No Johnny Come Lately
He may finally be breaking out with 'Pirates,' but the true fans of this great actor have stuck with his oddball choices for years
Johnny Depp takes aim at yet another off-beat role in Robert Rodriguez's Once Upon a Time in Mexico, in which he plays a corrupt CIA agent.
"I think Johnny Depp is the best actor out there today," I said.
"Who?" my friend replied.
And that's how it is with Depp, who consistently flies just below the radar of major-player stardom, churning out one memorable performance after another, yet never quite achieving the household-name status of other Hollywood hunks, like Tom Cruise and Ben Affleck.
And Depp and his fans wouldn't have it any other way.
After the conclusion of his 21 Jump Street TV series in 1992, Depp took a hard left from his teen heartthrob image. Though his eye-candy looks would have seemed to mark him for romantic leads or action heroes, he eschewed such roles, seeking out the offbeat, the eccentric, the frankly weird.
He carved out a career of memorable oddballs in movies like Edward Scissorhands, Benny & Joon, Ed Wood, What's Eating Gilbert Grape? and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The box-office take on these movies was never too big, but critics noticed -- Roger Ebert called him "gifted" -- and so did a small group of arty fans.
All that changed this summer with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, a Disney picture that is the 19th highest-grossing film of all time (it's second for the year, behind Finding Nemo). And Pirates is still pulling in good box-office numbers, so it's likely to move ahead several notches.
Which prompts the question: Will success spoil Johnny Depp?
The short answer is a certain, "No." Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Robert Rodriguez's sequel to Desperado, opens today with Depp choosing yet another edgy role as Sands, a corrupt CIA agent. And even though he made that movie long before he swashbuckled the box office with Pirates, I don't see the words "A-list" or "action picture" in his future.
"Academy Award" might be nice, though. But you know he wouldn't show up to accept.
Memorable Depp movies
. Edward Scissorhands, 1990: His pretty-boy looks hidden behind heavy makeup, Depp is still wonderfully soulful in this poignant fairy tale about an artificial man with a rather serious hand-icap.
. Benny & Joon, 1993: Depp is sweet as a vagabond channeling Charlie Chaplin who turns out to be the perfect medicine for a mentally ill young woman.
. Ed Wood, 1994: In the hands of a lesser actor, Wood, the angora sweater-wearing
director of some of the worst movies ever made, would have been an
unsympathetic character, but Depp plays Wood with such warmth and enthusiasm
that viewers are solidly in the corner of this self-deluded misfit.
. Donnie Brasco, 1997: Arguably Depp's best movie, this story of an FBI agent who infiltrates the Mob is also his most traditional role, though it's a far cry from the typical police-action drama. Near the end of the story, Depp is a man at the breaking point, as he realizes the impact of what he's done.
. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, 1999: In this horror story, Ichabod Crane is hard to classify, part hero and part coward, part genius and part jerk, but wholly original.
. Before Night Falls, 2000: Though Depp's Bon-Bon character is onscreen for just 60 seconds, he's unforgettable.
. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, 2003: In true pirate fashion, Depp's swishy swashbuckler steals this movie from the bland leads whenever he's onscreen.