The actor Johnny Depp called one of a kind: “That guy was fucking singular”
His personal life hasn’t always been squeaky clean, but most of the time, Johnny Depp can usually be relied upon to make good professional choices. Just forget that Transcendence ever happened. At the head of a major franchise or acting his heart out in an indie drama, Depp is a proven draw and a talented performer. A dream come true, in many respects… again, if you forget about Transcendence. Man, that thing sucked.
Like every other big star, Depp’s career is also full of missed opportunities. He was famously recast as Gellert Grindelwald in the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ franchise, replaced by Mads Mikkelsen when his personal dramas got in the way. He was also considered for the title character in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, which might be one of the hardest alternative universes to picture of all time. Then there are the movies he wanted to make but, for various reasons, never got off the ground.
In an interview with Vanity Fair conducted by the great culture journalist Nick Tosches, the subject of Depp’s desire to remake the movie The Thin Man was broached. Based on a novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett, this 1934 comedy-mystery stars William Powell as Nick Charles, a retired private detective, and Myrna Loy as his wife Nora. The pair have settled into a luxurious, carefree lifestyle, but when a noted inventor goes missing, they come out of retirement to crack the case.
Tosches, whilst complimentary of Depp’s skills, was worried that the modern star wouldn’t match up to Powell’s legendary screen presence. “That guy was fucking singular,” he told his subject. “There was only one of him.” Never one to lack in confidence, Depp replied “I could do it. I think… What he had, William Powell, was so fucking beautiful… You can’t beat him. Just embrace him. Embrace the fucker. Embrace him.”
Powell would have been extremely familiar to pre-code cinema audiences, especially alongside Loy. As well as the five sequels The Thin Man spawned, the two were paired up for another eight movies, including the ‘Best Picture Oscar winner The Great Ziegfeld. Outside of Charles, Powell made a splash in the screwball comedy My Man Godfrey and Life with Father, which he made with a young Elizabeth Taylor. He was nominated for an Oscar for both of those roles, as well as The Thin Man. However, he will always be best remembered for his witty, striking portrayal of Charles.
Depp’s interest in the Nick and Nora stories would have revived the series after a lengthy break. The Adventures of the Thin Man was a radio series that ran from 1941 to 1950 and was inspired by the films. Between 1957 and 1959, a TV adaptation aired on NBC starring Peter Lawford and Phyllis Kirk in the main roles. Following the finale of that, the characters went dormant. Unfortunately, that is where they remain, as no Depp-led Thin Man movie has ever materialised.
According to IMDB, the lack of a viable female lead and the poor performance of Depp’s movie Dark Shadows (his most recent collaboration with Tim Burton) were to blame for the project being shelved. With the trouble star slowly making his return to the spotlight, maybe now’s the time for him to revisit The Thin Man. Although, thanks to all the delays, he’d have to play a slightly older version of Nick Charles.
