Reflections . . .
Quotes About Johnny
M — N — O
M
I
see a
lot of Johnny in Tom [Hanson]. He's
shy, yet he has that
great sensitivity—and he's very chivalrous with women. People
don't expect
someone that good looking to be down-to-earth. I don't think Johnny's
even
aware of how handsome he is. He's genuinely puzzled by the attention.
—Sharan
Magnuson
Fox publicist, YM Magazine, March 1988
He was fantastic, a real
professional. Came to set prepared
every day. A lot of fun. His last day in the Bahamas, we were on the
Black Pearl
and there were lots of extras—there must have been 180 people
on the deck of the
boat. It was completely jam-packed—it was like a concert. You
couldn't even
walk through it. We were up on the stern where he finished his scene,
and he
literally shook the hand of every single person between him and the
exit. He
stopped and said, ‘Thank you.’ That's just the kind
of guy he is. Later,
outside a California soundstage, there were hundreds of people
screaming his
name. After working a 14-hour day, he sat outside and signed autographs
for
every single person before he left. It took like 3 1/2 hours.
—Daniel
Malone
Director of marine and underwater operations for the Pirates
of the Caribbean movies, May 2007
Johnny has matured, but he still has
all the spark of being
a kid. Lily has helped him be even more of a kid because now he has a
playmate. When
Johnny walked in, the energy in the room changed. There's something
really
amazing about him, his generosity of spirit.
[Speaking of
the Viper
Room]I think Sal and Johnny extended themselves to their
circle of friends
in such a way that people who were musicians and artists felt like
there was
this open venue for them to come and try things out. I mean, that's
where the
Counting Crows debuted their new music. They invited their friends to
come and
see what the response was. Or people would just come for an evening of
fun and
find themselves onstage. But it was a safe place. You knew the owners
weren't
calling the press and saying, ‘So and so is playing at the
Viper Room tonight.’
It was really respectful. Johnny
Depp manages to steal the show (as he always
does), still in character from the summer's Pirates of the Caribbean.
Impressively it works once again, adding a hugely comedic element to
the film.
(Once Upon a Time in
Mexico) His wardrobe is one to be reckoned with and should
have gotten credited as a character on its own.
—Marilyn
Manson
LA Times, April 2001
—Mary
Stuart Masterson
from the set of Benny
& Joon,
July 1992
—Samantha
Mathis
actress and Viper Room regular, Details, March 1999
—Daniel
McCord
Film Review, September 2003
I’m
working on a project with Johnny Depp
called Inamorata. I didn’t know
Johnny. He knew The Changeling. He
got in touch with me about this, showed me this book and it’s
fantastic ghost
story again. It’s a supernatural love story. It has all the
elements The Changeling had, and all classic
ghost stories had, but very little happens. It’s all in the mind,
and
psychological and real. Hopefully we’ll make that movie in the
next year. He’s
not in it. It will be the first movie he produces. He’s fabulous
and
wonderfully committed—a very simple person. Big stars surround
him. He’s
fabulous, but most approachable and sincere. When you’re with
him, no one else
exists when you’re talking with him.
—Peter
Medak, director
iFMagazine.com, October 2007
There was a test screening
of the movie [Private
Resort] and no one
affiliated
with it would go anywhere near the theater. Depp and I heard about it
and
wanted to see it. So we dressed up in the weirdest possible way. He had
these
dorky glasses on and a knit hat, and I put cotton in my mouth so my
face puffed
out. We walked right past the executives who knew us.
When asking a question of Depp, be
specific. A generic one
put to Depp by a journalist at the press junket led to the following
exchange:
Question—Can
you talk
about your teeth? Johnny
Depp is an extraordinary human being, an
extraordinary actor, and he embodies so much of what Shantaram
is. So when he asked me to direct him, it was just a
great honor. People
who have known him for long will tell you that
he is a humble soul with great curiosity about the world. And those
were my
impressions, too. He loves taking risks, and that is why you see him in
big
films such as the Pirates of the
Caribbean series, and smaller films like The
Libertine.
You never get the feeling that you are dealing with
a movie star when you work with him. He is down-to-earth and very
humane. He’s
a very polite, very gentle person in all sorts of
ways. I also think he has a devil in him. Underneath this wistfulness,
you feel
a sanction of violence. So there’s this terrific mental
energy
going into
keeping these two mutually antagonistic things in balance.
That’s
what keeps
you coming back. Johnny
is, in part, a great impersonator. When he met
Joe Pistone, I could see him latch on to certain characteristics within
seconds. Joe is a man whose exterior is stony—he’s
not a
gentle soul, with
these dead, stone, impenetrable eyes. I would not want to get beaten up
by Joe,
truly. Johnny took a great deal from Joe.
Johnny doesn't suffer fools gladly.
He tends toward a choice
of material that's going to interest him intellectually, and has always
said to
himself that the career comes second. He
trod
on my toes a couple of times. He doesn't like
people who are ill-prepared. He HATES cliché. He just didn't
. .
. he found the
shot really boring . . . [shrugs]
Nobody likes having that stuff pointed out to them. He
bit my ass a couple of times, and to this day I
don't know what I did. He suddenly fell completely out of love and was
vile.
The reason it was disconcerting is that he is so sweet the rest of the
time;
he's so hard working, so sensitive, with all the right vibrations and
just a
couple of times he comes on like the bloodbeast terror and you don't
know where
you are.
What Johnny does is he stands one
pace behind you with his
cap doffed, you think he's tremendous and all the time he's taking
notes. It is
one of the ways he works. He's presentable, he's well mannered, he's
gentle and
he doesn't come on too strong. I think that he becomes a sort of
favored son. Johnny's
a brilliant man, and a wonderful man, as well
as an exemplary co-worker. When I first arrived, we worked out a few
scenes
together; there were some small accidents and he's extremely inventive,
he
never stops working. He's fabulous to work with. It
must
be one of the most popular performances of
recent times. Not only is [Depp] an assassin in terms of comedy and
everything
else—he's a brilliant guy—but he brings to it, and
to the
movie as a whole, a
big-heartedness. It has good spirit.
He's an exemplary man, both as a
colleague and as company.
He is terrific company, he is a gentleman, a democrat—I don't
mean in the
political sense, I mean in terms of his general
sensibility—he's funny, decent,
conscientious, a lovely guy and an assassin in terms of comedy. He's
just
entirely wonderful.
The first film is more than just a
fond memory for people,
it's kind of beloved. And it is largely to do with Johnny's
performance. And it
occurs to me that it is a performance that has entered the language in
a way
that very few performances do. And it is a performance that will
survive down
the years—we will show our grandchildren this performance. We
will show these
movies and we will claim the performance as our own in some ways, you
know when
your parents like to sit you down and watch whoever. It's a huge
contribution
Johnny has made and it has everything—it's profoundly funny
and witty, it's
daring and bold, it's affectionate and fond and it's iconic. And you
can't say
that very often but he really has pulled it off and it will survive. He's
an
exemplary guy and so very, very cool. I think
[Depp's Capt. Jack] is a rare thing. It will be referred to down the
years.
People will show it to their grandchildren. They'll say,
‘When we
were younger,
a guy did this. Take a look.’ You
have to understand what it's like for 10,000 or 25,000 people to yell
your
name. Think about it for a minute. Then think of what it is like for
Johnny
Depp. I think it scares him sometimes. But I think he senses a
responsibility
to these people. He doesn't want to appear irresponsible. Johnny
is a very sweet person and fun
to be around.
[In response
to a
question about kissing her co-stars] Kissing someone you
don't feel for is
unpleasant. Many, however, were very pleasant. Like Johnny Depp. I
don't think
a lot of women would have a problem kissing him. [Laughs
heartily] He's a good friend of ours, by the way. [Lena is
married to Lasse Hallstrom, who directed What's
Eating Gilbert Grape and Chocolat.]
He's not exactly in the Connecticut neighborhood a lot, since he lives
in
France, but we often see each other at the Oscars and film events.
I have had a total
crush on Johnny
Depp ever since I was a
young girl. Oh my God, first of all, there's that beauty factor. I'm
sorry but
Johnny is one of the most beautiful men I have ever seen in my life. I
have to
admit, I am totally in love with him. And another thing that surprises
me is
how funny he really is. I know you saw him in the movie, but in person,
he is
really naturally funny as well. He is just so dreamy.
—Eva
Mendez
Once Upon a Time in
Mexico co-star, 2003
—Rob
Morrow
Private Resort co-star, quoted in Depp,
by Christopher Heard
Depp's response—“Talk about my teeth? Well, I've
had many problems over the
years. Several root canals. Once they found an eight millimeter, the
tip of a
drill bit in one of the canals. That was horrible. That was a six hour
ordeal.
I'm sorry, go ahead . . .”
—Rebecca
Murray
Your Guide to Hollywood Movies, July 2006
N
—Mira
Nair
director, in an interview with Reuters, 2007
—Mira
Nair
director, on her first impression of Johnny Depp in an interview with
Arthur J.
Pais
—Mike
Newell
director, Donnie Brasco,
1997
—Mike
Newell
director, Donnie Brasco,
1997
—Mike
Newell
director, Donnie Brasco, Vanity
Fair,
February 1997
—Mike
Newell
director, Donnie Brasco,
1998
—Mike
Newell
director, Donnie Brasco,
2000
—Mike
Newell
Esquire, February 2000
—Bill
Nighy
Pirates of the Caribbean co-star,
2006
—Bill
Nighy
Pirates co-star, Associated Press,
June
2006
—Bill
Nighy
Madeinatlantis.com , June 2006
—Bill
Nighy
Madeinatlantis.com , June 2006
—Bill
Nighy
AJC Staff, July, 2006
—Bill
Nuss
21 Jump Street
Producer, 1988
O
—Lena
Olin
Chocolat and The
Ninth Gate co-star
—Lena
Olin
June 2005