Author CostumeBox
A Day in the Life of Johnny Depp
John Christopher aka Johnny “heart-throb” Depp was born in the small town of Owensboro, Kentucky on June 9th 1963. Being the youngest of 4 children, Depp and his family moved around to over 20 different locations. After his mother and father divorced and his mother re-married, Depp turned to self-harm to deal with the stress. He quotes “My body is a journal in a way. It’s like what sailors used to do, where every tattoo meant something, a specific time in your life when you make a mark on yourself, whether you do it yourself with a knife or with a professional tattoo artist“.
When Johnny was 12 he was given a guitar by his mother, he chose to drop out of high school and follow his love of music and started playing in “garage bands”. He attempted to go back to school but even his principal must have seen the light in Depp and encouraged him to follow his musical career. Depp collaborated with the band Rock City Angels but it was through the bass player that he met his 1st wife Lori Anne Allison who introduced him to actor Nicolas Cage. Nicolas Cage encouraged Depp to pursue an acting career.
After Depp’s divorce to Lori, Depp’s first major role was in the 1984 classic horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street, playing the boyfriend of a heroine and one of Freddy Krueger’s victims. In 1990 he undertook the quirky lead role in Tim Burtons Film, Edward Scissor Hands. It was this films success that began his long association with Tim Burton. Depp, a fan and long-time friend of writer Hunter S. Thompson played a version of Thompson in 1998’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vagas based on the writer’s pseudo-biographical novel of the same name.
Depp has said that he has chosen roles which he found interesting, rather than those he thought would succeed at the box office, although in 2003 it was the Walt Disney film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl that was a major success. Depp’s performance as the suave but shambling pirate “Jack Sparrow” was highly praised. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for the role.
The sequel of Pirates and the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest grossed $135.5 million in the first 3 days of its release, breaking the box office tally of the highest weekend. Depp has said that Sparrow is “definitely a big part of me” and even after the next sequel Pirates of the Caribbean: At World End, he still wants to play the role in further sequels.
Depp has collaborated with good friend Tim Burton in eight films. After Edward Scissor Hands and Ed Wood, Depp’s next venture was the role of Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hallow. In 2005 Depp worked with Burton on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory playing Willy Wonka, the film was a box office success. In 2007 Depp Starred in Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street bringing Depp his second major award win for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
The next Depp-Burton collaboration was Alice in Wonderland in 2010, Depp played the Mad Hatter alongside Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway and Alan Rickman.
The well accomplished Johnny Depp is an award winning actor, producer, sex symbol, musician, wino, father and has also been listed on the Guinness Book of Records in 2012 as the highest paid actor. You could safely say – He has made it.
Head over to www.costumebox.com.au to check out a wide range of Johnny Depp’s movie inspired costumes.