Why a young Johnny Depp looked “forward to getting old”
As a Hollywood A-lister, Johnny Depp is anything but conventional. Where most chisel-chinned heartthrobs find themselves in lead roles in romantic dramas, Depp was cut from a different cloth. Thanks to his eccentricity and astute eye for character acting, we have seen Depp portray a swaying, Keith Richards-inspired pirate, a man with scissors for hands and a madman in a ludicrous hat, among other zany characters.
Depp’s cut against the grain also reveals itself in a strange love-hate relationship with Hollywood. After all, despite his innate talent for the big screen, Depp’s most profound passion was for rock music. Only when his friend Nicolas Cage advised him to pursue an acting career would his earlier aspirations be diverted.
During his first interview with Entertainment Tonight in 1988, a 24-year-old Depp was asked if he liked Hollywood; his answer was a blunt “no”. However, the rising star later talked fondly of his experiences appearing on 21 Jump Street and working with director Oliver Stone on the acclaimed 1986 film Platoon.
Three years later, in a January 1991 interview with Tom Burke of Cosmopolitan, Depp gave his thoughts on Hollywood life and touched upon his coeval relationship with his Edward Scissorhands co-star Winona Ryder.
“[Marlon] Brando says, ‘Everybody acts every day, every second,’ and that’s so true. Most of the movie business is such bull,” Depp offered early in the conversation. “TV ratings and Oscars are taken as seriously as if life depended on them. All I am is a guy who pretends he’s someone else and gets paid for it.”
Although Depp’s concurrent pin-up status was more befitting of his early credits like Cry-Baby and Jump Street, he felt more at home working with Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands. “I couldn’t believe it,” Depp said of Burnon’s 1990 movie. “The script was one of the top five things I ever read—any story, novel, anything—but I thought I had no chance. Who wouldn’t want Tom Cruise in their movie? Automatic box-office.”
Continuing, Depp described that, now he was financially solvent, the quality of his work was paramount. “To be good at what I do. To keep my integrity. To be happy,” he said, rattling off a wishlist. Adding in jest, “To be really rich! No, look, I’ve been so fortunate to work with Oliver Stone, John Waters, Tim Burton. What I want is to maintain that level—good scripts, directors, things I’ll be proud of. And that’s the truth.”
“I know that making a lot of money in this business didn’t make me happy, so it’s not my goal,” Depp continued. “Four years of a TV series convinced me that it was as far as I ever want to go toward selling out. It’s now my turn to make choices—and usually, things I like are not commercial, not money-makers. Formula films bore me—maybe everybody’s getting bored with them? I don’t see why rich actors go on doing them. Once you’ve got ten million, what do you need more for?”
At this early stage in his career, Depp understood that his youthful good looks were a boon but relished the thought of growing older. “When I age, I’ll be able to do more character parts, which is what I want to do now anyway,” he asserted. Explaining, “In Hollywood, it’s ‘All young actors have to look a certain way because they have to be the leading man.’ Ridiculous, and it’s why the movies I’ve been in were so welcome to me—all character parts. I tell you, I look forward to getting old.”
Later in the conversation, Burke addresses Depp’s famous “Winona Forever” tattoo. Once again, Depp conveyed the idea that he’s an old soul. “I’m old-fashioned,” he commented. “I believe that Winona is forever.”
Alas, the power couple wasn’t to last. Depp and Ryder broke up in 1993, with Depp eventually altering the tattoo to read “Wino Forever.”
“Winona’s kind of expecting me about now,” Depp told Burke towards the end of the interview, leaving time for one last question: What would he do if his career fell through?
“I’ve thought about that,” a 27-year-old Depp replied. “I could become John Waters’s gardener. Or I could play Las Vegas lounges. Yeah, really! I love Vegas—the clothes they wear there. Oversize dark glasses indoors! Polyester leisure suits! White patent-leather loafers with gold chains! I could, like, open for Wayne Newton.”
