Return to Interview page

THE TONIGHT SHOW
Transcripts by Amy Hope

Johnny Depp on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno-1995-for Don Juan DeMarco

Jay Leno--Get right to my first guest, one of the most respected actors working today, you know him in such films as Edward Scissorhands, Benny & Joon, Ed Wood. Latest film called Don Juan DeMarco and getting terrific, terrific reviews.with Marlon Brando. This is his very first talk show, glad to have him, Johnny Depp!
(Johnny is wearing a dark jacket, dark slacks and looks like a light green shirt but could be gray or blue because the tape is so bad I can’t tell.. His hair is short and reminiscent of his look at the Don Juan DeMarco Premiere or Venice in 2004)
Johnny comes in to the screams of the audience applauding wildly, shakes hands with Leno. Sitting down he looks very uncomfortable. He looks at the crowd and I think he says ‘Geez’, but can’t be sure the sound is not good on this tape--(too bad I’m not a expert at reading lips!) He is chewing gum and looks like around to get rid of it. Jay offers him a tissue to get rid of it, Johnny accepts.

Jay Leno--Here ya go, you want one of these? Here ya go. Unless you brought enough for everyone.
Johnny-There was a tray back there...
JL-That’s cool, that’s cool. I will take that and put it right here, or I’ll stick it under here unless.. (indicating sticking gum under the desk!) This is like a strange environment, doing these kinda shows, is it weird?
JD-(Smiles) Yes. Yeah, to me.
JL-(laughs) I kinda thought that. You never did any kind of theater did you?
JD-No.
JL-Mostly behind the camera. Is it odd to be in front of a large group, this many people, like an audience?
JD-Well, I just uh, I don’t have much experience with this type of ...(looks around at audience and looks taken aback at the many people in the audience as they clap & yell at his response).
JL-Yeah, I know. But you were a musician, right,? You had a band.
JD-Yeah.
JL--So you were in front of an audiences there.
JD--Yeah, but you go up there an play guitar and then you walk away and it’s over with.
JL--Yeah, now you weren’t real successful with the band, just mostly bar gigs?. That kinda stuff?
JD--Yeah, pretty much.
JL--Did you like that?That’s what you did; you weren’t always an actor.
JD--No, I uh, I was a musician forever until I was about 20, 21.
JL--(laughing)Well, what’s forever to 21, actually ?
JD--Well, I mean, I started playing clubs when I was 14.
JL-Really at 14?
JD--Yeah.
JL--Oh, man that’s pretty young, actually.
JD--Yeah.
JL--I started about nineteen doing clubs. That’s different, you were playing bars?
JD--Bars.
JL--Rock ‘n roll bars?
JD--Yeah, same deal.
JL--Yeah.
JD-- They’d sneak me into the back and I’d play and I’d split.
JL--So you did that a number of years. So what got you into the acting?At what point did you say I’ll try some acting?
JD- (Smiling and pulling on his ear)I never said that, still haven’t said that. Kind of a fliuke. Um, a good freind of mine Nicolas Cage suggested (applause from audience) yeah, great actor....
JL--How did you know him? Did you know him through music connections?
JD--Just, when I moved out here, I met him through mutual freinds. And he just suggested I meet his agent. So I did and he sent me to read for a film. That was it. It was really like, you know a freak thing.
JL-- All things being equal, would you rather have the success you have now as a musician or would do you like it better as an actor, I mean, which is. . .
JD--Well, I miss playing but I think everything, things happen that’s suppose to.
JL--I mean, obviously, I see the intensity in which you bring to these characters that you play, so obviously once you stumbled into it you really loved it, I assume....
JD-- Well, yeah, the first couple of years I was just trying to make some money, ya know. (laughs)
JL--Was that when you were doing 21 Jump Street?
JD--No, even before that, Nightmare on Elm Street.
JL--(laughing)Yeah, yeah, you were the guy in the bed?!
JD--Yeah, I got sucked into a bed.(Smiles)
JL--(still laughing)and the blood comes out!
JD-Yeah (laughs ) that was my claim to fame.
JL-Did you work as a mechanic also, did I read that in the bio?
JD--I did, yeah, It was a strange deal coz, I was pumping gas and my boss suddenly says ‘okay, you’re going into the garage and work on cars now.’ I said ‘well, that’s fine but I don’t know anything about cars’. And he said ‘No, that’s fine just do what I tell ya.’ I did it.
JL--You kinda skipped the Mr.Good Wrench training.
JD-Yeah, and I got fired eventually, coz a guy’s wheel fell off.
JL--A guy’s wheel fell off. (laughs)
(Audience laughs and applauds)
JD--It’s true.(figure in ear)
JL--Someone told me this but I don’t remember it, maybe we did meet. When Iggy Pop was here someone said you came with him. Did we meet back stage?
JD--No.
JL--Were you like hiding out?
JD--No, I was hiding in his dressing room watching the monitor.
JL--I was in the the dressing groom, did you hide when I came in?
JD-No. (Smiles)
JL--So how did you team up with him? So what’s the connection there?
JD--Well, in 1989 we made Cry Baby together, John Water’s film. I’d met Iggy in uh, about in 1980, the band opened up for him, he was always a real big hero to me. I wanted to meet him but I didn’t want to meet him like ‘Hi how ya doin’ kinda thing, so I decided to get his attention a different way. I started screaming obscenities at him after the show. And uh, he responded. (Smiles) So I was happy; I was satistfied.
JL--How did he respond exactly?
JD--Uh, he walked up to me and uh, got about an inch from my nose and called me ‘a little turd’. Yeah. And then, ya know. he waltzed off. (Smiles)
JL--Kind of a beautiful, beautiful moment.
JD--Yeah, it was nice ya know, I was 17, I felt we bonded. Now we’re pals to this day, so.
JL--There ya go, you did the right thing. Don’t get any ideas after the program. We have a clip here from the film. You’re a guy who was arrested as sort of a mentally unstable person who thinks he is Don Juan, the great lover. Is this scene with Marlon Brando and you guys are in his office?Take a look.
JD-Oh!

******Clip from Don Juan DeMarco****** (audience applauds)

JL--Terrific film. Very, very good. You make great choices
JD--Thank you very much. I appreciate that
JL--I appreciate you coming here tonight. I know you gotta run I know you just ran off the set and you’re running back now. Thanks alot, man.
JD--Thank you very much.

Jay walks Johnny off the set. Johnny looks into the camera backstage, his eyes widen and he walks past.

************************************************

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Monday, November 20, 1995

Jay Leno--My first, guest one of the most respected actors working today You know him from his work in movies like Ed Wood, Cry-Baby, Edward Scissorhands, and his latest film is called, Nick of Time it opens Wednesday. Please welcome, Johnny Depp!
(Audience applauds with some standing up and clapping & screaming--Johnny come out with a finger in his ear and nods to Jay and shakes his hand)

JL--Good to see ya again.
JD--You too, you too.
JL--They tell me you . . .
(Audience still cheering; a woman clearly heard yelling ‘Johnny’!)
JL--(laughs) They tell me you went to that Sinatra thing. I got invited to that I couldn’t go we were in Las Vegas. Was it fun?
JD--Yeah, it was great.
JL--You meet alot of...
JD--I met Don Rickles.
JL-- (laughs) Oh, is that...how was Rickles? Was he alright?
JD--It was very exciting.
JL--Yeah?
JD--Yeah.
JL--You enjoyed meeting him?
JD--Yeah.
JL--Was he giving you a hard time?
JD--I was waiting for him to insult me, but...
JL--Was he familiar with your work?
JD--Apparently, yeah
JL--Well, that’s good. That’s pretty good. Rickles knows who you are.
JD--It was really nice I liked him.
JL--Pretty broad base when you got Rickles in there then that’s good. This was Sinatra’s 80th Anniversary, did you meet Sinatra?
JD--80th birthday. No, no I just watched...stood there...stood very far away. JL--You could play a young Sinatra.
JD--(pauses) Ol’ black Eyes, eh?
JL-- (laughs) Be a little tricky. What have you been up to? You been working what, overseas?
JD--I was doing a film in Ireland for couple weeks another one with Marlon Brando (Divine Rapture) and uh, then they took the money away and it was over with.(laughs) The rug was pulled out from under us.
JL--Welcome to show buisness. Now, when you’re overseas, do you get recognized for different things then you do here? I mean is there a different, uh, I mean people know you here for Ed Wood ... is it the same all over?
JD--Yeah, they don’t concentrate on hotel rooms so much.(Smiles)
JL--(laughs hard) Oh, yeah, are they not as much into celebrity gossip?
JD--I think they just watch the films.
JL--Well,That’s good. Thank God for that.
JD--Which is always nice.
JL--Let me ask you something about your work, this always struck me, when someone like yourself...
(a loud groan from closing door interrupts the conversation)
JL--OK, thank you, they’re doing Tales from the Crypt apparently, next door.
JD--I thought it was my chest cavity bursting.
JL--Like when I see a film you did a film like Edward Scissorhands, this is so unusual to me and so, I mean it works, but when you’re handed a script, and you know, every film makes or breaks you as you go along each time, someone says ok you play a guy and your hands are scissors, do you ever say to yourself ‘What the hell are you talking about?’ I mean, you know what I mean?
JD--Yeah.
JL--In your own mind do you go’yeah I see where this goes’? Or do you....?
JD-I saw it yeah.(laughs)
(applause)
JL--Now that’s a great gift, though.
(more applause)
JD--It seemed right to me; it seemed normal, it seemed good.
JL--You get a script or does an idea like that you just sort of read it and you then find a director or is the whole thing sort of pitched to you at once. You know what I’m saying?
JD--Its always the filmakers, always really important.
JL--Because like when I saw Don Juan DeMarco, all of these seem like if given to someone else could either make them a laughing stock if they screwed it up even just a little bit, or do a terrific job as you seem to be able pull off. I just wonder what you see when you....?
JD--Well, uh, part of the seduction is the potential failure that you could actually fall over and do a really bad job.
JL--So you like that part.. Yeah, I know what you mean. Rather than go out, sometimes as a comedian you’ll play an impossibly tough room, ‘cause if you win you win big. If you lose it’s a tough room. Now this new film, Nick of Time, is this the first uh, hate to say big, ‘cause they’re all big films, I mean sort of action....?
JD--Well, it’s uh, first sort of thriller, like a suspense thriller, Hitchcock.
JL--Now you play a guy, an accountant, and somebody kidnaps your kid and if you don’t kill somebody in ‘x’ amount of time, what an hour..?
JD--If I don’t croak the govenor (audience laughs, & Depp laughs) in ninety minutes they’re gonna.(gestures with his hand across his throat) my kid.
JL--Now I haven’t seen it yet, but they tell me the whole film is done in ‘real time’ by that I mean you have ninety minutes on film, days don’t go by, I mean, the theater is with you the whole 90 minutes. It seems like an exciting concept. Was it alot of fun doing it?
JD--It was interesting to shoot ninety minutes over the course of three months. Really pay attention to details

***clip of Nick of Time******

JL--Walken’s the bad guy.
JD--Yeah, he’s an amazing guy, he’s incredible.
JL--Yeah, yeah. He plays a great, great creepy bad guy.
JD--He’s just incredible, has this amazing prescence.
JL--I will check it out. I’ve seen everything you’ve done; I enjoy your work very much. I hope this is a big hit for you.
JD--Thank you . (shakes hands with Leno making eye contact with Jay)
JL--Johnny Depp! Johnny, I know you gotta run, thanks for coming by, man, see ya later.
Jay walks Johnny off the set.