Who is Johnny Depp? Why do so many who have seen his films become so outrageously addicted to him? Does coming to know the characters he has played give us a window into the man behind the characters?
I cannot say I’ve ever met or spoken personally with Johnny Depp, and it is highly unlikely that I ever will. All I can share is my own personal perception of who he seems to be, from my personal view -- a perception gleaned from his character roles and multitudes of interviews and eye-witness accounts of encounters with him. Ultimately, it is mostly hearsay on my part. But those who have followed his career will have already done the research by which to judge the information’s validity. And those who really don’t care, have probably already left this blog. And this collection of infrequent musings on Johnny Depp, is, after all, dedicated to Johnny Depp fans, and to the man we all love to love.
The following is a list of quotes from Johnny collected from various sources, that may give some insight into the depth of the man behind the bright star. Fans, enjoy. But then, whether read, experienced, or whether simply perceived by the soul...it’s not likely you’ll read anything you didn’t already know.
On fame and the subject of public perception of him:
"It’s a misunderstanding that I am a cool guy. I’m a little shy man who feels pain very easy."
"I’m shy, paranoid, whatever word you want to use. I hate fame. I’ve done everything I can to avoid it."
"As a teenager I was so insecure. I was the type of guy that never fitted in because he never dared to choose. I was convinced I had absolutely no talent at all. For nothing. And that thought took away all my ambition too."
"My self-image it still isn’t that alright. No matter how famous I am, no matter how many people go to see my movies, I still have the idea that I’m that pale no-hoper that I used to be. A pale no-hoper that happens to be a little lucky now. Tomorrow it’ll be all over, then I’ll have to go back to selling pens again."
"In some ways. I’m still uncomfortable with the attention because there’s still a deeper side of me which doesn’t feel I’ve really done anything so important to deserve this much attention. I feel I have a certain gift for mimicry and stepping into characters as an actor, but it’s not something I find very difficult. So it’s constantly amazing to me that there’s so much attention paid to what I do. It used to bother me in a negative way and made me angry. Now I’ve just accepted it as part of culture. It comes with the job. I’m not fighting windmills anymore. I sometimes wonder why it took me so long."
"I don’t want to get used to being famous and I don’t think I ever will - if it ever started to feel normal to me, then I’d know I’d become something I don’t want to be! But I do think I handle fame .better than I used to, mainly because these days I have a couple of kids to put everything into perspective, and show me the things in life that really matter and the things in life that don’t."
On acting:
"One of the most important gifts we have is imagination. It makes up 95 per cent of our minds, it’s our greatest asset, our best friend, and, in some cases, if we’re not careful, our worst enemy."
"With any part you play, there is a certain amount of yourself in it. There has to be, otherwise it’s just not acting. It’s lying."
"If there’s any message to my work, it is ultimately that it’s OK to be different, that it’s good to be different, that we should question ourselves before we pass judgment on someone who looks different, behaves different, talks different, is a different color."
Johnny’s done drugs. Johnny’s slept around. Johnny destroyed a hotel room. Johnny beat up paparazzi. Johnny has a horrible sense in fashion. Johnny inhales more hand-rolled cigarettes than he breathes oxygen. He’s almost daring us to find him disgusting. He wants us to disapprove. He wants us to turn our heads and leave him alone. But we won’t. Because we know. That’s Johnny Depp in there.
Why do we love Johnny? Aside from the chiseled and perfectly symmetrical features and mysterious deep brown eyes that seem capable of perfectly expressing the entire gammut of human passion, from fierce anger to the tenderest compassions and love...what can we say? The man possesses extraordinary talents, of which most fans believe the industry has only BEGUN to touch the surface of. Perhaps we see a bit of ourselves in Johnny and his many unique characters. We see someone who can suffer the shallow fickleness of fame, while remaining determined to just be ‘one of us.’
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