Shadowed Childhood of Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp was born as John Christopher Depp on June 9, 1963 in Owensboro, Kentucky, USA.
The Depp family moved across the US countless times. The unsettled family finally decided to put down their roots in Florida in the mid seventies. In Florida, the family hadn’t found the peace of a settled life they were searching for and after troubled years, John Christopher Depp Sr. (a civil engineer) and his wife Betty Sue (a waitress) got divorced. It had a major impact on young Johnny Depp, who was only 15 at that time, and the way he dealt with his stress, caused by his parents’ divorce, was the way of self destruction: self-harming, alcohol and drug abuse.
Perhaps the more constructive way of dealing with the stressful situation was getting involved with music. He dropped out of school about the same time to chase his dream of becoming a rock musician. Over the next few years Johnny Depp fronted a number of garage bands, one of the best known entitled The Kids, who opened for Iggy Pop. The modest success of The Kids, Depp’s determination and a dream for stardom inspired the band to move to Los Angeles.
Depp meets Nicholas Cage
Johnny Depp had married the band’s make-up artist Lori Anne Allison by the age of 20. It was his wife who suggested Depp try acting, as his band struggled in the competitive market. Lori introduced Depp to Nicholas Cage and it was Cage who persuaded Depp to audition. The audition resulted in his first film debut in Wes Carven’s “A Nightmare On Elm Street” in 1984.
That role was the turning point in his career, or even more, the turning point in his life - The Kids split-up followed the film's release and Johnny Depp was on his way to follow yet another dream: a life of acting. And what a dream he decided to pursue!
Johnny Depp - the biggest idol is born
It was in 1987 that Johnny Depp shot to stardom in the role of undercover cop Tommy Henson in, at that time, a hugely popular TV series “21 Jump Street.” Somehow Depp felt that this role and the show wasn’t what he really wanted to achieve as an actor, but that show secured him a number of teen-oriented roles which turned him into a biggest teen idol, Johnny Depp, a teenage dream.
Depp meets Tim Burton
In 1990, Depp undertook the title role in Tim Burton’s “Edward Scissorhands” and the film’s success marked his long fruitful association with the filmmaker. The success of the film and the quirky role of Edward Sicssorhands brought Depp the recognition of a serious, talented, idiosyncratic and somehow dark and disturbed actor in constant search of his roles of unorthodox characters.
In 1994, Depp re-joined with Burton in the leading role of Ed Wood.
They teamed up again in 1999. In Burton’s “Sleepy Hollow” he played the leading role, Ichabod Crane. After playing the role of Ichabod, Depp stated: “I always thought of Ichabod as a very delicate, fragile person who was maybe a little too in touch with his feminine side, like a frightened girl.”
Depp and Burton didn’t work together again until 2005. It was a role of, yet another quirky character, Willy Wonka in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” the film which was another box-office success. The Depp/Burton collaboration continued and in September of the same year Depp voiced the character Victor Van Dort in Burton’s “Corpse Bride.”
In 2007, the “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” brought Depp the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, as well as his third nomination for the Academy Award for the Best Actor.
The last film of Depp/Burton collaboration was “Alice in Wonderland” in 2010 in which Depp played another of his quirky roles as the Mad Hatter.
The newest Depp/Burton collaboration is currently being filmed. The film “Dark Shadows” is set to come out in May 2012, and is yet another film in Burton’s dark and gothic fashion.
Johnny Depp, a man of many roles
Depp continued to gain critical acclaim and his popularity grew quickly and steadily with each new role.
In 1997, Depp played, opposite the great Al Pacino, an undercover FBI agent Donnie Brasco, in the fact-based film. The following year (1998) he played in “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” and the year after he had a role in some sort of sci-fi/horror film “The Astronaut’s Wife”.
His fascinations with eccentric, freakish characters, didn’t stop with Edward Scissorhands or Ed Wood. We witnessed an odd gallery of beautifully portrayed quirky characters year after year in the films: “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993),“Benny and Joon” (1993), “Arizona Dream” (1993), “Don Juan de Marco” (1994), “Dead Man” (1995), “Nick of Time” (1995), “Before Night Falls” (2000), “The Libertine” (2004); he played Willy Wonka in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (2005), “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (2007), then the legendary role of captain Jack Sparrow in “Pirates of Caribbean” trilogy and the Mad Hatter in “Alice in Wonderland” (2010), just to name a few.
There is no unacceptable role for a man of many roles.
In 1999, he acted again in the horror thriller “The Ninth Gate,” then he was an irresistible gypsy who stole Juliette Binoche’s heart in a romantic comedy “Chocolat” (2000). We admired him in his brilliant role of a kind, goodhearted novelist James M. Barrie in the factually-based “Finding Neverland” (2004), then the same year he was a writer accused for plagiarism by a strange man, who starts to haunt him for ‘justice’ in the “Secret Window,” then a legendary criminal in an extraordinary portrait of John Dillinger in “Public Enemies” (2009).
“All the amazing people that I've worked with - Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman - have told me consistently: don't compromise. Do your work, and if what you're giving is not what they want, you have to be prepared to walk away.”
Depp’s private life is not so private
Johnny Depp had married only once. In 1983, he had married Lori Anne Allison. Alison was a make-up artist and his band-mate’s sister. The marriage lasted less than three years and in 1985 he had already divorced Allison. The divorce from Allison catalyzed engagements to several new love interests. He was briefly engaged to Sherilyn Fenn, he had dated Jennifer Gray but until his decision to take the role in “Edward Scissorhands” he had not found “the one” yet. His co-star and later fiancé, Winnona Ryder, was described as the “love of his life,” but that love lasted three years and soon after their separation, he was ready to alter his famously tattooed declaration of love to Winnona, from ‘Winnona Forever’ to ‘Wino Forever’.
In 1996, Depp started an on-off relationship with Kate Moss, a British supermodel, but evidently Moss wasn’t “the one” either and never considered being tattooed onto his wrist, biceps or any other part of his ‘the sexiest man alive’ body, so their relationship ended in 1998.
At the same time, while dating Moss, Jonny Depp began to relapse, regardless of his, by that time, huge success - an unhappy Depp started using alcohol and drugs to escape reality of the rich and famous.
In 1999, the obviously troubled actor was almost simultaneously arrested twice: for trashing his New York hotel room and for fighting a member of the paparazzi.
Depp meets Vanessa Paradis
In 1998, Depp met a French actress and singer Vanessa Paradis while filming “The Ninth Gate” and judging by what we have seen by now, it looks like Johnny Depp has found “the one.”
“I pretty much fell in love with Vanessa the moment I set eyes on her. As a person, I was pretty much a lost cause at that time in my life. She turned all that around for me with her incredible tenderness and understanding.”
Depp and Paradis have two children: Lily-Rose Melody Depp, born on May 27, 1999 and John Christopher ‘Jack’ Depp, born on April 9, 2002. Both children were born in Paris. He said: “You can’t plan the kind of deep love that results in children. Fatherhood was not a conscious decision. It was part of the wonderful ride I was on. It was destiny, all the math finally worked.”
The family divides its time between their home in Paris, Los Angeles, an island in Bahamas Depp bought earlier and their villa in the south of France near Saint-Tropez.
The couple is known as the most discreet and almost mythical couple.
Depp grows grapes and has winemaking facilities in his vineyard in Plan-de-la-Tour north of Saint-Tropez.
Johnny Depp’s Nominations and Awards
Depp’s nominations:
Three times for the Academy Award, USA (Oscar):
- 2004, Best Actor in a Leading Role for “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
- 2005, Best Actor in a Leading Role for “Finding Neverland” (2004)
- 2008, Best Actor in a Leading Role for “Sweeney Todd: The Barber of Fleet Street” (2007)
Five times for the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, USA (Saturn Award):
- 2000, Best Actor for “Sleepy Hollow” (1999)
- 2002, Best Actor for “From Hell” (2001)
- 2004, Best Actor for “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” (2003)
- 2005, Best Actor for “Finding Neverland” (2004)
- 2008, Best Actor for “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (2007)
Two times for the BAFTA Awards:
- 2004, Best Actor in a Leading Role for “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
- 2005, Best Actor in a Leading Role for “Finding Neverland” (2004)
Depp’s awards:
Bahamas International Film Festival (2009), Blockbuster Entertainment Awards (2000), Cesar Awards, France (1999), Empire Awards, UK (2004 and 2006), Golden Globes, USA (2008), Hollywood Film Festival (2003), Irish Film and Television Awards (2004), Kids’ Choice Awards, USA (2008, 2011), London Critics Circle Film Awards (1996), MTV Movie Awards (2004, 2007 and 2008), MTW Movie Awards, Mexico (2004), National Movie Awards, UK (2008), People’s Choice Awards, USA (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011), Rembrandt Awards (2007, 2008 and 2011), Russian Guild of Film Critics – Golden Award (1998), SFX Awards, UK (2004 and 2007), Screen Actors Guild Awards (2004), ShoWest Convention, USA (1990), Teen Choice Awards (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011).
On 16th November 1999 Johnny Depp won Star of the Walk of Fame at 7020 Hollywood Boulevard.
In 2003 and 2009 Johnny Depp was voted by People magazine as the Sexiest man alive, joining an elite club together with George Clooney and Brad Pitt.
Branka Cubrilo - Branka Cubrilo is a novelist, short story writer and a journalist. Her novels and short stories are published worldwide.
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