Johnny Depp

Actor

• Born: June 9, 1963
• Place of Birth: Owensboro, Kentucky

Actor. Johnny Depp’s versatility, good looks, and charisma are often credited for his rise to stardom; he is also revered for his ability to infuse characters with his own idiosyncratic humor and imagination, though his reputation was tainted following his defamation trial with ex-wife Amber Heard in 2022.

Having found much success in his early career in films like Edward Scissorhands (1990) and What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), Johnny Depp continued to prove his versatility in the 2000s. In 2001, he appeared as the 1970s cocaine kingpin George Jung in Blow, and Frederick Abberline, the opium-addicted investigator of Jack the Ripper, in From Hell. However, it was his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in the blockbuster film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) that made him well-known to audiences worldwide. Basing his character’s persona in part on the Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, Depp’s original humor and dark allure won him his first Academy Award nomination. The movie won the People’s Choice award for Favorite Motion Picture and grossed over $640 million globally. The second film in the series, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006), became the second-highest grossing film of the decade, generating over $1 billion. Depp went on to reprise his acclaimed role in later films in the franchise: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017). Depp, who had already been honored in 2001 as one of People Magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People,” was voted the magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” in 2003.

Depp’s success with the Pirates of the Caribbean audience led to highly acclaimed leading roles in other children’s films, including Finding Neverland (2004), for which he received an Oscar nod; Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005); and Alice in Wonderland (2010). His singing role as the London barber in the dark musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) was popular among adult audiences and earned him a Golden Globe Award for best actor and his third Oscar nomination.

Depp also narrated the documentary Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (2008), filled Heath Ledger’s role in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009) after Ledger’s death, and starred as infamous Depression-era robber John Dillinger in Public Enemies (2009). He revisited the subject of writer Hunter Thompson's life in 2011 as the lead in the adaptation of Thompson's semiautobiographical The Rum Diary. In addition to his work as an actor, Depp has also worked as a producer on such films as Rum Diary, the 2011 adaptation of the novel Hugo, and a controversial 2013 remake of The Lone Ranger. In 2012, Depp appeared in a film adaptation of the television series 21 Jump Street. The original television series, which aired between 1987 and 1991, helped launch Depp’s career as an actor. Amid a string of parts in largely forgettable speculative fiction and thriller flicks, Depp landed a part of the Wolf in the well-received 2014 musical Into the Woods and gave a powerful impersonation of Boston Irish mobster Whitey Bulger in the 2015 biopic Black Mass.

In the late 2010s, Depp reprised his role in the Alice in Wonderland sequel Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016); appeared in the 2017 adaptation of Agatha Christie's mystery novel Murder on the Orient Express (1934); and joined the Harry Potter film franchise in a brief cameo as Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), before starring as the villain in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018). Depp reportedly experienced financial hardships during this period as well, suing his lawyer and business managers for financial mismanagement and increasingly failing to receive the leading roles he had once obtained. He was asked to resign from the Fantastic Beasts series after losing a lawsuit against a UK-based newspaper that called him a "wife-beater."

Depp also experienced increasing personal challenges during this time. His third wife, the actor and model Amber Heard, filed for divorce and a temporary restraining order against Depp in 2016, alleging that he had been physically abusive toward her during their marriage, which Depp denied. Heard and Depp reached a settlement in the divorce case in August 2016, in which Heard dismissed the restraining order and received $7 million, which she subsequently donated to the American Civil Liberties Union and the Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

Depp and Heard's disagreements did not end with their divorce settlement, however. In 2019, Depp sued Heard for defamation following a Washington Post opinion piece written by Heard in which she accused Depp of domestic abuse (though she did not mention his name in the article). The subsequent trial became a media sensation, with content related to the trial trending across social media platforms like Twitter and TikTok. As accusations of abuse were hurled from both sides, the public became increasingly drawn into the scandal, with a majority of people taking Depp's side. In June 2022, a jury ruled that Depp had been defamed by Heard, awarding him $15 million in damages. Though Heard initially stated she would appeal the decision, in December 2022, she agreed to drop her appeal.

Personal Life

Depp’s first marriage was to Lori Anne Allison and lasted from 1983 to 1985. Following this marriage, Depp had a string of well-publicized romances. With his second wife, singer Vanessa Paradis, Depp had two children, Lily-Rose and John "Jack" Depp. Depp and Paradis separated in 2012 after fourteen years of marriage. Depp then began dating actor and model Amber Heard after the two met on the set of The Rum Diary. The couple married in February 2015 and divorced the following year.

Impact

By the early twenty-first century, Depp had established himself as a Hollywood icon, achieving both critical and commercial success as an actor. He starred in a wide variety of films and became a favored collaborator of acclaimed director Tim Burton. Following his controversial trial with ex-wife Amber Heard, however, his future as a working lead actor was uncertain, despite his win in the case. Many speculated that he would be unable to ever fully redeem his reputation following the scandal, while others reasoned that the new attention would lead to an increase in roles for the actor.

Bibliography

Edelstein, David. "Why Have Johnny Depp’s Movies Been So Bad Lately?" Vulture, 14 June 2016, www.vulture.com/2016/06/why-have-johnny-depp-films-been-so-bad-lately.html. Accessed 22 May 2024.

Goodall, Nigel. The Secret World of Johnny Depp. London: Blake, 2011. Print.

Grady, Constance. "Johnny Depp, Amber Heard, and Their $50 Million Defamation Suit, Explained." Vox, 1 June 2022, www.vox.com/culture/23043519/johnny-depp-amber-heard-defamation-trial-fairfax-county-domestic-abuse-violence-me-too. Accessed 22 May 2024.

Hiatt, Brian "Johnny Depp: An Outlaw Looks at 50." Rolling Stone, 18 June 2013, www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/johnny-depp-an-outlaw-looks-at-50-243352/, Accessed 22 May 2024.

Jacobs, Julia. “Amber Heard Says She Has Decided to 'Settle' Johnny Depp Defamation Case.” The New York Times, 19 Dec. 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/12/19/arts/amber-heard-johnny-depp-settlement.html. Accessed 22 May 2024.

"Johnny Depp." IMDb, 2024, www.imdb.com/name/nm0000136/. Accessed 22 May 2024.

Pomerance, Murray. Johnny Depp Starts Here.New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 2005. Print.

Smith, Patti. “The Crowded Mind of Johnny Depp. Vanity Fair February 2011:48. Print.