The only movie Johnny Depp would want to watch on his dying day: “Without a doubt, no question”
At their worst, movie press tours are a surreal purgatory for actors. It can devolve into a blur of being asked the same questions again and again, in slightly different forms, by faceless people who all start to blend together. Sometimes, though, an entertainment journalist will ask something truly unique, something that few people – let alone an actor – will have thought to ponder over the course of their lives. For instance, try this one on for size: what movie would you want to watch on your dying day? This question was once posed to Johnny Depp, and he hilariously had his answer immediately locked and loaded.
In 2009, Depp was promoting his starring role as bank robber John Dillinger in Michael Mann’s Public Enemies when he was asked by Entertainment Weekly to name his favourite movies. His answers made perfect sense for anyone who is a fan of the eccentric star.
Depp’s first pick was Down by Law, Jim Jarmusch’s unique 1986 neo-noir comedy starring Tom Waits and Roberto Benigni. It took a left-of-centre approach to the prison break genre by choosing not to spend much time on how the prisoners plan and execute their escape. Instead, it places the focus squarely on their quirky interpersonal dynamics.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star dubbed it “a sweet, funny, existentialist crime caper as only Jim Jarmusch could conceive.” Perhaps the presence of Waits sweetened the deal for Depp, though, as he has always been open with how much he loves that gravelly-voiced troubadour’s music. Indeed, he once remarked, “The devil doesn’t have the best tunes. Tom Waits does.”
Depp’s favourites also included the Howard Hawks noir To Have and Have Not, which starred Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, and two Emir Kusturica films: Time of the Gypsies and Underground. Depp praised Kusturica, a Serbian filmmaker he said was one of the last remaining auteurs working in cinema. He gushed, “Emir is a genius. This is visual poetry, with a healthy portion of both magic and the absurd.”
Depp’s final favourite film – and the one he wants to watch the day he shuffles off this mortal coil – is Bruce Robinson’s legendary British cult comedy Withnail and I. Depp marvelled: “No other film in history is as quoted or has inspired such cult-like loyalty. Probably the funniest fucking film I have ever seen!”
In Depp’s humble opinion, Robinson is another cinematic genius – which is why he convinced him to come out of self-imposed directorial retirement after nearly 20 years. You see, Depp’s deep, abiding love of Withnail and I meant he knew Robinson was the perfect choice to direct his 2009 Hunter S Thompson adaptation The Rum Diary – but Robinson hadn’t been moved to make a film since 1992.
Fascinatingly, Robinson had been Depp’s first choice to direct Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, his first Thompson adaptation, and he’d also convinced the writer of Robinson’s suitability. He told Collider, “I turned Hunter onto Bruce’s films, and he loved the films. But Bruce was unavailable by choice.” Depp then wooed Robinson for nearly three years before he finally agreed to make the film – and that type of commitment would never have existed if Depp didn’t love Withnail and I so much.
With all this in mind, it’s unsurprising that Depp instantly said, “Withnail and I. Without a doubt, no question, Withnail and I” when asked about his theoretical movie choice on his dying day.
