The money-spinning role Johnny Depp regrets turning down
It wasn’t until Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl released in 2003 that Johnny Depp played a starring role in a global box office sensation, but he could have gotten there a lot quicker had he not turned down a part in what would become a billion-dollar franchise.
Prior to his debut as Jack Sparrow, the actor had only ever appeared in one movie that earned upwards of $200million at the global box office, which came when he partnered with regular collaborator Tim Burton on 1999’s Sleepy Hollow. His career was far from stagnant, of course, but he nonetheless missed out on joining one of the most star-powered ensembles ever gathered together.
Trying to match the wattage of the ‘Rat Pack’ required a cavalcade of big names who could comfortably step out of the shadows cast by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr and the rest, something Steven Soderbergh accomplished with ease when he began piecing together the core crew of his Ocean’s Eleven remake.
Beyond being one of the most dynamic and inventive filmmakers in the industry, Soderbergh’s own profile had never been higher after his previous two features, Erin Brockovich and Traffic, had combined to earn ten Academy Award nominations, including one apiece for ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Director’, with Soderbergh winning in the latter category for Traffic.
Of course, he already had friends in high places. Still, it’s not a coincidence that such critical, commercial, and awards season success fed directly into the biggest project of his career to far in terms of earning potential, budget, and star power.
George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle, Julia Roberts, and Elliot Gould were a mere selection of the high-profile additions, but not everyone was convinced by Ocean’s Eleven. In fact, as Clooney revealed at the TCM Classic Film Festival, offers were flat-out rejected by two actors who ended up regretting their decision.
“Some very famous people told us to fuck right off,” he eloquently put it. “Mark Wahlberg, Johnny Depp. There were others. They regret it now. I regret doing fucking Batman.” The clear and obvious difference between Ocean’s Eleven and Clooney’s ill-fated stint as the ‘Dark Knight’ was that the breezy heist caper ended up becoming one of the biggest and most popular hits of the year.
Racing to over $450m in ticket sales, it would also launch two sequels and a spinoff that would bring the saga’s cumulative haul to north of $1.4 billion. Had either Depp or Wahlberg agreed to lend their talents to Eleven, then they’d have been guaranteed to stick around for Twelve and Thirteen, too, which would have led to a very lucrative three-film run as part of the titular unit.
