Johnny Depp at 60: From icon to pariah
In the early 2000s, you didn’t need to travel far to see Johnny Depp, for he was plastered on the walls of every tweenager’s bedroom, his youthful looks dazzling every lucky visitor to his abode. Creased posters boasted different styles, with Depp sporting angelic youthful chops in the late 1990s before he adopted the wonky cap and large-framed glasses once he became an established Hollywood oddball. Yet, to see his face on the wall of a bedroom now would prompt several more serious questions for the amateur interior decorator involved, for Depp is no longer an innocent young talent, he is a pariah of the industry marred by controversy.
Still, 30 years ago, this was far from the case, Depp had established himself as an exciting name in the industry, having made a name for himself with minor roles in critically acclaimed classics, working with Wes Craven in A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984 and Oliver Stone in Platoon, two years later. By 1993, he had already become a leading man, landing roles with John Waters for 1990’s Cry-Baby and Tim Burton for the iconic movie Edward Scissorhands in the same year.
Having also made it big on the small screen with a role in 21 Jump Street, Depp entered the final decade of the 20th century with an inflated ego, with every wise studio wanting to earn his face for their movie and inevitably successful marketing programme. Though he claimed to start his career in Hollywood “by accident”, with little desire to be a performer, the actor soon discovered artistic inspiration, choosing riskier parts that involved him dedicating himself to the craft.
Depp had already proved his critical worth in Edward Scissorhands but thrived in the space of independent filmmaking, which allowed him to express a side of himself that went beyond his good looks. In 1993’s What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, he thrived alongside fellow rising star Leonardo DiCaprio, then one year later, his return to Burton’s side with Ed Wood earned him further plaudits.
Brave roles in Jim Jarmusch’s Dead Man, Mike Newell’s Donnie Brasco and Terry Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas followed before the turn of the new millennium when Depp’s star persona would be made and sullied.
Before things got worse, they first got a lot better, with Depp thriving in the opening decade of the 2000s, taking on the most iconic role of his career in the form of Jack Sparrow in 2003’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Fitting perfectly in with his star persona, Sparrow was a bumbling, comedic hero with a peculiar sexuality that fused well with the emasculation of men in contemporary society.
A safe pair of hands for family movies such as 2004’s Finding Neverland and 2005’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Depp had not lost his cutting edge either, appearing with his long-time collaborator Tim Burton for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street before appearing in Michael Mann’s crime drama Public Enemies in 2009. Although he earned an Academy Award nominee for his role in Burton’s film, it was clear that things weren’t all that right by the end of the 2000s, Depp had lost his magic.
Unsurprisingly in hindsight, movies like 2010’s The Tourist, 2011’s The Rum Diary and 2013’s box-office flop The Lone Ranger were unable to rouse much interest for an actor many began considering was past his best. Indeed, despite having been a regular fixture in Hollywood ever since, Depp hasn’t been able to muster the same amount of star power as he had the ability to do in his early career.
This wasn’t helped by the very public legal issues he experienced with his ex-wife Amber Heard, who accused him of domestic violence in 2016, with this leading to a drawn-out trial that started in 2019 and didn’t end until December 2022. During this period, Depp was removed from the Warner Bros project Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore and was essentially cast away from the industry that had made him the icon he remains today.
Depp ‘won’ the case against Heard, suing his ex-wife for defamation over an op-ed she had done for The Washington Post about him in 2018, but the accusations made against the actor were very much public, and they didn’t paint him out to be a Hollywood hero. Very much an industry pariah, Depp clings to fame like Jack Sparrow once clung to his gothic youthfulness, appearing on stage where he shreds guitar like an exiled uncle who merely wants to end his days playing out the good times.
Seeing his name on a cast sheet no longer brings a frisson of joy, more so a pang of anxiety, with Cannes members decrying his presence at the 2023 edition of the festival, appearing in Maïwenn’s Jeanne du Barry. Trapped in a web of his own making, it appears as though Depp will float away from the industry not with one more loud, frenetic quirk but with a quiet, mundane whimper.
