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Ad Magazine 8/16/03

As God in France
Johnny Depp

He was known for his eccentric movie roles, his lose hands, his drink and drug use. Now, he plays with Barbie dolls. Typical for Johnny Depp is the way he prepared for his part as the pirate captain Jack Sparrow in the Disney-movie Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. He got his inspiration by sitting in the sauna for hours with the script of the movie in his wet hands. "I imagined Jack as a man who had wondered the seas in extreme heat and had been on deserted islands. I wanted to know what high temperatures do to the brains of people. That's why I went to the sauna for days with the temperature as high as possible to get an impression of it. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. After a while, the paper started to feel mushy. But it did help me."
That wasn't enough for Depp. To give Jack some more texture, he investigated the history of pirates. "In my eyes, those men weren't after the big money. Pirates searched for ultimate freedom. They were the rock stars of the 18th century. That's how I arrived at the greatest rock star of history and that's Keith Richards, who, to me, is a bit of pirate himself. I mixed a part of Keith with the cartoon figure Pepe Le Pew, a skunk that falls in love with a cat that can't stand him. I used Pepe because he only sees his reality. That's a part of Jack's character as well."
A few of the top men at Disney were skeptical when they saw Depp as Jack Sparrow. Who is this strange character? Why is he wearing heavy make up? Why those golden teeth? What is that on his chin? "I knew there was a lot of talk behind my back," says Depp. "At a certain point, I said: trust me or replace me. Luckily enough, the director Gore Verbinski supported my way of doing things, he let me carry on." Pirates of the Caribbean is Depp's first time in a giant production. The idea of the movie is based on the attraction with the same name in Disneyland, where the visitors are taken in a boat along burning pirate ships, steamy, plundering and drinking pirates and harbors under attack with terrified citizens. Depp is a great admirer of this kind of entertainment. "Oh, yeah. As a kid, I have been to Disneyworld in Florida a few times. I loved it. I've also been there with my children. I become the kid I used to be, again. I loved those explosion just as much as I did then.
It sounds unbelievable out of the mouth of an actor who had a different reputation not that long ago. Johnny Depp was the man of eccentric roles. Like the director Ed Wood that dressed in women's clothes from time to time in the movie with the same name in 1994 by Tim Burton, with whom he also made Edward Scissorhands (1991), about a lonely boy with scissors instead of hands. In Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) he's a danger in the American gambling city, constantly under the influence of drink and drugs. Privately he was also noticed. He had affairs with Sherilyn Fenn, Jennifer Grey and Winona Ryder, who he adored so much that he got a tattoo: Winona Forever, now changed into Wino Forever, a promise for eternal drinking. In his wild years, Depp trashed a hotel room and more than one photographer got to know his fist. He was one of the owners of the notorious night club The Viper Room, outside which his fellow actor River Phoenix died of a drug overdose, which he probably took inside the club, ten years ago. Now, Depp is caught in a long juridical battle with his former business partner over the takings of The Viper Room.

In the Bristol hotel in Paris there is another Depp (40) sitting across of me. Out of politeness he doesn't smoke, which he did used to do. His dark hair is half long, with blond highlights. He's got a fashionable goatee and is wearing glasses with a black frame. When he smile you can see a gold tooth. He gives a vibration of peace, life in the South of France seems to be good for him. He says that as an American in his new home country he hasn't noticed anything of the recent tensions between France and his land of birth. Depp does care about the subject: "Since I have been living here, I haven't noticed anything of the hostility here. The hostile relationship between the countries is entirely the fault of the Yankees. More specifically of the Yankees in the higher positions. In my eyes, the French have behaved correctly. The fact that the so-called geniuses in the American government decided at a certain point to change French fries to Freedom fries and French toast to Freedom toast says enough to me. That has to have opened everyone's eyes. I was ready to write a letter to the American leaders to tell them that they showed what kind of idiots they really are. They are behaving like toddlers, while they have the power of the world in their hands. It's really frightening."
Does he feel more at ease in France? "Don't get me wrong, I love the US. I regularly go back to Kentucky, where my mother lives. America is still an amazing, wild country. But France is the first place where I ever felt really at home. The quality of life really appeals to me. The country has an old culture, and has obviously learned from it's past. There's no aggressive culture here, no gluttony and greed like in the US. Here, I can talk about the really important things in life, like cheese and wine. And not about the recent output of the new movies, or about who's going to earn what for his next role. I'll never renounce America, I am and will always be an American, but now I'm not really proud about the man that has the lead. I have no idea what he is doing. As far as I'm concerned, he can be happy that he has a job."
The family life with the tender French movie star Vanessa Paradis is the most important thing in Johnny Depp's life. On May 27, 1999 he became the father of his daughter Lily-Rose Melody and last year on April 10 his son Jack was born. Does his new life influence the decisions about his movies? He wouldn't have easily participated in a commercial production like Pirates of the Caribbean, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer (the man of bug budget movies like Pearl Harbor, Con Air and The Rock) in the not the far past. And his next movies, like Secret Garden, Secret Window (based on a book by Stephen King, which will be released next year) at first sight, don't seem to fit in his filmography. Depp has a typical Deppian explanation for that: "My children have influenced my choices, even before they were born." That sentence asks for a bit more explanation. "When I first started out, I was in a TV series called 21 Jump Street. Not for long, but long enough to suffer because of it. The work was far from satisfying. It was like a kind of prison, although I have gained from it, if I'm honest. During the series, I got the chance to make movies, like Cry-Baby and Edward Scissorhands. When I was released from the TV series, I made a decision. I would only make movies that I liked. Soon there were Arizona Dream, Benny and Joon and Ed Wood. At that time I thought: if someone at a certain point says to me: Mr. Depp, you suck, you're time is over, you can't make anymore movies, I would at least have a series of movies on my name that my children, if I would have any, could be proud about. Not that I'm in a midlife crisis: no, I now play with Barbie dolls. I used to be bored, but not anymore. I think I had my midlife crisis before I was twelve. When I started playing the guitar at that age, I was cured."
Depp still says he isn't after commercial success. "In the long run, I don't think it's important whether your movie is successful of not. I can be happy that I can still work, despite of the number of failures that I have on my record. I have never scored at the box office, which I don't regret. Al those marketing strategies are a complete mystery to me. Movies are entertainment, not art. I would like it that to be different, but sadly enough it isn't."