Throwback of Johnny Depp. (Image courtesy: AFP)
London:
Johnny Depp became a global megastar playing off-beat characters from Willy Wonka to Captain Jack Sparrow, until his destructive off-screen lifestyle threatened to permanently derail his career. Pouring his eccentricities into his roles, Depp earned a reputation as both a heartthrob and an indie darling through sensitive performances in films such as Edward Scissorhands and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.
He catapulted to another level of fame as the rum-swilling sea dog Captain Jack Sparrow in Disney’s billion-dollar Pirates of the Caribbean franchise – partly inspired by one of his many heroes, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards .
But his bitter legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard sparked a turbulent personal life involving rows, drink and drugs that turned him into a toxic figure in Hollywood from whom his career is still recovering.
from music to stardom
Born June 9, 1963, in Owensboro, Kentucky, Depp tried to become a musician and sold ballpoint pens before trying his hand at acting. She made her big screen debut in 1984 in the cult Wes Craven thriller A Nightmare on Elm Street.
From there, he launched a successful television career as a baby-faced undercover police officer on the popular series 21 Jump Street.
In 1990, he played Edward Scissorhands, a scimitar-fingered creature with a heart of gold who brings a little magic and happiness to a small town with fanciful topiary and cutting-edge hairdos.
It was one of several collaborations with director Tim Burton which also included Ed Wood, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland.
Depp played another renegade hero in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, journalist and drug addict Hunter S. Thompson played.
It was on the set of one of Thompson’s lesser-known works, The Rum Diary, that he met and co-starred with Heard in 2011.
He’s also played heavier roles, such as an undercover detective who infiltrates the mob in 1997’s much-loved Donnie Brasco.
Depp has been nominated for an Oscar three times, including for his roles as “Peter Pan” creator JM Barrie in 2004’s “Finding Neverland” and 2007’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
He has often returned to his first love of music, collaborating with Oasis, Alice Cooper and Joe Perry of Aerosmith.
messy personal life
Depp dated several celebrities, including actress Winona Ryder and supermodel Kate Moss, and was married to the mother of his two children, French singer and actress Vanessa Paradis, for 14 years.
But his lifestyle and finances were a mess.
He once claimed that he spent more than $30,000 a month on alcohol alone, and spent lavishly on art and property.
He told a London court in 2020 that business managers stole $650 million made from “Pirates of the Caribbean”.
His marriage to Heard in 2015 was short-lived. They separated the following year and divorced in 2017.
In 2020, he tried to sue The Sun newspaper for defamation after they called him a “wife beater”, admitting he took drugs but denied any violence – but lost the case.
Their marriage was exposed in even greater detail during a libel trial in the United States two years later, and this time Depp was successful.
“The jury gave me my life back,” said a delighted Depp.
But the trial was a lightning rod for opposing sides of the #MeToo debate and Depp remains a toxic figure for many, especially in the United States.
The uproar caused her to lose her leading role in the Harry Potter spin-off franchise Fantastic Beasts.
But his trial victory has allowed a comeback. He plays King Louis XV in Jean du Barry, which opens the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, and sees him speaking French throughout.
Just a few days earlier, it was reported that she had been offered a record $20 million to remain the face of the Dior fragrance.
He is also set to direct Al Pacino in a biopic of artist Amedeo Modigliani later this year.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)