Johnny Depp’s unlikely pick for the greatest actor of all time: “That’s a bit silly, isn’t it?”
Whenever an established or veteran actor is asked to name their profession’s greatest-ever talent, Marlon Brando usually comes out on top. Johnny Depp was close friends with the legendary star for many years, but didn’t think he deserved the top spot. Instead, his candidate was entirely out of left field.
If Jack Nicholson, John Goodman, Kurt Russell, and Robert De Niro say Brando is the best of all time, then nobody can say they don’t have a point. After all, those four alone have amassed hundreds of credits, widespread acclaim, and bulging trophy cabinets, and they also happen to be very good at their jobs.
Depp, meanwhile, viewed Brando as more of a friend and advisor than a monumental influence on how he approached his craft. Whereas Nicholson, another longtime confidant of The Godfather icon, held him on a pedestal and quivered in his boots when they worked on a film together, Depp asked him for advice on how to buy a private island and called in the occasional favour for movies that were never released.
The former Pirates of the Caribbean headliner isn’t a method actor, and he never has been, so it does make some degree of sense that he wouldn’t worship at Brando’s altar like so many others. However, singling out a comedian best known to British audiences for their work on sketch shows and calling them the finest thespian to ever walk the earth is a bit of a head-scratcher.
And yet, it happened. Depp went on record to call Paul Whitehouse the absolute cream of the crop, and he celebrated his adoration for the actor’s work by making a cameo appearance in the final episode of The Fast Show. They became friends and frequent collaborators, but even he thought it was nonsense.
“Johnny said I was the finest actor of all time,” Whitehouse confirmed to The Guardian. “But that’s a bit silly, isn’t it. How does he know?” An educated guess would be from watching his extensive list of film and television credits, not that binge-watching The Fast Show and Harry & Paul would convince anyone he’s better than Brando.
Interestingly, though, their relationship may have soured. Whitehouse didn’t even make his feature debut until 2000’s Kevin & Perry Go Large, and of the following eight pictures in which he appeared, five of them starred Depp in the lead role. Unfortunately, the disastrous Alice in Wonderland sequel seems to have put that to bed.
“I recently did a little cameo in a film of his, Through the Looking Glass,” Whitehouse explained. “And he said, ‘Hey man, I’m going to make after you, make sure you’re OK’. Never heard from him again. So Mr Depp can piss off!” He might have been joking, but they still haven’t worked together since.
