Johnny Depp

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File:Donnie427.jpg
Johnny Depp as Donnie Brasco, 1997

Johnny Depp (born John Christopher Depp II, June 9, 1963) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor.

Biography

Early life

Depp was born in Owensboro, Kentucky to John Christopher Depp, Sr. and Betty Sue Palmer. He has one brother, Danny, and two sisters, Debbie and Christie (who now is Depp's personal manager). The Depp family has Irish, Cherokee, French and German ancestry; Depp's maternal great-grandmother, Minnie, was a full-blooded Cherokee, and his father also has distant Cherokee heritage. The family moved to Miramar, Florida in 1970 where he was primarily raised; they were constantly on the move during Depp's childhood, and he and his siblings lived in more than twenty different locations. Depp's mother bought him a guitar at age thirteen, and Depp began playing in garage bands. In one interview, Depp stated "I lost my virginity somewhere around age thirteen. I did every kind of drug there was by fourteen, swiped a few six-packs, broke into a few classrooms, just to see what was on the other side of that locked door. Eventually, you see where it's headed and you get out."[citation needed]

Depp's parents divorced in 1978 when he was fifteen, and he dropped out of school a year later to become a rock musician. He played with a band named "The Kids," who had modest local success. The band set out for Los Angeles, California, to try to get a record deal. At this time they changed their name to "Six Gun Method." During this period, Depp married Lori Anne Allison, the sister of the drummer of the band, on December 20, 1983. This caused friction between the band members and they split, the record deal never having materialized. Depp also collaborated with the band "Rock City Angels" and co-wrote the song "Mary" which appeared on their debut for Geffen Records, "Young Man's Blues".

Depp and his wife worked to make ends meet after moving in together. Depp's wife worked as a makeup artist, and he worked a variety of odd jobs, including as a pen salesman for a time. Later, his wife introduced him to actor Nicolas Cage, who advised Depp to turn to acting to support himself and his wife. His film career took off slowly however, and in 1985 Depp divorced Allison.

Career

For 6 months during the early 1980s, he played guitar for the rock n' roll band, Rock City Angels. [1] Depp was chosen to be in A Nightmare on Elm Street because Wes Craven, the director, admired his brown eyes and considered them a good asset for the character.[citation needed]. From that early role, Depp got his first major role, the lead in the FOX TV television series, 21 Jump Street. That series' success made Depp a popular teen idol in the late 1980s. Depp found that status an irritant, but the role was too lucrative to leave for several seasons.

Depp managed to change his image in 1990 with the quirky title role in the Tim Burton film, Edward Scissorhands, which remains his favorite. This success began a long association with the director with numerous leads in films such as Ed Wood (1994), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) and Corpse Bride (2005). He is also scheduled to star in Burton's film version Sweeney Todd, currently slated for a 2008 release.

Depp played the role of Hunter S. Thompson (as Raoul Duke) in the film based on the novel, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. He is an avid fan of Thompson's work and was also a longtime friend of Thompson before Thompson committed suicide in 2005. Depp funded the construction of the giant Gonzo fist-shaped cannon that Thompson instructed was to be used to fire his ashes into the atmosphere.[citation needed]

Depp was considered for roles in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, The Hulk, Interview with the Vampire, The Matrix, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Sin City, Speed, Titanic and the fifth Superman film (where he was considered for both Lex Luthor and Jor-El).


Depp, a musician, is said to be a keen guitar player and a big fan of the Rolling Stones. He can be heard playing slide guitar on the Oasis song "Fade In-Out" (from Be Here Now, 1997); playing acoustic guitar in the movie Chocolat, playing on the soundtrack to the movie Once Upon a Time in Mexico (he wrote "Sands' Theme," although the track is credited to "Tonto's Giant Nuts"); on Shane MacGowan's first solo album; and as a member of P, a group featuring Butthole Surfers singer Gibby Haynes. (However, it has been acknowledged that Depp does not possess a good singing voice.) He also made an appearance on The Fast Show, with the "Suits you Sir!" sales men segment' a British comic sketch show.

Personal life

Since his first marriage, Depp has dated and been engaged to Sherilyn Fenn, Jennifer Grey, Winona Ryder and Kate Moss. Depp is now in a long-term relationship with French singer and actress Vanessa Paradis, whom he met while filming The Ninth Gate in 1998. Together they have two children, daughter Lily-Rose Melody Depp (b. May 27, 1999) and son John Christopher Depp III (b. April 9, nicknamed Jack 2002). The family divides their time between Los Angeles and a villa in the South of France, but it has been rumored that Depp is considering moving to Connecticut. He also owns an island in the Caribbean, where he spends some of his time.

Like many celebrities, Depp has had several run-ins with the law over the course of his career. His first arrest was in Vancouver for a late-night altercation in a hotel lobby. He was accused of selling drugs at his club The Viper Room, after actor River Phoenix died in front of the club from a drug overdose in 1993 though the owners were not involved in the tragic death. In 1994, Depp was arrested and questioned by police for allegedly causing serious damage to a New York City hotel suite. He was arrested again in 1999 for getting into a fight with paparazzi outside a restaurant while dining in London with his girlfriend, Vanessa Paradis. Depp dislikes fans taking pictures of his family and has threatened paparazzi who have attempted to photograph his children, telling a reporter in an interview that if he caught anyone doing so, he would "bite your nose off and swallow it.". [2]

Depp has admitted to engaging in self-mutilation as a child due to the stress of dealing with family problems and his own insecurity. He has seven or eight scars from practicing self-harm. In a 1993 Details interview, he explained his self-injury by saying, "My body is a journal in a way. It's like what sailors used to do, where every tattoo meant something, a specific time in your life when you make a mark on yourself, whether you do it yourself with a knife or with a professional tattoo artist." In 1999, Depp admitted that to this day, his self-image and self-esteem are sometimes rocky, though he maintains that he is happier than he's ever been. [3].

Depp is a fan of musician Syd Barrett, and has mentioned that a film about his life story sounds like a great idea. Along with Sean Penn and Mick Hucknall, Depp part-owns the Parisian restaurant-bar Man Ray.

Depp reportedly has 13 tattoos, including the inscriptions "Lily-Rose" (the name of his first-born child), "Betty Sue" (his mother's name), and "Wino Forever" (originally "Winona Forever"; Depp had the tattoo altered after his break-up with Winona Ryder); a sparrow that can be seen on his character Captain Jack Sparrow in the film Pirates of the Caribbean is real also. The first one he got was the Native American on his arm, when he was seventeen.[citation needed]

Awards

Awards

2006 People's Choice Award
Favorite Male Movie Star
2005 People's Choice Award
Favorite Male Movie Star
2004 MTV Movie Award
Best Male Performance
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
2004 MTV Movie Award Mexico
Best Look
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
2004 IFTA Award
Best International Actor
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
2004 Teen Choice Award
Choice Movie Fight/Action Sequence
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
2004 Teen Choice Award
Choice Movie Liar
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
2000 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
Favorite Actor - Horror
Sleepy Hollow
1999 Screen Actors Guild Awards
Star on the Walk of Fame
Motion Picture, 16 November 1999, At 7020 Hollywood Blvd.
1999 César Awards, France
Honorary Award
1998 Golden Aries (Russian Guild of Film Critics)
Best Foreign Actor
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
1996 London Critics Circle Film Awards
ALFS Award: Actor of the Year
Ed Wood and Don Juan DeMarco
1990 ShoWest Award
Male Star of Tomorrow

Nominations

Filmography

Actor

Producer

  • The Rum Diary (2006) (Producer) [4]
  • The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Producer) (2006) [5]
  • Shantaram (2007) (Executive Producer) [6]

Miscellaneous

Composer

Director

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