When Johnny Depp first graced the screen in Wes Craven’s 1984 horror classic “A Nightmare on Elm Street”, few thought he would become one of the most popular and respected movie stars in history. Nonetheless, the evidence was there – uniquely good looks, indelible comic timing, and enough charm to melt the hearts of countless teenage girls. Watching Depp explode into a mess of gore at the film’s end is a bizarre experience in retrospect, but today it’s just another notch in the belt of his long, quirky, illustrious career.
Born on June 9, 1963 in Owensboro, Kentucky, the part-Cherokee Depp had a tumultuous childhood, constantly moving with his family and engaging in vandalism, theft, and life-threatening drug experimentation. After dropping out of school at 15, Depp dreamed of being a rock musician and fronted several garage bands including “The Kids”, with which he moved to Los Angeles in the early 80s. He soon decided to pursue acting after being introduced to an encouraging Nicolas Cage by Depp’s then-wife Lori Anne Allison. The meaty role in “Nightmare” quickly came for the naturally talented actor, and after a few bit parts he found fame on the short-lived but popular Fox drama “21 Jump Street”.
The undercover cop show made Depp a major teen idol, a position he has admitted to being uncomfortable with. Though he had signed a six-year contract, Depp managed to leave the show in 1989 to pursue film roles, and the next year gave two of his most memorable performances, in John Waters’ “Cry-Baby” and Tim Burton’s “Edward Scissorhands” alongside a young Winona Ryder, whom Depp would later date. The latter film began a long collaboration with Burton, and the role defined the direction of his career, which has seen him play a diverse array of outcasts whom Depp famously makes iconic. These early starring roles remain among his best, including “Benny & Joon”, “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?”, Burton’s delightful “Ed Wood”, and Jim Jarmusch’s sobering drama “Dead Man”.
Depp received even more acclaim in the late 90s for “Donnie Brasco” and “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”. The Terry Gilliam-directed “Fear and Loathing” saw him portray infamous journalist Hunter S. Thompson, a role he will more or less play again in 2008’s “The Rum Diary”. Depp re-teamed with Burton in 1999 for “Sleepy Hollow” after two thriller duds, “The Astronaut’s Wife” and the Roman Polanski-directed “The Ninth Gate”. After well-received turns in the Oscar-nominated “Chocolat” and “Blow”, Depp played his most popular character ever in 2003’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl”. As the Keith Richards-inspired pirate Jack Sparrow, Depp brought his signature sense of humor to a mainstream action film, and it paid off in spades for both the actor and for Disney, the film’s financier. Depp earned his first Oscar nomination for his hilarious turn, which is easily the most popular performance of the last decade. “Pirates” has boosted Depp’s pay rate as well, as he has since earned enormous sums for “Secret Window”, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, “Corpse Bride”, and the two “Pirates” sequels.
Arguably the most versatile male film star in history, Depp has recently starred as Jack Sparrow in the first “Pirates” sequel, “Dead Man’s Chest”, and will soon be seen in the Mira Nair-directed drama “Shantaram”, the Tim Burton-helmed musical "Sweeney Todd", and the purportedly final "Pirates" film "At World's End".