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 (first broadcast on Jan. 12, 2003)
Johnny Depp: I swore to myself, you know, that I was only going to do the things that I wanted to do. I don't regret anything I have done, you know. I wouldn't change a thing. I've never ever wanted to be an actor. I'm still not sure I want to be an actor. And now, Bravo profiles Johnny Depp. Benecio Del Toro: He is unique in the fact that he has no fear of failing. Hunter S. Thompson: Yeah, he is an adventurer, but a quiet adventurer. Sal Jenco: We've been friends for 30 years. Johnny has been like that since he's been a little boy, instinctively, intuitively. In his early television career, the buzz was all about his exotic good looks. Tim Burton: People think because of the way he looks that he cares a lot about his look. I've never met anybody who was just more like, wants to cover up and look as weird as possible. But, Johnny Depp is not your garden variety pretty boy. He has repeatedly defied the labels imposed on him by the Hollywood machine. Julian Schnabel: Johnny's one of these people who don't fit into a category. That probably pisses a lot of people off. Faye Dunaway: He's just sort of not definable. I think. You can't pin him down. Johnny Depp's unconventional approach has earned him great success. Yet, he remains a reluctant movie star, seeking his own professional niche beyond the conventional spot light. Johnny Depp: I stopped reading magazines, newspapers, all that stuff. Because I don't wanna know what they're writing about me. Dianne Wiest: This is a person who can't help but be honest. That can be dangerous. The perennial outsider, Depp now lives as an expatriot in France, far from the glare of Hollywood. Lasse Hallstrom: I think he is a very happy Frenchman these days. Whether in his life or in his work, Johnny Depp is not a man with a taste for the ordinary. Johnny Depp: You don't have to swell with it being fed to you. You can go out and search on your own, you know, there's more stuff out there. Ever since Johnny Depp escaped his frustrating, early days, as a teen idol, he has been determined to chart his own course and resist not only the Hollywood status quo, but virtually everything the public has grown to expect from celebrity. Faye Dunaway: He's always, of course, gone his own way. He goes to the way of the artist. He is an artist. That's the thing about Johnny.
Johnny Depp's career has been built on choices that are bold, provocative, and unpredictable. Lasse Hallstrom: I respect his choices really. He's obviously gone for the outcasts and have a lot of empathy for the outcasts in life. There is no better example of Depp's affinity for outsiders than his role in Tim Burton's freakish fairy tale Edward Schissorhands. Depp plays a boy created by an eccentric inventor, then orphaned before he's given his hands. Instead he has scissors. Johnny Depp: Everybody in Hollywood wanted that part, everybody. Tracey Jacobs: Tim Burton at the time was a very hot director coming off a big film. That big film was Batman, and the buzz around town was that Tom Cruise, then the hottest box-office star in the world, was on a fast track to play the role of Edward Scissorhands. Tracey Jacobs: I'd been sent an early version of Edward Scissorhands, the script, to read. When I read it, I thought of only one person for the movie. That was Johnny. It was 1989, and 26-year-old Johnny Depp was staring in the hit TV series 21 Jump Street. Tracey Jacobs: Everyone said "No" to me, and it's not that they didn't think Johnny was a good actor. It's that they just felt that he was on a television series, that would never do. Tim Burton: That's the way a studio thinks, and so you know, I always feel that fate enters into things a lot of the time. Fate did indeed intervene and a meeting between Burton and Depp was finally set up. Johnny Depp: I wasn't going to go to the meeting in fact, because I just thought it was... there was no hope. I just thought there's no way this guy's going to see me, some... you know, some sort of just TV actor. He's not going to cast me, you know. Why go and embarrass myself by meeting him? Tim Burton: After meeting him, I realized, you know, it kind of fitted the role. Because he was perceived as a sort of teen heartthrob from the TV show, when, in fact, inside of himself, he really didn't, you know, he is a different person, much deeper. He was a real contradiction from the image of what he was perceived as to what he really was inside. And, you know, that was very much what the role Edward Scissorhands was. Finally, Johnny got the call he was hoping for. Tracey Jacobs: I called him up at home and I said, "How does it feel to be Edward Scissorhands?" And, you could just hear the screaming on the other line. He was so exited. (film clip from Edward Scissorhands.) Dianne Wiest: Johnny was brilliant casting for Edward Scissorhands, because they share, (the character and Johnny) share a vulnerability, and they also share a feeling of being outside. Edward Scissorhands was shot in the summer of 1990 in Tampa, Florida. Tim Burton: East of Tampa. There's a difference. Summertime in inland Florida offered some unique challanges for an actor dressed in full-leather. It was also an opportunity for Johnny to demonstrate his commitment to his craft. Tim Burton: It's just the things people don't see. Being in, like, a hundred degree weather wearing a full-leather suit, you know, and still trying to act. Dianne Wiest: ...one night, he had to do a running sequence. Running away from the house. I think it's on Christmas. And... he passed out. He fell down. We thought well is he acting what's he was doing, and he had passed out, never complained, but he had passed out from the heat of the suit. It was really remarkable. That's somehow very revealing about him. And, that quality comes through in his acting. Edward Scissorhands remains one of Depp's most memorable performances. The role providing Johnny Depp the opportunity to prove that his appeal was more than skin deep. Terry Gilliam: Ah, a lot of people dismiss actors that are just pretty looking. I think in many cases he tries to disguise his looks, so you know, that's like, 'cause it's like cheating being that good looking. Lasse Hallstrom: He conveys so much through his eyes. That emotional presence the honesty of the presence is right there, the way he has to rely on, and he is forced to rely on those eyes to express complex emotions. I'm very impressed by that performance. Tim Burton: I learned from Edward Scissorhands he's a silent movie actor, and he understands, you know, that a lot of the acting is not in the words. Dianne Wiest: It's a very wise thing for Tim to say about Johnny, because it is very true. But, you know, oftentimes, as in the silent screen, when you have to open your mouth, the truth comes out, and when Johnny opens his mouth, the truth gets deeper.
John Christopher Depp II was born in 1963 in Owensboro, Kentucky. Johnny was the youngest of four. His father, John was a civil engineer, his mother, Betty Sue, a waitress. When Johnny was seven, his family left Kentucky and moved to Miramar, Florida, a small town, north of Miami. Johnny and his new classmate, Sal Jenco became best friends.  Sal Jenco: It's like, you know, when you meet somebody and you feel like you know them, that kind of thing. That's sort of what we have in common. Johnny was a shy kid, who never really fitted into new surroundings. Instead, he found refuge in his imagination. Sal Jenco: I think mostly we were dreamers. We did our thing. But at fifteen, Johnny's family was thrown into turmoil, when his parents divorced. Sal Jenco: He was close with his brother and sisters very tight-knit, and real close with mum and dad, very nice people. It's a sad thing. Johnny managed to adjust to the divorce by channeling his energy into learning the guitar, one his mother bought for him for 25 dollars. Music became Johnny's focus. School however was not, so at sixteen he dropped out. Sal Jenco: He didn't make the year book. He didn't make it that far in school. Then at nineteen, Johnny's musical diligence paid off, when he was asked to join a popular Miami bar band called "The Kids." Bruce Witkin: He just fit in perfectly. He just... He plays from his heart, you know. He wasn't really into the "technique" of playing the guitar. He was just more into the "feel" of it. I mean we were pretty big fish in a small pond in Florida. We were young. We were pulling in good money. We played to packed house every night. But in 1983, "The Kids" decided they were ready to leave home. Bruce Witkin: I just said, "Look, nothing's going to happen here, you know. We got to go to either L.A. or New York," and New York was gonna be too cold. So, it was off to California, 20-year-old Johnny Depp could have never anticipated the life altering detour that waited him. Johnny Depp: And it just seemed like a whole lot of money at the time to just sort of, you know, go in front of the camera and lie.
When Johnny Depp arrived in Los Angels in 1983, he was just 20 years old, and becoming an actor was the furthest thing in his mind. Depp was playing guitar in a band called "The Kids," who had just moved to L. A. from Miami. But, "The Kids" learned all to quickly the harsh realities of the music business. Competition was fierce and the gigs were spotty. Eventually, "The Kids" had no choice but to disband. Bruce Witkin: It sucked. I mean it sucked, you know. But, we had no money. Johnny needed a plan B fast. One of his new L. A. friends, an up and coming young actor named Nicolas Cage had a solution. Cage set up a meeting for Johnny with his agent.
Johnny Depp: In my world and in my brain, I was a musician. You know, I get these acting gigs was basically just to... pay the rent, you know, pay the rent, be able to eat, and buy cigarettes, you know, that's really all it was for the first couple of years. And, I always planned on going back into music which had been my first love for ever and ever. And then, whatever one thing led to another and I ended up doing it all the time. Johnny's first audition was for director, Wes Craven, who was casting a horror film called A Nightmare on Elm Street. Craven decided to give the 22-year-old guitar player from Miami shot. Soon after that, Depp was cast in a small role in Platoon, Oliver Stone's 1986 Vietnam War epic. But, it would be the small screen, that would make a star of Johnny Depp. Johnny Depp: I was asked to do the test for a TV series. So, I did it, and I didn't wanna it, I didn't wanna get it or anything, because I didn't wanna be baund by some contract, you know, for God knows how long. Anyway, I got the thing. Fox's 21 Jump Street, a teen cop drama, became an overnight sensation, and so did the star of the show, Hollywood newest heart throb Johnny Depp.  Johnny Depp: Once the show aired, everything went completely upside-down. They turned me into this great potential for a lunch box and a thermos, you know. People would be pointing at you and stuff like that, you know. It was very strange. Things were really disconcerting. I don't know if anybody's ever ready for it, but I certainly wasn't. I was aware that I was very privileged at the time. However the machine that was creating this image, and selling it, that's what really made me unconfortable. The fact that it had nothing to do with me, you know, or what I wanted to do, or what I was about. Once I got out of that deal, out of that series, I swore to myself, you know, that I was only going to do the things that I wanted to do. Which is what Johnny Depp has been doing ever since. Sal Jenco: His choices are made on whether he believes in something or not. He could be, you know, the 50-million-dollar guy. He's chosen not to, because he doesn't believe that that's what's right for him. Rather than trading in his Jump Street image, Depp instead chose to deconstruct it in movies like director John Waters' 1990 comedy, Cry Baby. Depp played Cry Baby Walker, a juvenile delinquent, who falls in love with a high society girl. Johnny Depp: When Cry Baby came along, it was like being given pure oxygen, it was just a great joke, you know, it made fun of all those sort of movies they expected me to do. It was that same year that Johnny stared in Edward Scissorhands. Johnny Depp: Basically, Cry Baby and Scissorhands were the building blocks the foundation, you know, for where I was going to able to go after that. So, when Edward Scissorhands' director Tim Burton offered Depp the role of Ed Wood, the cross-dressing B-movie maker, Johnny jumped at the chance to further deconstruct his Hollywood hunk image. This time, leather was out, in Ed Wood it was all about angora. (film clip from Ed Wood) Johnny Depp: The great thing is this trust, you know, which is the most important thing, I think, for any actor or any director, is that sense of trust. Tim Burton: Well, I feel same about him. I mean, you know, when you see somebody good, you don't have to say any... you know, you don't have to flex... whatever, you just... you kind of just enjoy what they're doing, because it's a real collaborative thing.
Depp and Burton also developed a distinctive way of communicating. Johnny Depp: I remember on a first film, on Scissorhands, Tim's direction was kind of like, you know, so sporadic, kind of, verbal, sort of hits, you know, "ba, ba, you know..., and, and," you know. Tim Burton: I had a tendancy to skip every other word, or kind of, race a head, and then kind of race a head of the sentence, and kind of forget what I was talking about at the beginning. Johnny Depp: It would take you a minute or two to sort of grasp what he meant. I think we developed kind of a... you know, a language.
Johnny Depp: I never really noticed it, but people were saying, you know, "When you and Tim speak, I can't understand... can't understand what is going on. I don't know what you are talking about, because one minute you're talking about the character, next minute you're talking about Sammy Davis Jr, and then, you know, suddenly, you know, some kind of strange instrument comes up." Johnny and Tim created the Ed Wood character by combining one part former leader of the free world and one part wooden dummy.  Tim Burton: He was talking about like Ronald Reagan, and I was talking about, like, the up-right enthusiasm of a ventriloquist's dummy. (film clip from Ed Wood) Tim Burton: Where in the first movie, he didn't speak, and this one, you know, he just didn't shut up. It was like he did have a hand up his ass, moving...(stutters)... He was like a ventriloquist's dummy. Martin Landau: It was great to work with him. Just great, you know. He is... Each time out, it's like playing a good tennis match. You don't know where the ball's coming back, and that I always keeps you alert and alive. (film clip from Ed Wood) Martin Landau: There's something... impeccably true about Johnny. As a result he's a joy to work with and to be around He is... You know, he's an old soul. He's very wise. Johnny Depp: In a sense, we were doing what Ed Wood did. You know, we were out there, shooting this black and white film about a transvestite movie director in the 1950s. You know, it was really bizarre circumstances, but it didn't change our approach or passion or determination to make it. (film clip from Ed Wood) Ed Wood was the film that firmly established Johnny Depp as not only one of Hollywood's most gifted actors but one more than willing to take risks  Johnny Depp: The stuff that I have been able to do is the stuff I... liked, you know, that I responded to, the material and the characters. You've got to try to challenge yourself to not get bored, to try something new that hasn't been chewed up already.
Martin Landau: I think he's probably an agent's nightmare in that he doesn't think commercially.
By the age of 30, Johnny Depp had established himself as an actor with an uncanny ability to play the role of an outcast. But, thrust into the Hollywood spotlight, Johnny felt increasingly uncomfortable as a celebrity insider, isolated by the attention brought on by stardom. Martin Landau: I think he's probably an agent's nightmare in that he doesn't think commercially. Tracey Jacobs: Johnny really never picks anything easy, and anything less than incredibly time consuming. Johnny Depp: I've never had ambition, you know. I really hate that word, and it's so alive. That word "ambition" and it's so much a part of the American kind of, you know, greed, you know, "gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme," kind of thing. But, I always had a kinda, a hunger, you know, a drive. Although his drive had taken him a long way from his small town roots, Depp still went into his first Lasse Hallstrom film already having a pretty good idea of what was eating Gilbert Grape. Lasse Hallstrom: Johnny was very familiar with this character. The fact that he had grown up in a small town, sort of felt depressant in this place helped a lot in interpretting this character. What's Eating Gilbert Grape, released in 1993, is the story of a beleaguered young man trapped in a small Iowa town. He is caretaker to his obese mother and his mentally retarded brother played by Leonardo DiCaprio. Lasse Hallstrom: He's very loyal to the film maker and to the story. He really wants to get the story right and tell the story right. In reaching for that, I just love his technique, the low-key approach, the search for an honesty and an emotional presence in each moment. Playing a role of such inner emotional complexity impacted Johnny Depp in a very personal way. The question became not what was eating Gilbert Grape?, but what was eating Johnny Depp? Tracey Jacobs: That was a hard movie for him. I don't know if he talked about it, but that was a hard movie for him, a very emotional movie. Lasse Hallstrom: I did notice that he seemed a bit down, kept more to himself. He didn't really socialize as much. Johnny Depp: One of the things that was probably bugging me on Gilbert Grape was the fact, I just, I didn't really... I wasn't really clear on what it was all for, you know... You know, what it was all about Alfie? You know, just didn't know what it was all about, in a way. What was clear by the mid-99s was that Johnny Depp had firmly established himself as a serious movie actor, playing roles opposite some of Hollywood's biggest names. In Don Juan DeMarco, released in 1995, Johnny Depp appeared with Marlon Brando and Faye Dunaway, in a story about a psychiatrist who must cure a young patient of his belief that he is the greatest lover in the world. Faye Dunaway: It is a tribute to him and Marlon, I think, too. They became very close on that, and there was a whole kind of partnership there, and I think that that chemistry worked very well. The on-screen chemistry between Brando and Depp spoke to a deeper off-screen connection, rooted at least in part, in their shared commitment to Native American rights. Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman: Marlon Brando is an honorable person to the American Indian world. Nobody else stood with him, and went to the wall with this about the issues. And, for him to be friends with Johnny right away says something about the both of them. Depp showed his support, when he chose this topic for his 1997 directorial debut.  Johnny Depp: The Brave for me was about a lot of stuff that I wanted to expose. I drove across America and I saw places like that. I've been on be reservations, you know, where... Yeah, these people, you know, they're not given their due, they're not... All that was promised to the Native Americans in the 1800's was all a lie, you know, was all a big lie. In fact, Johnny has more than passing interest in Native American culture. Depp's great grandmother was a Cherokee descent. Sal Jenco: That blood in him is what kind of motivates how he lives, and in a way I think he is in touch with, with that. Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman: He was very open to my suggestions about the culture, the Indian culture. And, we are very sensitive to that, you know, very wary if directors don't listen. The Brave is a dark disturbing story about a man who sells himself to a snuff film maker played by Marlon Brando, so that after his on-camera murder, his family will be taken care of. (film clip from The Brave) Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman: I believe that the story of a young man who wishes to sacrifice his life so that his people might live, in a sense, is in the Indian point of view, honorable sacrifice. Johnny made some sacrifices of his own to get the picture made. Sal Jenco: It really took everything that he had, and he put everything that he had into... Tracey Jacobs: He put his own money up for that movie, and his performance stands out. It's a tough movie. The Brave premiered at the 1997 Cannes film festival. Johnny Depp: What happened was really interesting. You know, sat down, watched the film with 2500 people, the audience, they gave the film a standing ovation. Next morning, one of the movie papers just destroyed it. People ran away from the movie at that point. So, what was really strange was that the reception was beautiful, and the next day panned by the paper, and everybody was like, you know, shut their doors and was frightened.  Julian Schnabel: I mean there are other movies that are totally meaningless that have been extremely successful and, so what. Is that success? I think the movie's a success, because it's about something. The experience at Cannes taught Johnny still another lesson on the workings of Hollywood. Johnny Depp: It's amazing, because essentially people have to hear their opinions, have to read their opinions, because they don't really have one. I hate that sort of mentality. I can't stand it. That's really what, you know, pretty much what Hollywood is. It's the beast. Unfortunately, Depp's less than glowing reviews for The Brave was only one of many bad experiences with the press. Johnny Depp: I don't want to know what people think about me I don't want to know any of that stuff. I want to be completely and totally... outside that, you know, just stay even.
Ever since the mantle of celebrity was bestowed upon him, Johnny Depp has been hounded by a prying and always ravenous tabloid press. His rumored multiple engagements and highly publicised romances have been the source of much of the paparazzi's focus. Occasionally, evoking Depp's need to give them a taste of their own medicine.
Johnny's animosity towards the paparazzi has escalated over the years and has led on more than one occasion to his being cast as Hollywood's perennial bad boy. Johnny Depp: What I mean, you know, it all makes for interesting copy, you know, fun sort of reading. There's been a tremendous amount of fiction... written. Tim Burton: I understand his point of view, because I... you know, I don't think he got into acting to be, you know, on the cover of Hello! magazine Bruce Witkin: He's not out doing public appearance. He's not doing a premiere, he's not on Hollywood Boulevard, you know, why can... why do they have the right to bother him. That's what I think bothers him the most. Johnny took matters into his own hands in a London restaurant in 1999, when photographers refused to heed his repeated requests to be left alone to enjoy a private dinner. 
Hunter S. Thompson: He went after photographers with a wooden plank, which I approved of. Tracey Jacobs: Look, the paparazzi are relentless. I think Johnny's never gonna court them ever. I think he never has. He's never going to. That's just a fact of life. You know, as long as he's famous, they're gonna be around. Johnny Depp: There is no way to fight this, huge media animal, other than to just keep silent and try to grow more middle fingers. You know. So far I've only got two, there are more coming.
(film clip from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) Terry Gilliam: I really do want to put it on record for anybody who has any criticisms of Johnny's performance. It's the most accurate version of Hunter S. Thompson which has ever been put on screen, or probably in the living world, as well. Hunter S. Thompson: Oh, no. I hope that's not true. Maybe... First published in 1971 Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, written by the father of gonzo journalism Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, is considered by many to be the seminally literary work of 1960's counter revolution. Terry Gilliam: The world was turning up-side-down, and we were there as Hunter says, "at the crest of a wave." And, it looked like we were gonna make the world a better place, and the war took over, and we all kind of crashed into depression, and then along came this book, Fear and Loathing, and just took our dreams and depressions by the throat and just went for it. "Yes!" and you could laugh at the whole madness of the thing. Depp had long been an admirer of Hunter S. Thompson. Even before there were plans for a movie, Johnny had asked to meet during a trip to Colorado. Hunter S. Thompson: I've had my share of, sort of, a Hollywood punks. I wasn't judgemental on him, but I figured I'd give him a little bit of a ride. I think I took a cattle prod down there. Yeah, I liked him. So, I invited him up here to shoot a bomb. Being asked up to Hunter's to shoot a bomb is like a rite of a passage. Hunter S. Thompson: It's a combination of nitro-glycerine and propane. And, when you hit it right with a shot gun, it goes off with a tremendous explosion. And, I gave him a nickle-plated shotgun, 12-gauge, right then the little bastard pulled the trigger and BOOM! And, a friendship was born. But it wasn't until sometime later that Johnny approached Hunter about playing him in a film adaptation of his book. Hunter S. Thompson: I was kind of amazed at the balls of it. He certainly didn't remind me of myself. Except he did spiritually. To prepare for the role, Johnny actually moved in Hunter's ranch in Colorado. Hunter S. Thompson: Yeah. His room's still downstairs. It's sort of Johnny's dungeon. Terry Gilliam: He spent months with Hunter. You know, he was like a vampire up there, sucking his life blood out. Not surprisingly, Hunter S. Thompson is not a man accustomed to being studied. Hunter S. Thompson: Not just studied but mimicked. I mean, if I was here and lighting a cigarette, he would be right next to me in the convertable, lighting a cigarette the same way. When he had his hat on and I took mine off, he'd take his off. And, when I put it back on, he'd do that. And it got very perculiar. When the time came to begin shooting, Hunter had some words of support for both Johnny and Benecio Del Toro who played Dr. Gonzo. Benecio Del Toro: I remember Hunter saying that er... you know, actually he said it to Johnny and said it to me, and he said, you know, "Your career is over after this movie." People might think that, you know, they see that movie and go, "Oh boy, you know, these guys must have been partying all the time." But, I guarantee you there was no drinking, no... you know, nothing, no smoking, no nothing. It was just straight up. Terry Gilliam: It's hard work to look like you're drugged. I think the most painful thing for Johnny is the cocaine he was snorting was powdered milk. (film clip from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) Terry Gilliam: And, I think by the end of it he probably had so much milk in his lungs. He could breast feed the crew, if it came to it. Hunter S. Thompson: Well, the spirit of the book is quite clear. In terms of the absolutely, you know, psychotic, excess, in all things and that list of drugs up infront. Interviewer: Do you remember it off-hand? Hunter S. Thompson: Ah... four bags of grass...
And, when we return, Johnny Depp's role of a life time, fatherhood. Johnny Depp: I've done some interviews where people say, "Won't you be ashamed in twenty years when your daughter reads that you were arrested for this or that?" No, the answer is no, absolutely not.
After nealy twenty years as a performer, Johnny Depp has made a name for himself as an actor, respected for the diversity of his work. Benecio Del Toro: When you take Edward Scissorhands to Ed Wood, to Donnie Brasco, to Fear and Loathing... There is a range there. Dianne Wiest: You would be hard to put to say that this one very beautiful human being is capable of playing all those roles, until you see that each one has got a quality, as though he's never ever done any other kind of role. Depp's performances is range from classic literary characters like Ichabod Crane in Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow to his art imitates life roles opposite Al Pacino in Donnie Brasco and as drug lord George Jung in Blow. Johnny Depp: What I liked about Blow was George wanted nothing but freedom, just freedom. And, the things that he thought would make him free before were the things that bit him on the ass. A guy sitting in prison, you know, can't get to his family. In 2000, Depp added a new wrinkle to his already varied career, when he teamed up for the second time with director Lasse Hallstrom to play his first romantic lead role in Chocolat. Lasse Hallstrom: In Chocolat, I see this guy who's confident on all levels in a way that I didn't see on Gilbert Grape. I saw a man who was much more comfortable with the attention of a camera in Chocolat. Depp's ethereal sensuality and Gipsy mystique perfectly suited the fairy tale role of an Irish river minstrel, who wakens the sexuality of a lonely chocolatier played by Juliette Binoche. Lasse Hallstrom: There's a lot of soul, and a lot of sparks between those souls, I think, that go on as they looked at each other. The role in Chocolat represented a rare swim in the main stream for Johnny. Depp is in fact well-known for passing on blockbuster films like the Keanu Reeves' role in Speed and the Brad Pitt role in Legends of the Fall. Instead, seeking out more esoteric roles. "Different" is the word one could use to describe the role Johnny played in Julian Schnabel's film Before Night Falls.  Faye Dunaway: Can you think of a better drag queen than Johnny Depp? Even Johnny's friends and former costars were amazed, even confused by this performance. Benecio Del Toro: In Before Night Falls, when he came out dressed as a girl, I fell in love right away. Real quick. And then, I realized, wait a second, that's Johnny. Don't do me like that! Julian Schnabel: I don't know that he knows how good he is in that movie. He was great. I mean he really looked great in that underwear. I mean it was just, you know, shooting going up his ass and up his back and his hair, you started thinking about Marilyn Monroe, when he had red hair, he looked like Sophia Loren. Dianne Wiest: He was beautiful. He was a beautiful woman. He was brilliant. He was flirtatious(?). It's as though he spent his career playing transvestites. Before Night Falls is based on the memoirs of Reynaldo Arenas, a dissident Cuban writer, who eventually escaped Castro's Cuba, after being imprisoned for homosexuality. Julian Schnabel: Johnny was doing 2 other movies at the same time, but he showed up in the middle of all that. And, he wouldn't let me pay for anything, either. I mean he worked for free, and he said just put it on the screen. Today, more than 20 years after "The Kids" settled in Hollywood, Johnny Depp the actor is still a musician, continuing to seek creative fulfillment through musical expression. Johnny Depp: I had always planned on going back into music, which had been my first love for ever and ever.  And, Depp has never stopped seeking out additional outlets for creative expression, recently revealing yet another layer to his artistic identity, painting. He paints subjects closest to him -- mom - Betty Sue, girlfriend - Vanessa Paradis, director - Tim Burton, and Hollywood legend - Marlon Brando.
Johnny Depp: I came to France in 1998 to do a movie with Roman Polanski, and met Vanessa at that time. She's been without question the most important person in my life. I mean she's given me the greatest gift that one will ever get, a beautiful child, beautiful daughter. What else can you say, you know? Depp and his girlfriend, French singer and actress Vanessa Paradis along with their daughter Lily-Rose Melody and son Jack born in 2002 devide their time between Paris and a farm in the South France. Lasse Hallstrom: I think he is a very happy Frenchman these days. Tim Burton: It's been a very positive thing for him. You know, it seems like he is, you know, moving to France. All of that has been very positive, very interesting, are great choices he made. Hunter S. Thompson: I understood it totally, but I miss him. Yeah, he was a good one to have around. I definitely miss him. There are not too many like him. Bruce Witkin: You know, seeing him now, seeing him with Vanessa and his baby, the time is right. The work's over. Johnny Depp: You know, fatherhood er... well I said it before, it's the only thing I've ever done in my life. Everything else is just smoke. Johnny Depp's search for artistic fulfillment has resulted in his own, unique version of success. Johnny Depp: It is OK to be different, and it's OK when people call you a freak. And it's in fact good to be different. Julian Schnabel: I mean he succeeded.
He did it on his terms, and he is a movie star.
He picks what he wants to do.
And, I think he did it.
But, what he didn't do is he didn't sell his soul.
Johnny Depp: You know, ever since I decided to let go of the wheel, somebody else's been doing the steering.
From where I don't know, but I feel very very fortunate.
It is..., yeah, my life is perfect now, you know.
Sometimes I don't think it can get any better.
I suppose one of the things was...
Sal Jenco: Do you mind if I chainsmoke? Johnny Depp: Four score and 7 years ago, out fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition, that there will be no smoking in California.  Thank you, and good night! I'd like to express many thanks to my English teacher Colin for patiently checking my terrible transcript.
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