The Untold Truth Of Johnny Depp

Over the course of a career that's spanned more than 30 years, Johnny Depp has played more than a few strange characters — partly because of his ongoing collaboration with notably weird director Tim Burton, which has seen him embody everyone from Willy Wonka to Sweeney Todd, and partly because he's always marched to the beat of a different drummer (or maybe it's an instrument we've never even heard of). 

Though he's had a tortured relationship with fame, he's a master of his craft — and an extremely interesting guy to boot. We've heard no shortage of larger-than-life stories about Depp over the years, but they don't tell the whole story. Even after spending all these years in the limelight, there's still plenty that's been left out of the headlines. We delved into those stories to bring you the untold truth of Johnny Depp.

With $50 to $60 million worth of property and a career that's earned approximately $650 million, it's surprising to hear that Depp has dealt with money problems. A 2017 piece from The Hollywood Reporter tells the story from his business manager's perspective, outlining a 2012 discussion in which two advisers had to make Depp understand that his income was supporting the outflow of his discretionary spending (art, jewelry, wine, property) and the $3.6 million per year he paid his personal staff, among other expenses. Depp finally agreed to sell his yacht, but in 2017, he fired both of his advisors. 

A Wall Street Journal article from around the same time tells the story from Depp's perspective. "Why didn't they drop me as a client if I was so out of control?" he retorted, alleging that his former managers caused him to rack up more than $40 million in debt and dispose of valuable assets, and that they talked him into high-interest loans that they didn't make the payments on. The argument prompted lawsuits on both sides, which were both settled by 2019.

Depp isn't a fan of President Trump, and wasn't even before he was nominated. In fact, he donned a wig and a face full of prosthetics to portray him in the Funny or Die movie "The Art of the Deal" (based on the Trump book of the same name). According to an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, the filmmakers simply asked Depp to play Trump and he said yes, filming his scenes in four days. The premise is that the movie was made in the '80s, but was locked in a vault for years. 

But portraying Trump wasn't the end of Depp's criticism. At a talk at Arizona State University called "Finding Creativity in the Madness," in between Depp's insights into the creative process for the Origins Project dialogue led by theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss, he said Trump was a "brat" and a bully. He did an impression for the students — one he indicated he was willing to repeat when he offered to take over Trump impersonation duties for Alec Baldwin on "Saturday Night Live."

Jezebel opined, after posting an interview from "The Today Show" with Depp and "Black Mass" costar Joel Edgerton, that Depp didn't even know his own accent anymore. Depp has always been a little quirky when speaking at interviews. He does tend to go a bit British, then Bostonian, or Mad Hatterish, or whatever. But considering that in that same interview, he actually said "the last thing I want to look like is me," there might be more than dialect confusion at play.

In the ASU Origins Project discussion, Depp talked about a conversation he once had with his mentor, Marlon Brando. When Depp told Brando he was doing two or three films per year, Brando told him that was too many, arguing that "we only have so many faces in our pocket." Although he insisted he felt like he still had no shortage of "faces" left, Depp said he became an actor by mistake, and he still wasn't sure whether it was the right decision.

"What's Eating Gilbert Grape," the 1993 flick that launched young Leonardo DiCaprio's career and paired Depp with Juliette Lewis onscreen, became a cult classic — but it might not have been filmed if not for Depp's girlfriend at the time, Winona Ryder. She read Peter Hedges' novel of the same name, notes Entertainment Weekly, and got Depp to read it too. He felt it was a modern day "Catcher in the Rye" and identified strongly with Gilbert, a young man trapped in a small town and saddled with family responsibilities.

Depp told music video and "My Life as a Dog" director Lasse Hallström about the book, and the two agreed to work on the film before there was even a script in place. Hallström enlisted author Hedges to work on the script, and the rest was history.

Nobody's perfect. As Depp told Rolling Stone, he's battled vision problems throughout his life. "Ev­erything is just very, very blurry," he explained. "I've never had proper vision." Essentially blind in his left eye and near and/or farsighted in his right, he's only able to see "a few inches away from his face." This explains why he's wearing glasses in seemingly every picture taken of him.

Unsurprisingly, Depp admits that he can't see 3D movies. He told Access Hollywood (via NBC News) that he "has a weird eye"; Dr. Margaret S. Livingstone, a neurobilogy professor at Harvard who studies vision, suspects Depp might have stereoblindness — a condition that messes with your eye alignment.

Johnny Depp doesn't only appear in massive Hollywood blockbuster franchises. He's an actor who's passionate about his craft, and to that end, he'll take on independent film projects that he finds intriguing. In 2016, he acted in The Black Ghiandola, a micro-budgeted movie that filmed in just five days — and probably the most star-studded short film about zombies ever made.

It came together thanks to the Make a Film Foundation, a charity founded in 2007 that helps filmmaking dreams come true for kids and teens with serious or life-threatening medical problems. "The Black Ghiandola" was written by 16-year-old Anthony Conti, stricken with stage IV adrenal cortical cancer. Conti also starred as a young man, who, in the wake of a zombie apocalypse, risks everything to save the life of his only companion. Among Conti's co-stars: Penelope Ann Miller, Laura Dern, Richard Chamberlain, Chad Coleman ... and Johnny Depp.

As if toplining one kind-of-spooky film juggernaut in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise wasn't enough, Depp was also all set to be a major player in one of those interconnected, multi-movie "universes" that have been all the rage in Hollywood since "Iron Man" launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2008. 

Universal had huge plans with its "Dark Universe," which was supposed to revive its old monster movie characters from the 1930s and '40s. The production house planned multiple films focused on Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, the Mummy, and the Invisible Man. Depp, a man often photographed while draped in scarves, was a natural to play the heavily bandaged Invisible Man.

But it was all not meant to be. Dark Universe entry "The Mummy" — starring Tom Cruise — made just over $80 million at the North American box office, not exactly setting the world on fire. Universal tabled its Dark Universe plans ... including that "Invisible Man" movie starring Johnny Depp. When an "Invisible Man" movie finally came out in 2020, it had no obvious connection to any franchise and no involvement from Depp.

Some artists love acting. Others love performing music. Occasionally, there's an overlap and they enjoy doing both equally as much. While Johnny Depp is certainly more renowned for his acting than his musical abilities, he revealed to The Guardian there's a sensation he gets from shredding on his six-string guitar that he doesn't feel when the director yells cut on set.

"What do I get from this that I normally don't get? I get me!" Depp said. "But when I'm up there on stage with these guys, it's that feeling I had as a kid. It's freedom. In movies someone is always telling you what to do, but here I have the freedom that my day job doesn't allow." His Hollywood Vampires bandmate Joe Perry, who has performed with Aerosmith for half a century and alongside some of the greatest bands in the history of music, added that he thinks Depp has what it takes and can stand toe-to-toe with the best guitarists around. Not only does he have the talent to rock out with his horns hanging out, but he also has the necessary drive and focus to make a success of it.

One of Johnny Depp's most memorable roles was as Willy Wonka in Tim Burton's 2005 film "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." While he wasn't the first person to play the eccentric chocolate factory tycoon, since that delicious accolade belonged to Gene Wilder, Depp brought a chaotic and unnerving quality to Roald Dahl's classic character. At first glance, it appeared as if the actor drew influence from his long-time friend, Marilyn Manson, who reportedly wanted the part of Wonka for himself as well (via Moviefone).

The truth is, Depp based his performance on someone completely unexpected: The 43rd president of the United States of America, George W. Bush. Speaking on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" (via NME), Depp peeled back the creative process for creating Wonka. "Certain ingredients you add to these characters," he said. "Willy Wonka, for example, I imagined what George Bush would be like ... Incredibly stoned, and thus was born my Willy Wonka." Well, that would have certainly explained Wonka's insatiable obsession with chocolate and candy.

Most people will associate Depp with acting, but he has not limited himself solely to portraying characters on screen. In fact, he has numerous producer and directing credits to his name. For example, he was a producer for "Hugo" and "The Rum Diary" in 2011 and has acted as an executive producer in both "The Lone Ranger" and "City of Lies." Meanwhile, he has also directed several music videos and short films, including "Stuff," "Banter," and "The Brave."

Therefore it shouldn't come as a huge surprise that Depp has set up his very own production company as he obviously has interests outside of simply acting. Known as Infinitum Nihil, the studio was originally founded in 2004 and is managed by Depp's sister Christi Dembrowski. Since being established, it has produced almost a dozen films, ranging from "The Rum Diary" and "Dark Shadows" to more recent releases such as "The Professor" and "Minamata."

Depp has starring roles in almost all of the releases, which have largely failed to make much of an impression at the box office, grossing just $744 million in total against an overall budget of $660 million. In recent years, Depp has also set up a UK sister company in the form of IN.2 and signed a first-look deal with IM Global.

Depp's first role came in 1984 when he was cast as Glen Lantz in "A Nightmare on Elm Street," a young character who was boyfriend to Nancy Thompson and ultimately killed by Freddy Krueger. Despite not originally intending to act, he quickly landed other roles and was cast in the likes of "Private Resort" and "Platoon." However, long before he turned his hand to acting, Depp actually worked as a salesman.

When he moved to Los Angeles with his band and found that he wasn't able to make any money, Depp turned to selling pens over the phone. It was a job that he didn't particularly enjoy, although he admits that it did help him develop some skills that proved useful in his later career such as the ability to perform in public. The actor has since revealed he wasn't very good at this job as he found it difficult to lie to the people he was forced to call.

"You'd guarantee them a grandfather clock or a trip to Greece," said Depp in an interview with Digital Spy. "The couple of times that I actually got people to buy the pens, they only agreed because they wanted the grandfather clock. When the supervisor wandered off, I would say, 'Listen, don't buy these pens. The clock is made of corkboard. I'm a thief; we're ripping you off.'"

Among Depp's friends in the world of Hollywood was Heath Ledger. But that relationship was cut short in 2008 when Ledger died from an accidental overdose after completing work on "The Dark Knight" and during the production of "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus." His death left the movie in a precarious position until Colin Farrell, Jude Law, and Depp stepped in to portray versions of Ledger's character in the final few scenes that were still to be shot.

The trio refused to be paid for their performances and instead decided to donate their entire fees to Ledger's two-year-old daughter Matilda. When the actor died, he didn't leave any provisions for the youngster in his will and the three stars were concerned that she would be left with little money.

Depp's generosity and fondness for his friend were made even more clear when he dedicated part of his private island to Ledger. A location known as Heath's Place was established on his private island and Depp even made it a sanctuary of sorts for members of Ledger's family following his death. This gave them a place to get away from the media attention and grieve in private.

Throughout his long career, Depp has won many accolades and awards. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards for his performances in the likes of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" and "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" along with being the recipient of several lifetime achievement awards from a variety of film festivals. In 2009, the actor was even named the sexiest man alive by People for the second time, having previously won in 2003. He beat out the likes of Matt Damon, Hugh Jackman, and George Clooney for the honor.

Yet, Depp's most unusual accolade may be one that came in 2013. A scientist who discovered a fossil of a creature that had scissor-like claws on its limbs was named after him, taking the moniker Kooteninchela deppi. The fossilized creature, which is more than 500 million years old and a relative of the lobster and scorpion families. It was named after Depp because of the scientist's love of his work and the fact that the actor had previously portrayed Edward Scissorhands in the 1990 Tim Burton film of the same name.

Depp's role in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise brought him worldwide fame and success at levels that he had never previously known. Along with that came some pretty hefty paychecks that made him one of the best paid actors of all time. Since appearing in "The Curse of the Black Pearl" in 2003 alongside Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, and Keira Knightley, he has become the main star of the series. Depp reprised his role as Captain Jack Sparrow with the rest of the cast two more times to round out the original trilogy before returning fit two further films in the form of "On Stranger Tides" and "Dead Men Tell No Tales."

The popularity of his character along with the fact that Depp is essentially the face of the franchise has allowed him to effectively name his price when it comes to negotiating contracts with Disney. From a relatively modest salary of $10 million for the first film, his pay grew to figures as high as $55 million and $90 million for the fourth and fifth entries. In total, Depp has earned an estimated $275 million from playing Captain Jack Sparrow.

A friendship between Depp and journalist Hunter S. Thompson would probably seem strange to most people, considering the almost 30 years age gap between the pair and their very different professions. The two friends first met in 1994 and quickly forged a deep and long-lasting relationship. Fast becoming dependent on each other, the two were together constantly and made headlines for their antics. The actor would go on to describe their relationship as "a love affair, a major love affair that hung around until he made his exit."

Depp would even go on to play a fictionalized version of Thompson in the film "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," based on the journalist's own novel of the same name. When Thompson passed away in 2005, the actor went all out to help give him a memorable send-off. In a ceremony that was attended by Sean Penn and Jack Nicholson, his ashes were fired from a cannon that exploded over his home. Funded by Depp, it was one of Thompson's wishes following his death because he loved fireworks so much.