Reflections . . .
Quotes About Johnny
J — K — L
J
He
was pitched the movie without a
script. [Pirates 1] They basically
said, ‘We're
going to make a movie out of this theme-park ride. Want to do
it?’ And he said,
‘Great! I'm in. I believe in the idea.’ I just
thought, What idea, you lunatic?
—Tracey
Jacobs
longtime agent and friend, Time, March 2004
There have been times that he's
misbehaved. I'm very tough
on him about that stuff.
—Tracey
Jacobs
agent and close friend, Esquire, April 1995
He made a choice when he came out of
the television series
to take a left turn as opposed to a right.
—Tracey
Jacobs
agent, Premiere, February 1995
Do I want him to be in a movie that
does $400 million? Of
course! I'm not stupid! Let me make this really clear to
you—he wants to be in
a commercial movie. It just has to be the right timing and the right
one,
that's all. Hopefully he'll be available when those come along again.
—Tracey
Jacobs
agent, Premiere, February 1995
‘I
have taken the road less traveled and that has made all the
difference.’ That
would
be the quote I
would use to describe him in general.
—Tracey
Jacobs
Johnny's agent, Premiere, February 1995
He
really is one of the most precise and focused
people I’ve
ever worked with. The
whole crew is kind of amazed by that. That’s
a side of him
that I’m not really
familiar with, you know? I’m more familiar with
seeing him
fall asleep on the couch
with the TV on all night. But it somehow fits; he’s full of
paradoxes.
—Jim
Jarmusch
director, Dead
Man
He’s
moody and very
emotional and very sensitive. In real life, sometimes, it’s
hard for him to
decide where to eat or what to do, but as an actor he’s very
precise.
—Jim
Jarmusch
I was staying at his house for a
while when he was shooting
Ed Wood,
and sometimes I would
pick him up from the set and
we’d get dinner. It
would take him three hours to stop being Ed Wood. I just wanted to slap
him to
get that stupid smile off his face. We’d be in this Thai
restaurant and Johnny
is going, ‘Hey, this pad Thai is fabulous.’
—Jim
Jarmusch
Bazaar, December
1995
Johnny's
a kind of strange tribal guy. He has little superstitions, and things
that are
comforting to him become his friends. Those boots are his good friends.
—Jim
Jarmusch
Johnny’s
a subtle actor, which I respect. He refuses
to telegraph things or be dramatic and is always completely on top of
whatever
he’s doing. He’s physically beautiful too, of
course, but
Johnny isn’t just
some model-type guy—as a person he has a very deep soul.
—Jim
Jarmusch, 1995
He's treated like some movie star,
but really he's an
artist.
—Jim
Jarmusch
Johnny
had a Porsche, right, and he had to pick Marlon
Brando up from his house—they were going
somewhere—and
Brando was like, ‘John,
I'm so disappointed, I can't believe you have a Porsche, I don't want
to be
seen with you in this car, how can you possibly . . .’ This
whole
thing with
Brando—‘I’m not riding in a Porsche with
John’—he was really putting it down.
It was really funny.
—Jim
Jarmusch
Icon, June 1998
He's
just brilliant. I think it's a very serious Oscar
contender. He himself thinks it's his best performance, which is really
quite
something. Working with him, he's so quick. You give him an idea and he
just
devours it and does something new with it. He even went to the British
Museum
and asked to see the manuscripts and being Johnny Depp, they let him
touch
them!
—Stephen
Jeffreys
playwright, The Libertine,
September,
2005
Watch it, I have pinkeye or
something. If I have pinkeye,
Johnny probably does, too. We’re connected by fungus.
—Sal
Jenco
GQ, October 1993
There is no bullshit involved with
him. He's a completely
straight guy. He took the onset of celebrity pretty much the same way
he would
have taken a four-dollar-an-hour job pumping gas.
—Sal
Jenco
from Depp, by Christopher Heard
There are people who are
driven—their motive to succeed is
to have some form of attention and have people blow sunshine up their
asses.
And there are those who are interested in art, to contributing to being
an
artist, to having respect for themselves and the art they’re
participating in.
That’s what he does.
Johnny
Depp is not affected in any way, shape or form by Hollywood or the
social
conditioning of Hollywood and the entertainment business. I know him
well. He
could be pumping gas or in the top-grossing film of the
90’s—he’s the same guy.
—Sal
Jenco
Washington Post, 1995
He
is very generous with his spirit. I’ll tell you one
thing. He was always cool.
—Sal
Jenco
Washington Post, 1995
Depp's classic rugged American good
looks combined with a
sense of mystery going on behind the eyes works incredibly well for his
character. He brings that quality of underlying danger to Spencer, the
sense of
unpredictability, the feeling of never really knowing who this man is
and what
his true intentions are.
—Mark
Johnson
executive producer, The Astronaut's Wife
K
He
really got Jung's body language,
he even started to look
like him in a weird way. There was a whole subtle shift in Johnny
between the
time George is in his prime to when he is actively deteriorating under
the
stress. His body just collapses into itself and it's amazing. He
physicalises
the role without make-up or wardrobe. It's all in his psyche.
—Georgia
Kacandes
executive producer, Blow, quoted in
Johnny Depp, A Modern Rebel by Brian
J.
Robb
[Buster] Keaton's subtle movements
are the hardest to
capture, but Johnny got it, he did a marvelous job. But it wasn't a
fluke—he
was really committed to it and worked really hard on everything from
the
smallest moves on up.
—Dan
Kamin
a mime hired by Johnny as coach and choreographer for Benny
& Joon
For me Johnny Depp represents
Hollywood at its best. He is
very down to earth and makes his own decisions, but he is still a big
star. He
doesn't give his life over to any agents.
—Mika
Kaurismaki
director, LA Without A Map, quoted
in
Johnny Depp, A Modern Rebel by Brian
J.
Robb
Working with Johnny and Freddie
[Highmore], I just can't
begin to tell you, as the song says, because Johnny is extraordinary.
I'd say
it even if he wasn't here. [Laughter]
He's a marvelous international movie star but he's a great deal more
than that,
he's a very gifted artist. There are lots of good movie stars at the
moment,
especially leading men in the States, but Johnny is miles ahead of
that. He's
wonderful to watch let alone play with. It was a joy and I feel very
privileged.
—David
Kelly
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
co-star, UK Press Conference, July 2005
Johnny’s
going to bring something
completely natural, sinister and heartfelt to the part—his voice
is great and
he’s such a great friendly guy. I love working with him.
I’m excited about the
film coming out in December.
—Laura
Michelle Kelly
actress, Sweeney Todd
. . .
Umm well all I can say is that Johnny
Depp can sing and everyone is going to really pleased. It was just
brilliant
fun and he was such an incredible man. He talked about his children all
the
time, he’s a great family man . . .
—Laura
Michelle Kelly
actress, Sweeney Todd, BBC Radio 2
The
genius of Johnny Depp is that when you're watching
him on the screen you don't know what he's going to do next. It might
be a
roguish smile at an unexpected moment, it may be an inflection of
speech that
catches you off guard. He has a comic flair that invites you to root
for him
even when his character is decidedly unheroic. He brings to his
characters a
humanity that convinces audiences they are watching a true-to-life,
quirks-and-all
character, and not a performer playing a role.
—D.
Allan Kerr
journalist, in an article about Dead
Man’s Chest, July 2006
Brando saw a moment and instinctively
seized it. Whether
it's true or not doesn't really matter—the scene LOOKS
unscripted and
spontaneous, and therefore real. That's the mark of a genius; someone
who can
see something small and brilliant, something no one else can see, and
turn it
into something special. It's fitting that Brando—who
co-starred with Depp in
the 1995 romantic comedy Don Juan DeMarco—was
a friend and mentor to the younger man before his death, because Depp
appears
to be a similar one-of-a-kind talent.
—D.
Allan Kerr
Seacoastonline.com, July 2006
On
Johnny’s character, Captain Jack Sparrow: It
wasn't written like that. The character,
as it was written, was completely straight, so that character is
entirely his
and Gore Verbinski's. They totally came up with that and none of us
knew if it
would work when we were doing it, because it was so off-the-wall and so
not
what was on the page [. . .]. It's daring, and talk about risks! (A)
You're
making a pirate movie, that hasn't worked in God knows how long; (B)
you're
making a film based on a Disney theme park ride; and (C) you've got
Johnny Depp
going mental over there, and you're just thinking, 'How is this going
to
work?'
—Keira
Knightley
Pirates of the Caribbean co-star, in
an interview with ComingSoon.net
You
watch him playing Jack Sparrow, and he's loving
it, and he's loving being in that world. He's still excited by it.
Sometimes,
he'll even say, ‘Was that OK?’
And
I'm
thinking, ‘You're Johnny Depp man, you know that's
OK!’ But
he doesn't. He's
still going to [director] Gore [Verbinski] and asking for help. It's a
privilege to see the human side of Johnny. It's really exciting.
—Keira
Knightley
Pirates co-star
He's
just such a nice guy. He's just so normal. I
mean, you have a laugh and he's lived in France so he's watched a lot
of
British comedy shows so he knows British humor. And we just got on
really well.
And he's just a lovely guy. You have a chat, you have a cup of tea, and
it's
great. Johnny in particular, he chats, he has a cup of tea, he giggles
a lot,
he does the scene, he chats, he has another cup of tea.
—Keira
Knightley
Pirates
co-star, 2003
Johnny is so peaceful with himself
and with his family. He's
so fond of being a father—and he can make these terrific
funny faces!
Underneath, he's very sensitive and thoughtful and has a very generous
side to
him.
I can't say enough good things about
Johnny. I think he's
fantastic. I think there's no question that he is one of the most
talented
actors around at the moment. The fact that he's been courageous enough
to
absolutely go for this character in a completely unique way, it
completely sums
up Johnny.
He's
possibly one of the most intelligent, most well-read people I know.
Which,
personally, I love, because like me, he's a school drop-out. He's
incredibly
generous and just gorgeous. And as my mom said, ‘He must have
been brought up
very well!’ So I had a great time working with him, and he
made me laugh all
the time which is all you can ask for when you're on a six-month shoot. I
think
you've got to take the risks. There's no point
playing it safe, because either you'll get bored or the audiences will
get
bored. Sometimes, you're going to make mistakes, and that's fine, but
you have
to take the risks. I think Pirates
is
one of the prime examples of that with Johnny Depp's performance, and
part of
the reason that people love it so much is that you watch it and go,
“Gutsy,
really gutsy!” You
can rumple him, but you can’t make him unattractive. You can
try, but it won’t
happen. He's
one of our great actors, so inventive and so different every time.
There is an
old saying that if you aim for the general, you hit nothing, but if you
aim for
the specific, you might hit the universal . . . that sums up the body
of
Johnny's
work. He's
not
terrible volatile—he just doesn't want to be
shut down. He's got a great gift. He works hard. He's bold and comes
across
trying something both really well-thought-out and a little bit
dangerous. He's
got a lot of ideas and he wants to try them. You have to not be
threatened by
that. You want someone who's going to bring something to the party and
not just
be some wonk who shows up and you have to prod them into a performance.
I
talked him out of a few things and he talked me out of a few things.
And I
talked him into some, and he talked me into some. It worked out nicely.
I'm not really sure why he wanted to
do it. [Secret Window] I'm grateful,
but it's
hard to be certain of what motivates Johnny. It's possible he just
wanted to
play a character named Mort. I
don't
know that this film would have worked without
him. He made napping and eating a sandwich interesting activities, and
I don't
know anyone else who could do that. Johnny
has a way of finding humor in things that don't
necessarily seem funny. There's a scene in a post office which is so
delightfully weird, I had trouble not laughing behind the camera while
I was
filming it—he's just so odd in it. He's
a sponge. He picks up what's going on around him. Like that jaw thing
that he
does—I was doing that because I was grinding my teeth because
I
wasn't sleeping
at night. So he just started doing it throughout the movie. You've got
to be
careful what you do around him because he'll steal it from you. Johnny
Depp is a pioneer, a groundbreaker in his own
right. He's taken many risks and is one of the few modern day actors
that do
not conform to Hollywood's template, but defines himself with
characters that
are innovative and provocative. There is no other Johnny Depp just as
there is
no other Gary Cooper. His
persona is that of a movie star. He's got that
charisma. It's plain to see. This
is for us, Johnny. No matter what happens tonight, this is for us
because, I
mean, you know if you play tennis by yourself it doesn’t
work.
That guy is the
best young actor in this town. Not only that, he comes in prepared,
he’s ready
to work, and he’s willing to take chances, and I love him.
Back in New York in the '50's, James
Dean was one of my best
friends. It's very hard to compare the younger actors of today with
Dean, yet I
can honestly say I don't know of anyone who comes closer to Jimmy than
Johnny.
They share a similar subtlety in their work. But Jimmy's was a fragile
talent—not
as developed as Johnny's is.
Johnny
and I wound up
liking each other enormously, I mean quickly. I love the kid,
he’s terrific. He’s
a good kid, he’s a talented kid. He comes in prepared.
It’s like playing tennis
with a good player; he makes your game better. You hit the ball and it
comes
back pretty good. There's
no self-consciousness; no holding back. And
that's what I like about him, you know: he jumps in deep
water—and he swims! He
loves his family, he loves his people, and is very loyal to them.
He really is a committed, serious
actor who has been painted
with this brush of celebrity gossip icon. He is so uncomfortable with
that
aspect of his life that you can see him struggling with it often.
—Keira
Knightley
—Keira
Knightley
Pirates
co-star, 2003
—Keira
Knightley
Pirates of the Caribbean co-star
—David
Koepp
screenwriter and director, Secret
Window
Johnny
sort of popped into
my head midway through the first draft, and
he
wouldn’t
leave. But
the
more I
thought about it, the more it made sense. In the first half of the
movie, this
guy is in the house not doing anything. I really needed an actor
who’s
inventive and who will make enough idiosyncratic choices to make it
entertaining to watch. And let’s face it, Johnny Depp could
make a nap
interesting to watch.
—David
Koepp
—David
Koepp
—David
Koepp
—David
Koepp
Time, March 2004
—David
Koepp
NY Post, March 2004
—David
Koepp
writer/director, Secret Window, NY
Post, March 2004
—David
Koepp, March 2004
—Yarrow
Kraner
announcing Johnny Depp as the recipient of the Hatch
Festival’s
Gary Cooper
Award, 2005
L
—Rikki
Lake
Cry-Baby co-star, Sky Magazine, June
1990
—Martin
Landau
accepting
his Golden Globe for Ed
Wood,
1996
—Martin
Landau
Vanity Fair, February 1997
—Martin
Landau
—Martin
Landau
Ed Wood
co-star, 1998
—Martin
Landau
—Frank
Langella
The Ninth Gate co-star, quoted in Depp,
by Christopher Heard
Johnny Depp is just the best there is. He’s
the best actor of his generation—the bravest, the most original, the most
stylish. I worked with him on The Ninth
Gate—and he’s also a great person to be around.
—Frank
Langella
costar, The Ninth Gate, Dec 20, 2007
Depp can be both the consummate
gentleman and the most
sinister source of evil at the same time.
I
think fatherhood and Vanessa have
kept Johnny grounded. Of
course Johnny is a great film actor—inventive and with
enormous versatility—but
he is also polite and courteous. He opens doors for ladies and stands
up when
they enter a room. There is a lot about how to behave on
screen—and off it—that
certain of his peers could learn from. You
know Johnny, Paul [Shaeffer] and I have been doing
this show for a long time, almost 20 years. I think I'm safe in saying
without
a doubt, you are the coolest guy we've ever had on this program. Isn't
he cool? We
were
shooting this scene where Depp and Brando are
standing on scaffolding 80 feet in the air and there is no question
what is
really going on up there. I was standing next to the photographer, and
we
looked at each other at the same time and recognized what was
happening. Marlon
was passing the torch to Johnny. You could feel it in your bones. It
was so
obvious. Marlon was giving Johnny the room to be the next Marlon
Brando. And
you know something? I think Johnny can handle it. I
think
Johnny is far and away the most talented of
today’s young actors. He is very much like Marlon on many
fronts.
They both
have a 100 percent bull detector in that they know what is false and
not
working in a scene. They both have an incredible instinct for knowing
what
writing is all about. And then, of course, they both have a lot of
turmoil
inside.
—Andrew
Lazar
producer, The Astronaut's Wife,
quoted in Depp, by Christopher Heard
Johnny
Depp, as far as I’m concerned, is number one. Of his
generation, there’s no one
who can touch him. Some
performers, today, it’s like looking
at holes in the
air.
—Christopher
Lee
—Christopher
Lee
Sleepy Hollow, Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory and The
Corpse Bride co-star, July 2005
—David
Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman, November 1999
—Jeremy
Leven
writer and director, Don
Juan DeMarco,
1995
—Jeremy
Leven
writer and director, Don
Juan DeMarco,
1995
Impressive in his dark look, brave singing
voice, and brilliant acting, Johnny Depp gives a dazzling, haunting performance
in the horror-musical-movie Sweeney Todd,
one for which he should receive his third Best Actor Oscar nomination, perhaps
even win the coveted award.
—Emanuelle
Levy, film critic
Johnny is self-debasing. Is that the
right word? Anyway,
sometimes he's too self-debasing.
A lot of actors and
actresses just want to be safe and look
really pretty and cool in front of the camera. Johnny’s not
like that. He’s in
it for the work and for creating.
—Juliette
Lewis
Los Angeles Times, 1993
—Juliette
Lewis
Gilbert Grape
co-star, 1994
He absolutely works! Normally Sweeney is
sung by bass-baritone and he’s presented as a lumpen proletariat, someone with
a very large physical presence. Johnny’s not that. He slender, he’s elegant, he’s
sexy, and yes, he’s a tenor. What I think he brings to the role is sort of this
Byronic quality; there’s something so tormented and anguished and poetic about
his Sweeney Todd that is wildly appropriate. But I admit I never would have
thought that until I saw him on the set and saw how incredibly romantic his
Sweeney was.
—John Logan
screenwriter, Sweeney Todd, TheaterMania,
Dec 10, 2007
He's very much a man's man. He
doesn't act like a star. He's
not egotistical, he's not hung up, he's not an idiot. He's just very
relaxed,
very easy to work with, and very much in love right now.
—Traci
Lords
Cry-Baby co-star, Sky Magazine, June
1990