Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides opened last weekend with $90 million at the US box office, about $25 million short of what the previous film of the franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, had gathered in its opening weekend four years back. But if you feel On Stranger Tides fell short here, then the $260million earned in the international market pretty much made up for it. This is the best overseas opening of all time, edging out Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince collections of $236 million. That not only tells you about the aura that the franchise carries with it worldwide, but also that Johnny Deep and his quirky character, Jack Sparrow, still rule! The 47 year old actor who started off his movie career in the 1984 cult slasher movie A Nightmare on Elm's Street, has come a long way indeed. His journey has been different, adventurous, quirky, unconventional and more importantly, successful. He has worn different looks, got various tattoos and has chosen roles that stood out, irrespective of what they could achieve on the box office. Here is a look back at the various avatars of the exceptional talent called Johnny Deep!
Glen Lantz in A Nightmare on Elm's Street (1984): A character that did not essentially get noticed much in the film then, but has become more famous over the years as the first character portrayed by Johnny Depp on the big screen. A young Depp played the role of the boyfriend of the leading lady of the movie, who eventually makes the fatal mistake of falling asleep and meets the infamous, Freddy Krueger. Great careers do have humble beginnings!
Edward Scissorhands in Edward Scissorhands (1990): The role that brought Johnny Depp into the limelight and marked his long association with Tim Burton. The story of an artificial man who has scissors instead of hands, and his love for a young girl (played by Winona Ryder, who incidentally was dating Depp at that time), Edward Scissorhands was the first of many out-of-the-ordinary roles Depp was to play, a role for which he was to be nominated for his first Golden Globe. The movie earned a respectable $54 million on the US box office as against its production budget of $20 million. Johnny Depp had been announced to the world!
Sam in Benny & Joon (1993): The role that got Johnny Depp his second Golden Globe nomination was the romantic comedy film, Benny & Joon. Playing an eccentric character comes with ease for Depp, and so it was no surprise that he excelled in his role of Sam, an eccentric man who emulates the antics of a silent movie comedian of the past. A role perfectly made for Depp!
Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow (1999): Johnny Depp had been rising steadily as an actor during the 90s, collecting his third Golden Globe nomination on the way for the role of cult filmmaker Edward Wood in the 1994 movie Ed Wood. But his role of a 18th century forward-looking and innovative police constable and his battle with the Headless Horseman was to become noteworthy and mark his first $100 movie, Sleepy Hollow, at the US box office. And in the backdrop of an ancient New York, the character became all the more memorable. What Johhny Depp showed in Sleepy Hollow was how easy it was for him to be different, and that is what people loved about him the most!
Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean Series (2003 - 2011): At times you need just one role to turn yourself from a great actor to a legendary one. And the role of the tipsy, courageous, witty (can add numerous other adjectives here!) Captain Jack Sparrow did it for Depp. A series that has won hearts across the globe, Jack Sparrow has become one of the most unforgettable characters in cinematic history. Love him or hate him, you cannot ignore him! This is a character that Johnny Depp made his own, characterising it on the The Rolling Stones guitarist, Keith Richards (who plays a cameo too in the movies!). The way Sparrow clumsily walks, the manner in which he talks, even the dialogues at times, have a Johnny Depp trademark over it. A character wherein the lines of right and wrong fade away and then resurface and blend with each other, making Jack Sparrow a truly unique character that would hold its own in Hollywood forever!
Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007): After 7 Golden Globe Nominations, Johnny Depp finally got his due when he won the Golden Globe for his role of the vengeful barber in Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd. With the shadows of Jack Sparrow all over him, Depp managed to break out of the mould with a classy performance in this musical and with a completely different avatar, the salt and pepper hairstyle bringing out the chills in the audience. It was a performance that landed him his third Oscar nomination as well. An avatar that can be hardly forgotten!
Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland (2010): Who could have played this any better, I wonder, and I can think of no one. The colourful Mad Hatter, with a craziness in his eyes, a strange smile, and a mind that wanders in and out of his head... who could have played this any better, I ask again. No one. It was meant to be Johnny Depp! Another venture with Tim Burton, Alice in Wonderland has proven to be Depp's biggest hit outside the Pirates franchise, earning $334 million at the US box office and about $1 billion in worldwide revenues (#6 on the all-time list).
Rango in Rango (2011): Eh, if you think I got the picture wrong, then... no! This is Depp in another avatar, as the animated chameleon in the 2011 hit Rango. A different animated look than the ones being made by the likes of Pixar and Dreamworks, Rango tells the story about a strange chameleon who gets appointed as the sheriff of a town. And when it comes to strange, Depp does it best. Depp's previous foray into animation, Corpse Bride, had managed only $53 million at the Us box office but Rango has grossed more than twice that amount and grabbed in $240 million in worldwide revenues so far. Even Depp's voice sells!
Johnny Depp stands out from his peers in more ways than one, and many of us look forward to a lot from this talented actor in years to come. And the wait shall not be long for his next movie The Rum Diary is slated for a release in October of this year, in which Depp is enacting a freelance journalist in the Caribbean. Keep it rolling, Johnny!
Johnny Depp in an interview in 2002: 'Film star', 'movie star' — whatever they want to try to call you is limiting, in the sense that I think an actor has to be able to play characters. I guess if I want to be close to anything, it would be a character actor, which is what I think an actor should be.
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