John "Johnny" Christopher Depp II (born June
9, 1963) is an American actor.
Life
Depp was born in Owensboro, Kentucky, to John Christopher
Depp, Sr. and Betty Sue Palmer. He was raised primarily
in Miramar, Florida, where his family moved in 1970.
He has one brother, Danny, and two sisters, Debbie and
Christie (who is Depp's personal manager). The Depp
family is mostly of Irish and German descent, although
the Depp name is French in origin. Depp's maternal great-grandmother,
Minnie, was a full-blooded Cherokee, and his father
is also of partial Cherokee heritage, making Depp one-quarter
Native American. The family was constantly on the move
during Depp's childhood, and he and his siblings lived
in over twenty different locations total. Depp's mother
bought him a guitar at around the age of 13, and Depp
began playing in garage bands.
Depp's parents divorced in 1978 when
he was 15, and he dropped out of school a year later
to become a rock musician. He played with a band named
"The Kids", who had modest local success.
The band set out for Los Angeles, California to try
to get a record deal, changing their name to "Six
Gun Method." During this period, Depp married
Lori Anne Allison, the sister of the drummer of the
band, on December 20, 1983. This caused friction between
the band members and they split, the record deal never
having materialized. In 1985, he and his close friend,
Earl Stevenson, a former U.S. Marine sergeant, who
also played his brother on A Nightmare on Elm Street,
were both disappointed when both were turned down
for a part in a music video being put together by
the Wolf Brothers in Los Angeles.
Both Depp and his wife worked after
moving in together in order to make ends meet - she
as a makeup artist, he at a variety of odd jobs (he
even worked as a telemarketer for a time). Later,
his wife introduced him to actor Nicolas Cage, who
advised Depp to turn to acting to support himself
and his wife. His film career took off slowly, however,
and in 1985 Depp divorced Allison. Since then he has
dated and been engaged to Sherilyn Fenn, Jennifer
Grey, Winona Ryder and Kate Moss. Depp is now in a
long-term relationship with French singer and actress
Vanessa Paradis, whom he met while filming The Ninth
Gate in 1998. Together they have two children, daughter
Lily-Rose Melody Depp (b. May 27, 1999) and son Jack
John Christopher Depp III (b. April 9, 2002). The
family divides their time between Los Angeles and
a villa in the South of France, but it has been rumored
that Depp is considering moving to Connecticut.
Depp has admitted to engaging in self-mutilation
as a child due to the stress of dealing with family
problems and his own insecurity. He has seven or eight
scars from practicing self-harm. In a 1993 Details
magazine interview he explained his self-injury by
saying, "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."
In 1999, Depp admitted that to this day, his self-image
and self-esteem are sometimes rocky, although he maintains
that he is happier than he's ever been.
Film career
Depp's first role (which he initially rejected) was
in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). Then he starred
in the FOX's TV series 21 Jump Street. The show was
a success and he instantly became a teen idol worshipped
mainly for his looks, which Depp abhorred. However,
with a $45,000 salary per episode, Depp stayed with
the show. The show lasted for four seasons; some speculate
that it was Johnny Depp's exit that caused the program
to be cancelled from Fox.
Anxious to shake his image as a Hollywood
pretty boy, Depp began taking roles in offbeat, unusual
films, beginning with Cry-Baby (1990) and later, at
age 27, making his big break as the monstrously disfigured
protagonist of Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands, for
which he was nominated for a Golden Globe. Soon afterwards,
Depp began landing featured parts in high-profile
films alongside renowned actors, including What's
Eating Gilbert Grape with Leonardo DiCaprio, Don Juan
DeMarco with Marlon Brando, and Donnie Brasco with
Al Pacino.
He is known for choosing diverse roles
in a variety of genres, including Captain Jack Sparrow
(Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black
Pearl), real-life undercover FBI agent and Mafia infiltrator
Joe Pistone (Donnie Brasco), a corrupt gun-slinging
CIA operative (Once Upon a Time in Mexico), fictional
candy mogul Willy Wonka (Charlie and the Chocolate
Factory), and the drug-fueled gonzo-journalist Raoul
Duke (modeled after Hunter S. Thompson) in Fear and
Loathing in Las Vegas.
Depp is also noted for his frequent
collaborations with director Tim Burton. They have
made five films together to date: Edward Scissorhands,
Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Charlie and the Chocolate
Factory and Corpse Bride. Depp has credited Burton
as the director that saved him from being "a
loser, an outcast, just another piece of expendable
Hollywood meat"
Depp has also directed a film The Brave, which depicts
the plight of Native Americans (Depp is one quarter
Cherokee).
Depp has been nominated twice for
a Best Actor Oscar for Finding Neverland and Pirates
of the Caribbean and has six Golden Globe nominations
to his name. He also has a star on the Hollywood Walk
of Fame and a set of hand- and footprints in the cement
in front of Graumans Chinese Theater.
Depp is also the lead choice for the
role of the Joker in the upcoming Batman Begins sequel.
Trivia
Depp, a musician, can be heard playing slide guitar
in the film "Chocolat," on the Oasis song
"Fade In-Out" (from Be Here Now, 1997);
on Shane MacGowan's first solo album; and as a member
of P, a group featuring Butthole Surfers singer Gibby
Haynes. (However, it has been acknowledged that Depp
does not possess a good singing voice.) He also made
an appearance on The Fast Show, a British comic sketch
show.
Depp reportedly has 12 tattoos, including
the inscriptions "Lily-Rose" (the name of
his first-born child), "Betty Sue" (his
mother's name), and "Wino Forever" (originally
"Winona Forever"; Depp had the tattoo altered
after his break-up with Winona Ryder).
Depp played the role of Hunter S.
Thompson in the film based on the novel, Fear and
Loathing in Las Vegas. He is an avid fan of Thompson's
work and was also a longtime friend of Thompson himself
before Thompson committed suicide in 2005. Depp funded
the construction of the giant Gonzo fist-shaped cannon
which Thompson instructed was to be used to fire his
ashes into the atmosphere.
Like many celebrities, Depp has had
several run-ins with the law over the course of his
career. His first arrest was in Vancouver for a late-night
altercation in a hotel lobby. He was accused of selling
drugs at his club The Viper Room, after actor River
Phoenix died in front of the club from a drug overdose
in 1993. In 1994, Depp was arrested and questioned
by police for allegedly causing serious damage to
a New York hotel suite. He was later arrested again
in 1999 for getting into a fight with paparazzi outside
a restaurant while dining in London with his girlfriend,
Vanessa Paradis.
In the film Freddy's Dead: The Final
Nightmare, Depp, the star of the original 1984 A Nightmare
On Elm Street, can be seen on a television screen.
He is credited in the film's end titles as "Oprah
Noodlemantra", a moniker he reportedly uses when
staying in hotels in order to give himself something
amusing to get up to when he receives wake-up calls
He dislikes fans taking pictures of
his family and has threatened paparazzi who have attempted
to photograph his children, telling a reporter in
an interview that if he caught anyone doing so, he
would "bite your nose off and swallow it
Awards
2006 People's Choice Award
Favorite Male Movie Star
2005 People's Choice Award
Favorite Male Movie Star
2004 Screen Actors Guild Awards
Actor: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in
a Leading Role
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
2004 Empire Award
Best Actor
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
2004 MTV Movie Award
Best Male Performance
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
2004 MTV Movie Award Mexico
Best Look
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
2004 IFTA Award
Best International Actor
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
2004 Teen Choice Award
Choice Movie Fight/Action Sequence
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
2004 Teen Choice Award
Choice Movie Liar
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
2000 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
Favorite Actor - Horror
Sleepy Hollow
1999 Screen Actors Guild Awards
Star on the Walk of Fame
Motion Picture, 16 November 1999, At 7020 Hollywood
Blvd.
1999 César Awards, France
Honorary Award
1998 Golden Aries (Russian Guild of Film Critics)
Best Foreign Actor
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
1996 London Critics Circle Film Awards
ALFS Award: Actor of the Year
Ed Wood and Don Juan DeMarco
1990 ShoWest Award
Male Star of Tomorrow
Nominations
Academy Award nomination, (2004), Best Actor in a
Motion Picture (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse
of the Black Pearl)
Academy Award nomination, (2005), Best Actor in a
Motion Picture (Finding Neverland)
BAFTA nomination, (2004), Best Actor in a Leading
Role (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black
Pearl)
Critic's Choice Award nomination, (2004), Favorite
Male Actor (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of
the Black Pearl)
Critic's Choice Award nomination, (2005), Favorite
Male Actor (Finding Neverland)
Golden Globe nomination, (1990), Best Actor in a Musical
or Comedy (Edward Scissorhands)
Golden Globe nomination, (1993), Best Actor in a Musical
or Comedy (Benny & Joon)
Golden Globe nomination, (1994), Best Actor in a Musical
or Comedy (Ed Wood)
Golden Globe nomination, (2004), Best Actor in a Musical
or Comedy (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of
the Black Pearl)
Golden Globe nomination, (2005), Best Actor in a Drama
(Finding Neverland)
Golden Globe nomination, (2006), Best Actor in a Musical
or Comedy (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
People's Choice Award nomination, (2004), Favorite
Male Movie Star (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse
of the Black Pearl)
Screen Actor's Guild nomination, (2005), Best Actor
in a Leading Role (Finding Neverland)
Filmography
Actor
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Private Resort (1985)
Slow Burn (1986)
Platoon (1986)
Cry-Baby (1990)
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991) (credited
as "Oprah Noodlemantra")
Arizona Dream (1993)
Benny & Joon (1993)
What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
Ed Wood (1994)
Don Juan DeMarco (1995)
Dead Man (1995)
Nick of Time (1995)
Donnie Brasco (1997)
The Brave (1997)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
The Ninth Gate (1999)
The Astronaut's Wife (1999)
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
The Man Who Cried (2000)
Before Night Falls (2000)
Chocolat (2000)
Blow (2001)
From Hell (2001)
Lost In La Mancha (2002) (documentary)
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
(2003)
Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)
Secret Window (2004)
...And They Lived Happily Ever After (2004)
Finding Neverland (2004)
The Libertine (2004)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
Corpse Bride (2005)
Deep Sea 3D (2006) (documentary) (narrator)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
In Search of Ted Demme (2006) (documentary)
The Rum Diary (2006)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2006)
Pirates of the Caribbean 3 (2007)
Shantaram (2007)
Producer
The Rum Diary (2006) (Producer)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Producer) (2006)
Shantaram (2007) (Executive Producer)
Miscellaneous
Chocolat (2000) (musician: guitar)
Lost In La Mancha (2002) (special thanks)
source from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
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