Johnny Depp
After the flop of his latest film The Long Ranger in the States, Hollywood mega-star Johnny Depp has told BBC Breakfast this Monday that the end of his career as an actor might be closer than anyone expects. The star has told the British show that he’s not “dropping out any second,” but that he’s likely to retire sooner rather than later to focus on “quieter” pursuits, not going further on what these non-cinema goals would be.
Just coincidence or a calculated strategy? Depp, who turned up 50 this year, has made this stirring, media headlining comments, precisely when he has started his European tour promoting The Lone Ranger, directed by Gore Verbinski (from The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise) where he plays the role of Native American warrior Tonto alongside with Armie Hammer. The film, a expected summer blockbuster for Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, has been declared a flop at the U.S. box office, so here’s hoping the international screens will resurrect the film expectations. The movie will hit British cinemas on August 9th.
On the other hand, the idea of a premature retirement from acting seems directly linked with what Depp told recently to Rolling Stone magazine, where he affirmed that he realized he says more dialog written by others than his own personal utterances when he recalled all the words he says per year. “You start thinking about that as kind of an insane option for a human being,” he added.
Almost 30 years on screen, Depp has clearly shifted towards blockbuster audiences. From a career beginning including several roles in teen-oriented films, and his first huge successful collaboration with director Tim Burton in Edward Scissorhands, he gained himself a reputation of a “serious actor” with a particular appeal for dark, troubled characters, in excellent films by equally excellent directors like What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (Lasse Hällstrom), Ed Wood, again with Burton, Donnie Brasco (Mike Newell and replying Al Pacino in a much celebrated performance), Dead Man (Jim Jarmusch) or Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Terry Gilliam). But since the end of the 90s, Depp’s career has been oriented to major box-office and also really forgettable films, including, just to name a few, The Ninth Gate, The Mexican, The Tourist, Alice in Wonderland, Sweeney Todd, and of course, the whole Pirates of the Caribbean saga, undoubtedly (and sadly) his most popular role as the roguish (some would add also annoying) Captain Jack Sparrow.
Credits: Raül Jiménez
Source: Guardian Express
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