appearance.

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Many horror fanatics know Johnny Depp's first role was in A Nightmare on Elm Street. Wes Craven thought Depp looked "greasy" when he first saw him. However, an interesting conversation with his daughter led Craven to cast Depp as Glen in the film.

Johnny Depp | Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images

Why Wes Craven thought casting Johnny Depp was a bad idea at first

According to Vulture, Glen in A Nightmare on Elm Street was originally going to be played by another well-known actor: Charlie Sheen. Sheen wanted $3,000 per week for the role. Producer Dan Shaye could not pay Sheen that amount. Then, actor Jeff Levine helped Depp get the role.

"The actor who played the coroner came to me and said, "I have a friend who's in town. His name's Johnny Depp, he's in a band, and he's interested in getting into movies," Craven told Vulture. "He gave me Johnny's headshot. I read with Johnny, and I remember his fingers were yellow from constantly smoking unfiltered cigarettes, and he was greasy and pale and sickly."

The trailer for A Nightmare on Elm Street

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Later, Craven showed his daughter and her friend headshots of the actors auditioning to play Glenn. Both Craven's daughter and her friend picked Depp for the role. "I said, 'Are you serious?"' He looked like he needed a bath. They both said, 'He's beautiful.'"

Johnny Depp's involvement with 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' and its sequels

Depp was nervous on the set of the first Nightmare on Elm Street film. However, Robert Englund - the actor who played Freddy Krueger in the film - commended Depp for being polite. He recalled Depp would call him "sir." Though Depp didn't play the film's protagonist, his character dies in a memorable way. In a famous scene from A Nightmare on Elm Street, Glenn gets swallowed by a bed. Afterward, his blood shoots up out of the bed and onto the ceiling.

The trailer for Wes Craven's New Nightmare

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Depp didn't appear in any subsequent Nightmare films, save for a brief cameo in Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare. According to Syfy, Craven wanted Depp to play a role in Wes Craven's New Nightmare but he was too nervous to ask since Depp was a star by that point. However, Depp later told Craven he would've been happy to appear in the film.

What Johnny Depp thought of Wes Craven and his daughter

Craven passed away in 2015. Variety reports Depp paid tribute to Craven and his daughter at the Toronto International Film Festival that same year.

Johnny Depp |Rich Fury/Getty Images

RELATED: How a John Lennon Song Inspired Stephen King's 'The Shining'

"Wes Craven was brave enough to give me the gig based on his daughter's opinion," Depp said. "I guess she had read with a bunch of actors, and after the casting sessions, she said, 'No, that's the guy.' I always think of her for putting me in this mess, and certainly Wes Craven for being very brave to give me this gig. But he was a good man - so rest in peace, old Wes."

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Why 'Greasy' Johnny Depp Got a Role in 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'

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Many horror fanatics know Johnny Depp's first role was in A Nightmare on Elm Street . Wes Craven thought Depp looked "greasy" when he first saw him. However, an interesting conversation with his daughter led Craven to cast Depp as Glen in the film.

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A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) Official Trailer

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A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) Official Trailer

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As a 21-year-old, Depp played the title role in a classic 1984 horror film directed by Wes Craven. In the film, Depp played Glen, the boyfriend of Nancy. A victim of Freddy Krueger's terror, he later becomes one of the film's many victims. This particular death scene is regarded by horror fans as one of his most memorable scenes, and it sparked his rise to fame.

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A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) Official Trailer - Wes Craven, Johnny Depp Horror Movie HD

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Thread from Angenette Levy (2022) on Twitter

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Thread from Angenette Levy (2022) on Twitter

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In the defamation lawsuit between Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard, Depp discusses past relationships with the jury, including his connection to actor Nicolas Cage. It was his first wife Lori Anne Alison, sister of his bandmate, who introduced the pair. As the launching pad for Depp's acting career, Cage was a crucial figure. Soon after they crossed paths, Cage offered Depp his own agent, who landed Depp his first acting role in A Nightmare On Elm Street.

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Depp says he became an actor by accident. He was playing in bands, taking other jobs. Nicolas Cage encouraged him to meet his agent, Eileen Feldman. Depp said, "I'll do anything at this point." @LawCrimeNetwork

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Depp says he became an actor by accident. He was playing in bands, taking other jobs. Nicolas Cage encouraged him to meet his agent, Eileen Feldman. Depp said, "I'll do anything at this point." @LawCrimeNetwork

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Depp says Heard said "no, no, no. That's my job. You don't do that." Depp says he took pause that she was visibly shaken or upset that he had broken her rules of routine. Once you notice things like that, you notice other things. @LawCrimeNetwork

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Depp says he became an actor by accident. He was playing in bands, taking other jobs. Nicolas Cage encouraged him to meet his agent, Eileen Feldman. Depp said, "I'll do anything at this point." @LawCrimeNetwork
— Angenette Levy (@Angenette5) April 19, 2022

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Depp says he became an actor by accident. He was playing in bands, taking other jobs. Nicolas Cage encouraged him to meet his agent, Eileen Feldman. Depp said, "I'll do anything at this point." @LawCrimeNetwork

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props_source.includes.tweets[].text
Depp says Heard said "no, no, no. That's my job. You don't do that." Depp says he took pause that she was visibly shaken or upset that he had broken her rules of routine. Once you notice things like that, you notice other things. @LawCrimeNetwork

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.original_text
Depp says he became an actor by accident. He was playing in bands, taking other jobs. Nicolas Cage encouraged him to meet his agent, Eileen Feldman. Depp said, "I'll do anything at this point." @LawCrimeNetwork

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.text
Depp says he became an actor by accident. He was playing in bands, taking other jobs. Nicolas Cage encouraged him to meet his agent, Eileen Feldman. Depp said, "I'll do anything at this point." @LawCrimeNetwork

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.metadata.attachment_props.referenced_tweets[].text
Depp says Heard said "no, no, no. That's my job. You don't do that." Depp says he took pause that she was visibly shaken or upset that he had broken her rules of routine. Once you notice things like that, you notice other things. @LawCrimeNetwork

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Throughout this article, we follow JCD's childhood - moving cities, living in unsafe places, his parents' divorce - in which he turned to drugs to escape reality. A troubled child, he only dreamed of playing his guitar.

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They are a couple of serious young actors. It was a sensitive movie, directed by the renowned Swedish director Lasse Hallstrom. So naturally the cast and crew of last year's What's Eating Gilbert Grape could speak of nothing but whether Leonardo DiCaprio would accept Johnny Depp 's $500 dare and sniff a rancid pickled egg. "Finally," recalls Darlene Gates, the 520-lb. actress who played Depp and DiCaprio's mother in that tale of a deeply dysfunctional smalltown family, "we are sitting around a dinner table, and Leo unscrews the lid. I have got my eyes squeezed shut, holding my nose. Then I hear this 'aaaggghhh!' I look up, and Leo is gagging and running out the back door."

And so goes, by all accounts, a typical day in the life of Johnny Depp -no doubt the only actor who ever asked director Hallstrom how to say, "I have a rat down my throat" in Swedish. Depp has said that he's an "equal opportunity sniffer," who enjoys the "150 varieties of smell on every movie set," not even minding when "the grip stinks like a gut wagon."

The star of TV's 21 Jump Street and the movies Edward Scissorhands and Benny & Joon has, reportedly, wiled away at least one L.A. evening hanging by his fingertips from a fifth-story parking garage at the Beverly Center alongside close friend Nicolas Cage. And then there is Depp's Bart Simpson-esque penchant for checking into hotels under ribald pseudonyms. Why would a 31-year-old man tell a front-desk clerk that he is "Mr. Donkey Penis"? Because, you see, it makes for such interesting wake-up calls.

But maybe it's time Depp got a serious wake-up call. Friends such as Gates insist that "Johnny is the most gentle, sweetest soul who ever walked the earth," and John Waters, who directed Depp in 1990's Cry-Baby, says he "is probably the best young actor working in America today." Yet these days the chain-smoking, tattoo-festooned, Viper Room-owning movie star seems to be dancing on the edge of danger. At 5:30 a.m. on Sept. 13, a green knit hat pulled down over his forehead, Depp was arrested on charges of criminal mischief after trashing his $l,200-a-night room at New York City's tony Mark Hotel. Police suspect he was drunk and had been fighting with his girlfriend, the superwaif supermodel Kate Moss, 20. After several hours in a holding cell, he was released and told that the charges would be dismissed if he stayed out of trouble for six months and agreed to reimburse the Mark $9,767.12 in damages and guest fees.

That was just the most highly publicized of Depp's recent problems. One week earlier, visiting Moss in her native London, he reportedly caused a ruckus in a pub when 27-year-old photographer Jonathan Walpole mistakenly picked up Depp's glass from the bar. "He pulled both my ears very hard," Walpole told London's Evening Standard, adding that "some ape" who was with Depp "leaped on my back, put his arm round my neck and tried to force my head to the floor."

To many of Depp's friends these incidents are, as one put it, "just Johnny being Johnny," the sort of outbursts they have come to expect on occasion from an actor who can be as otherworldly as the character he played in Scissorhands. "I think Johnny obviously has a temper, but this is a very minor incident," John Waters says of the Mark melee. "The room service must have been bad." However, Marlon Brando, who befriended Depp when the two shot the upcoming movie Don Juan DeMarco and The Centerfold earlier this year, was worried enough to place a phone call to Depp's lawyer David Breitbart when he heard about the arrest. "He said he was very concerned about Johnny's well-being," says Breitbart, "and if there was anything he could do to help, he would like to."

Surely it's time to take stock when you're eligible for counseling from Marlon Brando. Yet Timothy Leary, the '60s LSD guru who is the godfather of Depp's onetime fiancée Winona Ryder, says that Depp is both "wild and charitable." Most friends prefer to focus on the charitable side, offering tales of his kindness and generosity. Driving near the Austin, Texas, set of Grape during a downpour, Depp came across a homeless woman; he offered her a lift and gave her every cent he had on him. In a visit arranged by the Make-a-Wish Foundation, he brought a terminally ill, 11-year-old girl to the set of Ed Wood and hovered over her the entire day. He is said to wander, at 4 or 5 in the morning, outside the Viper Room, the Sunset Strip club where 23-year-old River Phoenix died of an overdose last Halloween, and hand out 50-and 100-dollar bills to the destitute huddled on the sidewalk.

But there is a darker side to Depp as well. Before he left the Mark Hotel in handcuffs, he had been arrested on three previous occasions: for getting into a tiff-with an L.A. police officer over a jaywalking ticket, for speeding in Arizona and for assaulting a hotel security guard in Vancouver, B.C. He has engaged since childhood in thrill-seeking escapades that seem downright self-destructive. In a caper that even he, looking back, described as "a really ridiculous thing," Depp blew on fire with a mouthful of gasoline. His face ignited, and it was only the quick moves of a friend that saved him from becoming a burn casualty. His arms bear rows of scars from self-inflicted knife wounds, each one commemorating what Depp considers an important life event. "I have," he once explained, "a funny relationship with my body.... Ah, it sounds so stupid, but for me there shouldn't be any halfway."

He has certainly been partying full tilt of late. The night after his release from jail, Depp, flanked by leather-clad, heavily tattooed bikers, was at Babyland, a Lower East Side bar filled with cribs and nursery paraphernalia. Jerry Price, a Manhattan pipe fitter, claims that Depp bumped into him at the club's bar, after which Price says he was pummeled by the biker bodyguards and hit with a rocking horse. Attorney Breitbart denies Depp's involvement, and Babyland regulars say it was Price who provoked the scuffle. Whatever the truth, the skirmish didn't dampen Depp's spirit. The next night he and the bikers hit the downtown nightclubs again, landing at the Limelight for the 3:30 a.m. pageant featuring drag queens, transvestites and transsexuals. And, at Dan Lynch, yet another hip watering hole, Depp recently directed and starred in a video for Shane MacGowan and the Popes. Their song? "That Woman's Got Me Drinking."

The woman who would seem to have Depp drinking these days is, of course, the ultrathin Kate Moss, who has appeared topless alongside Marky Mark in Calvin Klein ads. She and Depp met last February at the Manhattan bistro Cafe Tabac, and Moss has said, "I knew from the first moment we talked that we were going to be together." And they were: at the L.A. club Smash Palace just weeks after they met, when Depp previewed Banter, an eight-minute antidrug movie he made; vacationing on St. Bart's a few weeks later; at Manhattan's Fez club in April for a Johnny Cash concert. In July, after filming wrapped on Don Juan, Depp flew to Paris to be with Moss, who was strolling the catwalk at the couture shows. She gave him a ring-shaped platinum rattle filled with black pearls; he had already given her a strand of diamonds. Depp is even having his Winona Forever tattoo removed from his right bicep, a painful procedure that he's taking one letter at a time. At the moment it reads Wino Forever.

Moss and Depp, a friend says, "can't keep their hands, lips, mouths, legs off of each other." Nor are they always successful in keeping their brawls private. In June they shouted at each other in the dining room of Manhattan's Royalton Hotel. Says a longtime friend of Depp's: "Instead of hitting women, he just gets angry and lets off steam in other ways."

Depp seems to be the kind of passionate fellow who finds scant middle ground between picking someone up and proposing. He married Lori Allison, a makeup artist from Florida, when he was 20 and she was 25; they divorced two years later. He has since been engaged at least three times-to actresses Sherilyn Fenn, Jennifer Grey and Winona Ryder-and Tally Chanel, a B-movie actress, also says she got a shot at being Depp's fiancée. They met when she was working as a hostess at the Hollywood premiere of Die Hard 2 in July 1990. "I helped him out of his limo," the 27-year-old recalls. "Our eyes locked, and he asked me to marry him." They dated for a year, spending quiet nights at Depp's Hollywood Hills home, ordering in food from a Chinese restaurant.

Depp has also said that he "sort of had a crush," on Patty Hearst, when the two made Cry-Baby. Then there is Faye Dunaway, with whom Depp shot the yet-to-be-released Arizona Dream. "She's God in a way," he says. When he learned, somehow, that Dunaway harbored an unfulfilled desire to bounce on a trampoline, he and a friend drove 80 miles to a sporting-goods store in Tucson to buy one, then brought it back to the tiny town of Douglas, where they were filming. "We set the trampoline up in the middle of the desert," he recalls, "and we got Faye on it, and in about half a second she turned from this beautiful woman into this sweet, giddy 12-year-old girl on a trampoline. It was one of the most incredible moments I'd ever seen in my life." Even on the night of his recent arrest, Depp seemed most concerned not with the prospect of doing jail time but with the possibility that he had fallen out of favor with a woman, Officer Eileen Perez. "I don't think she likes me," Perez heard Depp say to her partner. Then he brightened and added, "But I bet if she saw me in a mall, she'd ask for my autograph."

Depp's devotion to women starts with his mother, whose name, Betty Sue, is tattooed on his left bicep. Depp recently bought her a $294,000, three-bedroom home north of L.A., where the former waitress lives with her second husband, Robert Palmer. "He's just the most precious boy," says Mrs. Palmer.

That boy has certainly come aways from Owensboro, Ky., where, the youngest of four siblings, he was born to Betty Sue and his father, John, now a city engineer living in Hallandale, Fla. When Depp was 7, his family moved to Miramar, Fla., and lived in a motel for nearly a year, until his father found a job. Johnny, meanwhile, started smoking at 12, lost his virginity around age 13 and, he has said, "did every kind of drug there was by 14." At 16, a year after his parents divorced, he dropped out of high school and joined a garage band, The Kids. "Puberty was very vague," he has said. "I literally locked myself in a room and played guitar."

Though The Kids became successful enough to open for the Talking Heads and the B-52s, Depp lived for months in a friend's '67 Chevy Impala, supporting himself, he has said, by selling pens for a telemarketing firm. In 1983, he and the Kids moved to L.A., and a year later, after Nicolas Cage introduced Depp to his agent, the would-be musician got his first movie role, in Nightmare on Elm Street, where, in a bizarre dream sequence, he was swallowed by a bed. By 1985, the Kids had broken up and so had Depp's marriage to Allison. His big break came in 1987: Cast as a high school narc in the FOX series 21 Jump Street, Depp was soon receiving 10,000 fan letters a month and became a regular on the cover of Tiger Beat.

Still, Depp's own heart throbbed only for Winona Ryder, whom he first spotted in June 1989 at the premiere of her movie Great Balls of Fire. "There's been nothing in my 27 years that's comparable to the feeling I have with Winona," Depp said. Five months after their first date, Depp gave Ryder an engagement ring; three years later they broke up. The end of their romance left Depp disconsolate. "He was so desperately in love with Winona," says a friend, "that when they broke up, he wouldn't admit it was over for the longest time."

Lately he has focused those same intense affections on Moss-even saying, according to one friend, "that he wanted to have a baby with Kate." One wonders if the two dream of a hotel room with a white picket fence. Moss herself doesn't have a permanent residence, and since Depp's Hollywood home was destroyed in the January earthquake, he has lived a high-class vagabond life, staying mostly in hotels. L.A.'s Chateau Marmont and Hollywood Roosevelt are two of his current favorites.

Depp's real home, in a way, is the Viper Room. When he bought the club in August 1993, along with two partners, he envisioned a "cool little underground place," he has said, where he and friends could listen to Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra and Chet Baker over a first-rate sound system. Instead the club became the hippest stop on the Sunset Strip, with block-long lines of young Hollywood types and tourists who want to see the place where River Phoenix, convulsing on the sidewalk, spent the last moments of his life.

Are Depp's problems anywhere near as serious? His friends don't think so. "I am not worried at all," says John Waters. "Johnny is not killing himself. I think he is aware of that pitfall. He has certainly seen it." What's even more comforting to Darlene Cates is that she has seen Depp marvel at the wonder of new life, encountering her sleeping 3-month-old grandson during the Gilbert Grape shoot. "Johnny got down on his knees next to the bed," she recalls, "and looking over at my grandson, his eyes just softened. He said, 'Awesome, just totally awesome.' Most men don't realize what a miracle a baby is, but Johnny did."

SHELLEY LEVITT

KRISTINA JOHNSON, VlCKI SHEFF-CAHAN and DANELLE MORTON in Los Angeles, with bureau reports

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They are a couple of serious young actors. It was a sensitive movie, directed by the renowned Swedish director Lasse Hallstrom. So naturally the cast and crew of last year's What's Eating Gilbert Grape could speak of nothing but whether Leonardo DiCaprio would accept Johnny Depp 's $500 dare and sniff a rancid pickled egg.

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In this source, Johnny describes his abusive childhood, where he lived in fear of his pitiless mother. Despite being so young, he was subjected to a lot of psychological, verbal, and physical trauma. Early in life, he lost touch with his family and turned to drugs.

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Johnny Depp detailed an abusive childhood that was a far-cry from his glamorous, star-studded Hollywood life during testimony Tuesday

Depp recounted in vivid detail the way his mother tormented Depp, his siblings, and his father, hurling ashtrays and insults at the family

Depp spoke of his admiration for his father who never raised a hand against his mother despite. 'He was a good man, is a good man'

Depp remained close to his mother throughout his life despite her abuses, often bringing her along to film premiers. She died in 2016

His privileged life as an A-lister is a world away from his troubled upbringing as a high school dropout with an abusive and suicidal mother, but now Johnny Depp is telling the whole world how he went from small town Kentucky to Hollywood.

The Pirates of the Caribbean star detailed a childhood defined by abuse at the hands of his mother when he took the stand in his $100 million defamation trial against ex-wife Amber Heard on Tuesday.

Speaking in a low voice Depp gave a measured but vivid description of what it was like living in a home where he, his three siblings, and his father were terrorized by his volatile and violent mother.

'In our house we were never exposed to any type of safety or security, the only thing to do was stay out of the line of fire,' he told lawyers from the stand. 'My mother was quite unpredictable. She had the ability to be as cruel as anyone can be with all of us,'

Depp testified that the violent home life he was brought up in taught him to never recreate the same kind of abuse in his own home later in life.

'I had a very interesting childhood. One that I thought was normal until a certain age,' Depp said.

ASHTRAYS AND INSULTS: A VIOLENT AND VOLATILE CHILDHOOD

Depp, 58, was born on June 9, 1963, in Owensboro, Kentucky, the youngest of four to parents Betty Sue Palmer and John Christopher Depp.

Depp's father was a civil engineer and his mother worked as a waitress.

The family moved frequently throughout Depp's childhood due to his mother's restless nature.

'My mom, her feet were on fire, and she had to move, so we moved constantly,' Depp testified, 'So you were always the new kid, and that wasn't ever particularly pleasant.'

The family moved from Kentucky to Florida when Depp was seven years-old, where they lived in a motel for nearly a year before John Depp found a job.

Throughout those years Depp said the abuse from his mother was constant, unpredictable, and nobody in the house - not even his father - was spared.

'Physical violence, physical abuse. That was a constant. We were all somewhat shell-shocked. She'd walked past, you'd shield yourself because you didn't know what would happen,' Depp said.

'She could become quite violent, and she was quite violent, and she was quite cruel,' Depp said, chuckling at the memory of his mother's beatings, 'There was physical abuse, certainly, which could be in the form of an ash tray being flung at you, or you'd get beat with a high heeled shoe, or a telephone, or whatever's handy.'

But Depp said that his mother's physical attacks were easy to handle compared to the psychological abuse she filled their home with.

'The verbal abuse, the psychological abuse, was almost worse than the beatings. The beatings were just physical pain,' the actor added. 'The physical pain, you learn to deal with. You learn to accept it. You learn to deal with it.'

Betty Sue would insult her children, needling them with comments that would tear them down, including calling Depp's sister by the name of her grandmother who Betty Sue was well-known to despise.

'Christie, my sister knew very well that was a deep cut psychologically, emotionally, but you had to take it. You just had to take the pain.'

Depp himself was born with a defect in the lens of his left eye that resulted in a lazy eye, a defect his mother latched on to.

'She would call me cock eye, one eye, anything she could get to demean, humiliate.'

'The psychological and emotional abuse that's what kind of tore us up.'

From an early age Depp watched his mother hurl her vitriol at his father, who he says was always a very 'kind man' who was non confrontational in the face of his wife's violence.

'There was never one moment, never a moment when my father lost control or attacked my mother or even said a bad thing to my mother.

He said his father remained 'stoic' when his mother would go off on a tangent.

'There were a couple of times it got too far I could see his eyes welling up as he was staring at her saying nothing. The most he would do, he would punch a wall.

Depp recalled being as young as five years old and wondering how his father remained calm in the face of his mother's insults.

'To me as a five year old boy I kept wondering "why does he take it. How does he take this? Why doesn't he leave her?" But he didn't. He was able to maintain his calm and his composure and his relationship with his children.

'He was a good man, is a good man.'

'YOU'RE THE MAN NOW': DEPP'S FATHER WALKS OUT

In 1978, when Depp was 15 years old, his father cracked and realized he couldn't stand the abuse any longer, packing his bags and leaving the family as he departed for work one morning.

Depp said during his testimony that he hadn't even realized his father had left until his mother came home and sensed something had happened.

'Hours later my mom came home from work, about 3.30 in the afternoon. She walked in the door and stopped and walked around, she felt something. [She said] "She said your daddy's gone. He's gone, he's gone".'

Betty Sue ran to the bedroom to find her husband's closets emptied.

'She ran into their bedroom and into their closet, she opened the door and there was his rack of clothing and all his belongings were gone. She was quite upset.'

Depp drove to his father's work and confronted him.

'I'm done. I can't do it any more. I can't live it any more,' Depp's father told his 15-year-old son. 'You're the man now.'

'Those words didn't quite sit well with me. I didn't feel I was ready to hear those words.'

Depp said his mother 'went into a very deep, dark depression,' after his father walked out.

'One afternoon I had fallen asleep and woke up and walked into the living room and saw my mother very feebly, almost a slow motion, crawl.'

'I knew something was dreadfully wrong. There was drool coming out of her mouth.'

Paramedics arrived and brought Betty Sue away to the hospital where her stomach was pumped.

'She'd swallowed a multitude of pills to try to commit suicide,' he said.

Depp said that his mother was never the same after she returned from the hospital.

'She was a firecracker of a woman but when she got out of hospital the depression was so deep she lived on the couch and weighed about 70 pounds and all that imagery spun into my head.'

'I was deeply upset by that.'

SEX, DRUGS, ROCK AND ROLL, AND THE SILVER SCREEN

As an teenager Depp began experimenting, quite literally, with sex, drugs, and rock and roll.

In a People Magazine feature in October, 1994, Depp said that he started smoking at the age of 12, lost his virginity around 13, and 'did every kind of drug there was by 14,' and during the trial he testified that as a teenager he began popping 'nerve pills' he'd swiped from his mother.

He began shutting himself off from the rest of his family and practicing guitar behind a locked bedroom door.

'I literally locked myself in a room and played guitar,' he told People Magazine.

In 1979 at the age of 16, Depp dropped out of high school to try to make it as a musician with his band 'The Kids.'

The Kids were good enough to play some opening-act shows for The Talking Heads and the B-52s, but financially Depp struggled.

He lived out of a friends car for several months, and sold pens for a telemarketing company to get by.

In 1983 he moved with his band to Los Angeles.

Once there his friend, actor Nicholas Cage, encouraged him to try out acting.

'I ended up acting by accident,' Depp said.

Cage introduced Depp to his agent, who landed him an audition with Wes Craven who was casting for Nightmare on Elm Street.

Depp said he 'somehow' landed a part on the film. He was 20 years-old.

By 22, Depp landed a leading role in the show 21 Jump Street which would help establish him as a household name as he launched to fame.

DEPP SUES EX AMBER HEARD FOR DEFAMATION

Depp and Amber Heard are squaring up in court over a December 2018 op-ed Heard penned for the Washington Post declaring herself a domestic violence survivor.

The article did not mention Depp by name but the veteran actor sued for $50 million, claiming he was booted from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise because of the 'clear implication' he was the abuser.

Depp's suit claims Heard presented the world with a 'hoax' account of the infamous May 21, 2016 dust up that brought the couple's tumultuous marriage to an end.

He further alleges that his ex-wife was the actual 'perpetrator' of the violent bouts that scarred their relationship, including a notorious incident in Australia where she allegedly severed his finger with a vodka bottle.

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Inside Johnny Depp's childhood, abuse this mother and rise to stardom

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A high school drop-out with an abusive and suicidal mother who moved them around the country, Johnny Depp's troubled childhood is a world away from his life as a Hollywood A-lister.

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'The Unlikely Way Johnny Depp Became Famous,' Reuben (2021)

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'The Unlikely Way Johnny Depp Became Famous,' Reuben (2021)

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Depp wasn't always eager to be on the silver screen, according to this article. In order to pursue his rock and roll dreams, he dropped out of school at 15 to become a famous musician.

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Johnny Depp has made a long, successful career for himself in Hollywood, ultimately becoming one of the most recognizable names in the industry and earning the title of sexiest man alive by People Magazine in 2003 and 2009. Aside from appearing on the silver screen, Depp has been on many television shows, award ceremonies, and has even performed on a few stages as a musician.

He's one of Hollywood's most eccentric - and often controversial - personalities. He's played everything from a vampire, to a film director, and even a literal chameleon. From his stranger roles like the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland to more conventional performances like John Dillinger in Public Enemies, Depp has managed to capture the hearts of millions, making him a household name.

But every success story starts somewhere, and Depp's is no exception. From humble beginnings as a high school dropout to Hollywood superstar, Depp has had quite an interesting, albeit unconventional, ride to fame.

High school dropout

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Like many kids, Johnny Depp spent his childhood loving music. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Depp revealed that it was his uncle playing guitar in church that first sparked his passion. At age 12, Depp finally convinced his mother to buy him a guitar when he showed an interest beyond just listening. By 13, he was part of a garage band, playing for small parties and even nightclubs that he would have to be snuck into due to being underage.

On an episode of Inside the Actor's Studio, Depp told host James Lipton that around the age of 15 he dropped out of high school in hopes of becoming a rock star. According to Depp, he tried to reenter school to continue his education after just two weeks, but the dean of the high school told him to follow his passion instead of coming back. With guitar in hand and the dean's blessing, young Johnny Depp began to seriously devote himself to finding a career in the music industry.

Musical ambitions

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When speaking to Rolling Stone, Depp detailed his love for music and his quest to become a legitimate musician. After exploring different local garage bands, he eventually found a spot as a guitar player in a local group known the Kids. The group found some limited success playing at various venues in Miramar, Florida. According to Depp, the Kids decided that they had what it took and moved out west in search of a record label that would recognize their talent.

The path to stardom isn't exactly easy, however, and money became an issue for the band very quickly. Depp and his bandmates had to take odd jobs like selling ink pens over the telephone. Despite making the move to L.A., the group broke up without ever landing a record deal. Before disbanding, they did manage to open for a few bigger names like Iggy Pop and the Ramones.

Career advice from Nicolas Cage

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"It's not what you know; it's who you know." It's a popular adage in the entertainment business for a reason. Johnny Depp found one contact that certainly helped propel him from dropout to dreamboat and beyond.

In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Depp explained that it was Hollywood actor Nicolas Cage who pushed him to consider an acting career. After moving to L.A. to establish himself as a musician, Depp was filling out job applications and struggling to make a livable income. Cage saw him applying for a position in a video store and thought Depp should consider acting. He even offered to get Depp in contact with his agent. Depp took him up on the offer, and Cage's agent sent him to the casting director for the upcoming film A Nightmare On Elm Street. After a successful audition, Depp landed his first acting gig and began a new career.

Hollywood dreams

Johnny Depp's first acting gig was in Wes Craven's 1984 horror classic A Nightmare on Elm Street. This film introduced the horrifying Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), a serial killer who haunts his teenage victims in their dreams and kills them in reality. The film's hero, Nancy (Heather Langenkamp), slowly begins to unravel the mystery behind Krueger while trying to survive the killer's constant pursuit. Unfortunately for the other teens in the story, not everyone makes it out alive.

Depp played the role of Glen Lantz, Nancy's boyfriend. His death scene, in which his own bed swallows him up before spewing a geyser of blood, made for one of the most horrifically surreal moments of the film. While Depp's role was minimal, imagery of his character's gruesome fate stayed with fans for years after the movie premiered. His brief but memorable performance in this franchise-launching hit was enough for the young actor to garner some attention and land other roles following the film's release.

Soldiering on

After Nightmare On Elm Street, Depp would go on to play small roles in several other films. Still trying to make a name for himself, he appeared in several short films and one-off television episodes through the rest of the 1980s. During this time, he did get his first chance to be a part of a major production. Oliver Stone needed actors to fill the roles of miscellaneous soldiers for his 1986 film Platoon, and Depp obtained a small part as a Vietnamese-speaking soldier who helps translate for a main character.

The film earned eight Academy Award nominations for the 1987 season. Platoon ended up winning four Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Sound, and Best Film Editing. In the film, Depp worked with Willem Dafoe, who was nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his part. The two would reunite just a few years later for John Waters' 1990 film Cry Baby.

Glam rock diversions

Though Depp landed a few acting gigs, he was still seeking out a career in music. In 1986, he joined the glam metal band Rock City Angels as a rhythm guitarist. According to Spotify, the band released one album while signed with Geffen Records, but they were dropped in 1992 due to the rising popularity of the alternative rock genre. While in the band, Depp co-wrote the song "Mary," which was included on the album Young Man's Blues in 1988. Though the band enjoyed some amount of success, Depp left shortly after joining.

Despite his departure from the group, Rock City Angels would not signal an end to Depp's musical ambitions. Aside from later appearing and performing in musical films such as 2007's Sweeney Todd and in 2014's Into the Woods, he also joined other musical groups over the years, even teaming up with Alice Cooper and Aerosmith's Joe Perry to form the Hollywood Vampires.

The dropout goes back to school

After playing some minor roles following A Nightmare on Elm Street, Depp's first brush with major screen stardom occurred when he joined the cast of the hit television series 21 Jump Street. Depp played Tom Hanson, a member of a special undercover police squad made up of several young officers. Depp's squad was specifically tasked with disguising themselves as high schoolers in order to stamp out crime while among the teenagers committing offenses.

Initially the role was played by actor Jeff Yagher, but Depp replaced him after the series' pilot episode. The popularity of the show helped to make Depp a popular name among his teenage viewers. According to a 1988 issue of Orange Coast Magazine, 21 Jump Street was the show with the biggest ratings on the Fox Network during its third season. Depp played a lead role until leaving the show at the end of its fourth season.

Getting selective with his roles

After his role on 21 Jump Street, Depp became a popular name and face with the teenage crowd. Orange Coast Magazine stated that at public events for the show, crowds made up of thousands of teenagers would show up just to steal a glance at their favorite undercover television cops. While many actors would be overjoyed at accumulating such an enthusiastic fanbase, Depp didn't want to fall into the trap of becoming so big that he couldn't work on smaller projects that appealed to him.

In a Rolling Stone profile during this time, Depp voiced his dissatisfaction with the teen idol lifestyle, saying, "I don't want to make a career of taking my shirt off." Depp further elaborated that he didn't want to risk getting big quick only to disappear into obscurity after a few years. Additionally, he wanted to have enough agency to choose which movies he would be a part of. In an effort to diversify his roles, Depp became more selective with what projects he decided to take on. This decision marked Depp's transition into a more unconventional, eccentric actor.

Returning to his musical roots... sort of

John Waters' 1990 film Cry-Baby casts Johnny Depp in the lead role of Wade "Cry-Baby" Walker, whose ability to shed a single tear makes him the most attractive greaser in town. Taglines for the film said, "He's a doll. He's a dreamboat. He's a delinquent." While on the surface, the role of Cry-Baby seems to be exactly the kind of teen stereotype from which Depp was trying to separate himself, the character has some strange quirks. For starters, both of Wade's parents were sent to the electric chair.

The film is a musical, featuring several song and dance numbers. However, despite Depp's past as a guitarist, he did not do any of the vocals in the film. Instead, James Intveld was tapped to dub over Depp as he danced on screen. Depp stated in a 2008 Rolling Stone that he was reluctant to sing when he was still playing backyards in his early teen years, owing to the fact that he did not like being the center of attention.

Making the cut

Today, any given movie pairing Tim Burton and Johnny Depp seems like par for the course, but every famous duo begins somewhere. The 1990 romantic fable Edward Scissorhands was not only the first Burton-Depp film, but also Depp's first leading role in a major film. Having grown sick of occupying the role of teen heartthrob, Depp decided to shake up his image. Here, he plays Edward, a quiet man clad in black with scissors for hands, who lives in an eerie castle above an all-too-idyllic suburb. The film was a box office hit and critical favorite worldwide. The success of Edward Scissorhands was a major turning point in Depp's acting career, proving that the actor was capable of playing a leading role.

Not only did he carry the title role himself, he was able to do so while shirking many of the conventions of other male leads in Hollywood at the time. Edward was meek, pale, skinny, and largely effeminate throughout the entirety of the film. This would set a standard for the rest of Depp's career, as he would return to this less-than-macho character type several times in future projects.

Solidifying a creative partnership

Having previously worked with Tim Burton for Edward Scissorhands and Ed Wood, Depp would once again collaborate with the director for the third time in 1999's Sleepy Hollow. The film did incredibly well, raking in over $206 million worldwide. Depp played the principal role of Ichabod Crane, a gangly, quiet man who is scared away from his love interest by the specter of the legendary headless horseman.

In the biography Johnny Depp by Michael Blitz and Louise Krasniewicz, Depp claimed to have loved the classic story in his youth, making him a natural choice for this adaption. But perhaps more than working on a story he loved as a child, Depp was looking forward to working with Tim Burton again. In the biography, Depp notes that working on 1999's The Ninth Gate was difficult, since he did not get along well with director Roman Polanski. "Working with Tim Burton on Sleepy Hollow was like an exorcism," he said in the biography. "It was a cleansing of my Ninth Gate experience."

Setting sail as an A-list star

The film that solidified Johnny Depp as a Hollywood superstar pulled into port in 2003, when Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl hit theaters. The movie was a massive critical and box office success and brought in a massive $654 million worldwide. In the film, Depp plays the role of Captain Jack Sparrow, a strange, comical pirate attempting to reclaim his ship, the Black Pearl.

The character's zaniness charmed audiences effectively, capturing the hearts of viewers young and old. For his performance, Depp won many awards, including Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role at the 10th Screen Actors Guild Awards, Best Male Performance at the MTV Movie Awards, and Best Actor at the 9th Empire Awards. Most significant, however, was his first Oscar nomination, finally marking his complete transition from cult favorite to blockbuster leading man. Aside from awards, Curse of the Black Pearl began a franchise that has had five films, several video game adaptations, and a treasure trove of merchandise. Ever since, Johnny Depp has been one of Hollywood's most recognizable faces.

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The Unlikely Way Johnny Depp Became Famous - Looper

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Getty Images Johnny Depp has made a long, successful career for himself in Hollywood, ultimately becoming one of the most recognizable names in the industry and earning the title of sexiest man alive by People Magazine in 2003 and 2009.