Site menu:

A — B — C



A


I have a huge fat crush on him. Of all the men in this business, he is my favorite . . . Wow! I presented at the Golden Globes . . . I saw him, made eye contact with him and forgot all my lines.
—Jessica Alba, actress
Starpulse News Blog, November 2007

He was amazing. Absolutely amazing. The stuff where he had to wear the women's clothing was inspired. He was a natural. I would give him tips on undressing, particularly with the bra strap. He was very strict who he undressed in front of. [. . .] He energized everyone on set. He was as much a guiding force on the movie as Tim [Burton]. We had these very intimate scenes together, and he would get right into the part and stay there for hours. I'm not that disciplined. I still have fits of laughter during a scene. But Johnny could do it straight.
—Patricia Arquette
who plays Kathy O'Hara in Ed Wood, in Film Review, June 1995

When I wrote the script [for Ils se marierent et eurent beaucoup des enfants] I thought . . . who will be this guy for whom all women will fall?  And . . . right away I thought about him!
—Yvan Attal
director, Ils se marierent et eurent beaucoup des enfants, on casting Johnny as Charlotte Gainsbourg’s fantasy lover. Ms. Gainsbourg also happens to be Mr. Attal’s wife.


B


If Hitchcock were making this picture [Nick of Time] he’d probably have wanted Jimmy Stewart. Who’s the Jimmy Stewart of the 90’s? Nice, unassuming, unpretentious? Johnny has a basic sweetness to him. He’s a classic movie actor, like the true greats—Paul Newman, Gary Cooper, even Steve McQueen. Minimalist in approach, but extremely honest. Johnny is that kind of actor. He has this great ability to be in a scene where he may do nothing and yet he establishes his presence on the screen.
—John Badham
director, Nick of Time, 1995

Johnny would come in at seven in the morning and we would start to stage a scene, and I would think he was only propped up by a stage brace. He would stand there looking a little shaken, but totally focused. What I learned right away was, it didn't matter if he never went to bed, he was right on top of it.
—John Badham
director, Nick of Time, quoted in Johnny Depp, A Modern Rebel by Brian J. Robb

He has great enthusiasm. He’s like a little kid on the set, a real devil. We all know about Leslie Nielsen carrying around his little farting machine, and Johnny Depp had one of those, which he thought was great fun. But somebody also gave him a laser beam pen, one of those things you use in lectures for pointers, and next thing I know he is all over the hotel with this damn thing, entertaining himself all day long. His favorite thing was to get over the bar, about 40 feet above, and get some drunk looking around wondering why his drink was suddenly glowing red. It was like a bad joke out of some old movie. You’ve got to love somebody like that.
—John Badham
director, Nick of Time, 1995

The French adore Johnny. I think they recognize in him something of the spirit of Rimbaud. Free and quick and intuitive, like a gypsy. This story that he destroyed a hotel . . . The Americans are so stupid. You pay for a room. You're furious. You do damage. You pay for it.
—Francois-Marie Banier
photographer and close friend, Talk Magazine, October 1999

Johnny was not a movie star on this movie. He was another actor who believed in the beauty of what we were doing, in the meaningfulness of what we were doing.
—Javier Bardem
Before Night Falls co-star

Johnny did amazing work, and he was very generous, very helpful. He really got into the mood of the character, Bon Bon, and that scene with him as Lieutenant Victor is something that will stay in my memory. I admire him a great deal.
—Javier Bardem
Before Night Falls co-star, quoted in Johnny Depp, A Modern Rebel by Brian J. Robb

I had heard of Johnny. I knew he played a sailor in a film. [laughter] I heard he was going to be a hairdresser in a movie called Sweeney Todd. He’s a true master of his art. With someone like Tim Burton, who requires detail and a total precision in the craft, Johnny has that. He can replicate a perfect performance 15 times. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen someone able to do that. He’s one of the biggest stars in the world, if not the biggest star. But he’s incredibly humble. In the scene where he was murdering me, after each take, he’d be the first one to come over with a little bowl so I could spit out the fake blood. He treats everyone with total respect and is probably one of the most grounded persons I’ve ever met.
—Sacha Baron Cohen
Philippine Daily Inquirer, December 21, 2007

What struck me about him when he auditioned is that he wasn't nervous. He was laid back. He had this presence. He's an unusual personality. He's also one of the nicest people I've ever worked with.
—Steve Beers
supervising producer, 21 Jump Street, TV Guide, January 1988

He's just such an incredible actor; I've always been such a big fan.
—Maria Bello
Secret Window co-star, Blink, June 2004

His [film] choices are really to do with his heart and intuition, not a career perspective to win an Oscar.
—Juliette Binoche
Chocolat co-star, LA Times, April 2001

A gypsy needs his family, and I think he found a family in the people he works with like Lasse [Hallstrom] and Tim Burton. I once asked him why he works so much, and he said ‘I just have to keep my head busy.’
—Juliette Binoche
Chocolat co-star, 2001

Johnny is Johnny. It's a whole different level.
—Orlando Bloom
Pirates co-star, CIAK magazine, August 2003

You get the feeling Johnny has been through the sausage machine of Hollywood and come out the other side still standing.
—Orlando Bloom
People, December 2003

Johnny's always telling me, “Don't go for the money. Follow your heart, Orlando!”
—Orlando Bloom

Johnny Depp was a big draw. I've always admired him. To be on the set with somebody like him and see how he handles himself and see how he goes about it, it's a real privilege. To learn as you go.
—Orlando Bloom
AJC Staff, July, 2006

He's a really cool guy, just a really nice guy. There was one time when we'd flown down to St. Vincent in the producer's private plane. Johnny and I were at the back of the plane. We just sat and drank some red wine. I don't know if the altitude had something to do with it, but when we arrived there, we sort of stump-crawled off the plane. The Prime Minister of St. Vincent was there to greet us and he goes, ‘Hey, mon, very pleased to introduce you to St. Vincent,’ and we're like just crawling past him, and then Johnny gives him a huge hug and like kissed him, and there's me trailing behind him, picking up his shit. It was crazy, but it was fun.
—Orlando Bloom
Filmink, October 2003

He's a role model for me. He has integrity and makes choices that are brave and unusual. He doesn't have hissy fits; he conducts himself with grace and humility.
—Orlando Bloom

When the real captain of the Interceptor disappeared, and Johnny took control of the ship, it had a really strange effect on me. I looked up and saw Johnny in control of the ship with his pirate costume, and his gold teeth. It felt like we were really pirates for a couple minutes!
—Orlando Bloom
Pirates co-star, 2003

[Speaking of Johnny and Tim Burton] They really are about age 4 together. They like poo jokes. They're really into pretty childish, puerile jokes that I don't find funny. Like Johnny will give him some cat-butt chewing gum . . . with pictures of cat's butts. I mean, is it funny? No.
—Helena Bonham Carter
mtv.com

It’s very sexy. It’s very sexy singing, and it sounds like him, that’s what’s exciting. He really sings from the gut, and it’s a very emotional role. So it’s very naked and very sexy and very touching and brave and beautiful, very beautiful, and soulful . . .
—Helena Bonham Carter
costar, Sweeney Todd, Official Sweeney Todd Website

They [Tim and Johnny] have a great synergy. They are very like each other. Chosen brothers elected by each other. They have the same sense of humor and share a deep respect. They have grown up together. Edward Scissorhands joined them. They are both introverts, but very flamboyant when it comes to their work. That is their release. They are rebels, anti-authoritarian. They are very age 7 in their sense of humor.
—Helena Bonham Carter
USA Today, December 13, 2007

He has got an uncanny ability to make anything cool. He is a hip person, Johnny, and his choices are always clever and he’s made . . . like when I heard his recordings it’s got a real modern feel, a sort of rocky kind, not rocky boxer but it’s got a slight rock modern, he’s got a real touch with the contemporary and he’s a really funny mix. Johnny as a person, he’s got both high culture and pop culture, he’s a real mixture of both, he’s very cultured but it’s just really eclectic and so he just knows what to draw on.
—Helena Bonham Carter
December 2007

Q: What was Johnny Depp like on set, considering that in the film he is usually angry and getting vengeance. Did he ever break character and laugh?

A: Oh yeah. Johnny’s not Method. He’s very concentrated and very disciplined, but there’s a lot of laughs. In fact, actually it was quite difficult to keep a straight face when he was coming at me during one song. He was very patient with me. And Tim and him have lots of laughs. One basis of the relationship is a lot of jokes, pretty stupid jokes I have to admit. I knew how stressful it was for Tim, and I get distressed because I’m the girlfriend, you know, back at home. But Tim did laugh a lot. There was a great sense of levity and excitement on the set because no one there had done a musical before.

Q: What about dancing with Johnny? Is he a good dancer?

A: You know, the man’s ridiculously overstuffed with talent in every direction, but he can’t dance, I can tell you that, ha-ha! And that was a surprise. Well, waltz—he can’t waltz. It was kind of unfortunate because I was really pregnant by then and we had to get on a spinning machine. It was the only way we had worked out to spin.
—Helena Bonham Carter
January 2008

We sent each other supportive e-mails. The first time I listened to him and he listened to me, we’d sung in different countries. They put us together and I thought, “Oh, no, he’s really good and I’m really crap.”

He had the same reaction apparently—well, he’s probably lying.
—Helena Bonham Carter
Daily Express, January 29, 2008

What you see on the screen is Johnny Depp. He's iconoclastic, meaning he doesn't take garbage from anybody.
—David Brown
producer, Chocolat, Biography, Fall 2004

He had a rather small role in Chocolat, and he didn't care. Johnny Depp, like every fine actor, doesn't count the role in terms of the length of time or footage, but what it will do for him as an artist. And he is an artist.
—David Brown
producer, Chocolat, Biography, Fall 2004

He's a pure person. He goes back to the tradition of Humphrey Bogart . . . Spencer Tracy. I admire him as an actor and as a person because he is real.
—David Brown
producer, Chocolat, Biography, Fall 2004

He's completely unimpressed by the usual accoutrements of stardom. You won't see him in the Four Seasons bar, carrying on with a whole bunch of people. He'll be with his pals. If he can find a pub, he'll be there.
—David Brown
producer, Chocolat, Biography, Fall 2004

You know, initially some of the executives at Disney had heart attacks when they saw what he was doing. But what I liked about it was that it never broke the reality of the picture. If everybody acted like that then I would have said, ‘Oh, we've got a problem,’ but the fact is that everyone else was straight and just played off him. Johnny was the foil. You never knew what he was going to come up with, which I liked. I had faith in Gore. And I had faith in Johnny as an artist. So I felt that the combination was going to work.
—Jerry Bruckheimer
Producer, Pirates, SFX Magazine, 2003

He's an artist and you hire him because he's an artist. You don't hire Johnny Depp and try to put him in a box and say, “This is the performance you have to give me.” It was an inspired performance, but it scared the studio to death when they saw it. My phone lit up like a Christmas tree after they saw the first day's rushes. They said, “You've got to tone it down. It's ridiculous.” We said, “No, wait till you see how engaging it is.”
—Jerry Bruckheimer
producer, Pirates of the Caribbean, on Disney’s initial reaction to Captain Jack Sparrow

He's the biggest star in the world. I mean, it's fantastic. I mean, he really is. He's a worldwide box office phenomenon. And he deserves every, every second of the fame that he's getting because he's a wonderful individual. He's great to work with. He's caring. He's generous. You know, you hear of these stories about Hollywood actors and actresses and the dramas they go through, and he's not one of them.
—Jerry Bruckheimer
ABC News Now: Popcorn with Joel Siegel, May 2007

There is, of course, that extraordinary beauty working for him too. Beauty like his is not the same thing as sexual attractiveness, notwithstanding all the stories about the fan mail he gets folded around strands of pubic hair. This is beauty of the kind fixed forever on the side of Keats' Grecian urn. This is the sort of Beauty that stands beside Truth, an eternal verity. It makes you draw breath when you see it, in a moment of something like reverence.
—Stephanie Bunbury
The Age, Australia, June 2006

Johnny’s fun to work with, though—it’s always something different. He’s more of a character actor than a leading man. It’s fun to work with an actor like that, much more exciting than somebody who wants to come in and do the same thing every time. Johnny’s always wanting to sort of hide behind a character, become a character. I’ve always loved great character actors . . .
—Tim Burton
Total Film Magazine, January 2007

I respond to the visual. I'm not the most verbal, so it's nice with someone like Johnny, who understands with only a few words—there's that connective tissue.
—Tim Burton

 I like people's eyes a lot and, especially with a character like this [Edward Scissorhands] who doesn't really speak, eyes are very important. I remember Johnny was able to do something that amazed me. I was very close to him one day, watching him doing a scene, and the next day we saw it on film, and almost without doing anything he was able to do something with his eyes that made them glassy. It was if he was about to cry, like one of those Walter Keane paintings with the big eyes. I don't know how he did it. It wasn't something we did with the camera or the lighting, it was incredible.
—Tim Burton
Burton on Burton

He's always been true to who he is. He's never been ruled by money, or by what people think he should or shouldn't do. Maybe it's just in America, but it seems that if you're passionate about something, it freaks people out. You're considered bizarre or eccentric. To me, it just means you know who you are.
—Tim Burton
Newsweek, msnbc.com, June 2006

I went on the Arsenio Hall Show with Johnny once . . . Ten minutes of silence.
—Tim Burton

[About all the attention in 2003] It cracks me up. It's as if he just arrived on planet Earth. I know where Johnny's been for the past two decades, but where have they been? I guess with good things it's a delayed thing, and Johnny's a good thing, but I guess he didn't fit into any of their categories until he got into a hit movie like Pirates of the Caribbean.
—Tim Burton

Strangely, I had absolutely no idea if he could sing. He said that he thought he could do it, but strangely I had no fear of that whatsoever. I worry about a lot of things, but strangely I did not fear that at all and when I got it, beyond that, he exceeded my expectations. So I was very lucky. I didn’t go through any angst on that level at all.
—Tim Burton
London press interviews for Sweeney Todd, November 27, 2007

We did talk about his singing in Corpse Bride, but he was terrified of it. He’s musical for sure. It’s funny that he was scared of that, but then he wanted to make a big musical.

I gave Johnny the soundtrack to see what he thought of it. He said, “I think I can do it.” I knew if he said he could do it, he could do it. It was the first time in our [career together] where he knew he could do it.

. . . [lyricist Stephen Sondheim was] very supportive. He was OK with Johnny without hearing him sing, because I think he knew Johnny could pull it off.

Johnny and I always talk about old horror movie actors, like Boris Karloff. They have a certain acting style that you don’t see much anymore, based on movement and internalization. This part seemed perfect for that.

When I asked Johnny to do it and he said, “Yeah, I think I can do it,” I didn’t know if he could sing, but I knew him enough to know that if he didn’t think he could do it, he wouldn’t do it. It took a while. I didn’t hear anything from him for a while. He’s very private. I let him go and do his thing and he sent me a thing and I listened and it exceeded my expectations.
—Tim Burton, from “An Evening with Tim Burton: Cinema’s Demon Barber”
November 14, Lincoln Center

Every time Johnny and I work together, we try to do something different, and singing for a whole movie is not something we’re used to. You never just want to feel like, ‘Okay, that was easy. What’s next?’ Johnny and I always want to stretch ourselves, and this was perfect outlet for that.
—Tim Burton
London press interviews for Sweeney Todd, November 27, 2007

Well, I’ll say that he tries anything. The fact is that he’s not a singer, you know, he’s musical, but he would try one of the hardest musicals ever to do. It just says it all. He’s just willing to go out there, and believe me, something I’ve learned is singing is very exposing, especially if you’re not a singer, it’s a very exposing process, and anybody who can do that can basically do anything, you know? So for me, it’s just an artistic pleasure to see somebody try different things and actually achieve it . . . and achieve it beyond your expectations.
—Tim Burton
Q&A with Nick Hutson for MusicalTalk, BroadwayWorld.com, November 2007

We took cues from silent movies. When Johnny walks into the barbershop, you just see the pain in his eyes. I find he doesn’t have to say anything. It’s an acting style you don’t really see anymore.
—Tim Burton
USA Today, December 13, 2007


C

Johnny didn't ignore his fans, he brought them with him. He was smart about it. He took this large group of people weaned on formula TV and exposed them to things exciting and new.
—Nicolas Cage

Seeing Tim and Johnny work together is very special. They have almost their own language . . . like when you have your best friend and you know what they’re going to say before they say it. So they can get one word out before bursting into laughter. Which is funny sometimes and other times you’re like, God, I wish I knew what was going on. It’s like, you lost me when you said ‘the’ at the beginning of the sentence.
—Jamie Campbell Bower
costar, Sweeney Todd, New York Observer, December 11, 2007

Tim helped a lot and is a very relaxed director, though I was terribly nervous—and Johnny was great too. On the first day of shooting, I was standing with him on a boat in the middle of the studio. And I’m like, “Is this actually happening? Am I here?” Now, Johnny can tell I’m a wreck. I’m shaking while there’s this huge fan blowing our hair wild. But then he leans over and says, “Jamie, that’s our biggest fan.” It was a great way to break the tension.
—Jamie Campbell Bower, actor, Sweeney Todd
LATimes.com, November 2007

He would have much preferred to be on something darker and edgier. I never thought Johnny saw how good it was because he really disdained the show. He made it pretty well known that he didn't want to be on it. I remember once he came to the set dressed like Elton John. He had a powdered wig on and platform shoes.
—Stephen J. Cannell
executive producer, 21 Jump Street, Biography, Fall 2004

OK, Johnny Depp or Viggo—
[Quickly] Johnny Depp, hands down. I love Johnny Depp. I have always loved Johnny Depp.

I know this is a stupid American question, but do you ever see him in France?
Actually, I do. Well, wait, actually, no—I never see him in France. But I have seen him around on occasion, and we've worked together, and he comes to my shows, actually. He's always very, very nice. I love him.

—Belinda Carlisle
as quoted in The Advocate

When I first saw Johnny he had a felt hat pulled down and these deep brown eyes peering out, with a coat that went to the floor. He was as cute as a bug's ear, but he looked like a waif. And I think that is part of his appeal: He can be waiflike, but his charisma comes through.
—Joan Carson
21 Jump Street producer, US Magazine, June 1989

I don't always agree with him, but I see where he's coming from. He fights hard for what he believes in, and he has a tendency to fight for other people as well, which sometimes puts another strand of gray in my hair.
—Joan Carson
21 Jump Street producer, US Magazine, June 1989

Johnny got down on his knees next to the bed, and looking over at my grandson, his eyes just softened. He said, ‘Awesome, just totally awesome.’ Most men don't realize what a miracle a baby is, but Johnny did.
—Darlene Cates
What's Eating Gilbert Grape co-star, People Magazine, October 1994

Johnny never left the set until he checked on me and told me goodbye with a kiss on the cheek. He did call me Momma when we were on set, but as I recall, he called me Darlene when we weren't. He was so good to me and treated me so sweetly. I really do miss him and wish I could visit with him for a while again.
—Darlene Cates
What's Eating Gilbert Grape co-star, in an exclusive Q&A with the Zone's ONBC, May 2007

Johnny was in character from day one. He was Gilbert when I met him. He had the hair, chipped tooth, and wardrobe. I often wondered if I really met Johnny or if it was Gilbert that was so sweet and funny. But when he held my new grandson and whispered, “Awesome”, I knew it was Johnny and that someday he would be a great dad, because he understood what a incredible miracle that little boy was. Johnny does have his private side and there were times that he just laid low in his trailer . . . but then we all did that at times. He did prepare for the scene when he tore up the basement. It was the only one I witnessed him prepare for.
—Darlene Cates
What's Eating Gilbert Grape co-star, in an exclusive Q&A with the Zone's ONBC, May 2007

There are a lot of scenes in the movie that are in a way the set-pieces of the movie, where he does all of the kind of overt things. But for me the beauty was: Walking down a street. Just the most simple ways to move, which you find throughout the movie. The way he would turn; a reaction. Just a very, very subtle openness; a sense of heartbreak.
—Jeremiah Chechik
director, Benny & Joon, 1998

He is so emotionally expressive, doing what seems to be so little. It was clear to me all along that he would bring a thoroughly original and exciting energy to the role of Sam.
—Jeremiah S. Chechik
director, Benny & Joon

We hung around a lot together and there was a lot of drink taken in the middle of the night. We had a mutual appreciation society. He can recite the whole of Cracker and I can do Edward Scissorhands when I've had enough to drink. We did have a lot in common. Johnny is very non-Hollywood and a fan of the English style of acting, which is to just go and get on with it and stop measuring how big your trailer is.
—Robbie Coltrane
From Hell co-star, January 2002

[In a visit to the Disney lot about five years ago, Johnny mentioned to studio chairman Dick Cook that he'd been watching a lot of Disney movies with his daughter, loved them and was hoping to voice a character in a Pixar movie. Cook mentioned that the studio was developing a movie based on the theme-park ride “Pirates of the Caribbean.”] He said, ‘Like a real pirate movie? With swords?’ And I said, ‘Yeah—with swords.’ And he said, ‘I'm in.’
—Dick Cook
Disney studio chairman, Newsweek, msnbc.com, June 2006

Johnny Depp often runs late. To him, a watch would be a handcuff. So I was pleased when he showed up less than an hour after the time we had arranged. He shook my hand and apologized, saying he had run his motorcycle into a pink Ford Escort.
—Kevin Cook
contributing editor, Playboy, 1996

He led me into the quiet, dark Viper Room. We went downstairs to Depp’s sanctum. We talked all day. I was impressed by his intelligence and earnestness. He was often tongue-tied, struggling to shoehorn his convoluted thoughts into sentences. Watching him grope for words, I couldn’t help rooting for him to unearth the mots justes he was trying for.
—Kevin Cook
contributing editor, Playboy, 1996

[Speaking of the Viper Room] Here's how I look at it: Johnny's a frustrated musician. I've seen him play when the doors close and no one's there. I think it's not unlike Dan Aykroyd and the House of Blues. You've got a guy who, for all intents and purposes, is not taken seriously for what he's really in love with, so he ends up making a home for himself to have that, you know? A castle for his kingdom.
—Morty Coyle
frontman of the Imposters and Viper Room regular, Details, March 1999

[Speaking of the Viper Room]I've seen Chrissie Hynde hanging out barefoot, after hours, talking religion with Johnny. I thought that was really, really cool.
—Morty Coyle
frontman of the Imposters and Viper Room regular, Details, March 1999

He had IT in spades, more than anyone I’ve ever met.
—Wes Craven
on casting Johnny in A Nightmare on Elm Street

He just had a very powerful and yet subtle personality. There was some sort of charisma about him. My teen-age daughter and her friend were there at the reading, and they absolutely flipped out over him. He’s got real sex appeal for women.
—Wes Craven
on Johnny’s audition for A Nightmare on Elm Street, 1988

Johnny has that magic charisma and he doesn't have to force it. I don't know if someone's born with that quality or if you have to work at it, but it's very rare.
—Penelope Cruz
Knight-Ridder Newspapers, 2001

This character I play, Mirtha, was a lot different than the kind of character I have played before. I was nervous about this movie, but Johnny really helped me. He kept telling me, ‘You can do it, you can do it, you are doing great.’ He was wonderful.
—Penelope Cruz
Blow co-star, quoted in Depp, by Christopher Heard








Back