If I could swap places with any person in the known world, it would have to be with the smooth-talking chap mentioned above. He's smart. He's charismatic. He has a nice beard. And he is talking to Johnny Depp in this show too. Yes! Of course I am referring to James Lipton. Who else did you think I was talking about? Johnny Depp? Hmm. Good idea. Let's see what they have to say to each over for 45-minutes in 2002,
shall we?Johnny Depp
THE STORY:
It's another battle of the beards in this episode of 'Inside
the Actors Studio'. In the tattoo free corner: is none other than the man with
the balding top, James Lipton. Where as in the smoke filled corner: is the man
with hair like a mop, Johnny Depp.
Now in rather jovial form, James starts off this staged
interview by asking Johnny questions on topics such as: (1) His family history.
(2) What he got up to at high-school. (3) How he got into music. And (4) What
prompted Johnny to make the move from musician to actor.
Here, please have a look at a number of JD quotes taken from
this part of the program.
- Depp mean's 'idiot' in German.
- I didn't notice puberty. I may still be going through it.
- You only get unconditional love in a family.
- Tele-marketing was my first acting job.
- They turned me into a product. I didn't want to be a teen-idol.
- I am very interested in human behavior; especially in the 'outcast'.
- Satisfaction is the death of an actor.
- I feel very at home working with Tim Burton.
Next, James quizzes Johnny on his acting career, plus some of
the movies he's made. What now follows is a selection of what Mister Depp's had
to say about that.
- On 'Edward Scissorhands' -- 'It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever read; and I associated with the character a lot'.
- On 'Ed Wood' -- 'I inhaled more angora than I wore'.
- On 'Don Juan Demarco' -- 'The main thing I learnt from working with Marlon Brando, was to keep a straight face. He was hilarious'.
- On
Donnie Brasco' -- 'I wanted the real Donnie Brasco to be happy with that I
did, because he and his family had to live with this movie afterwards'.
- 'Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas' -- 'I had to find a way of stealing Hunter Thompson's soul whilst he shaved my head'.
- On 'Sleepy Hollow' -- 'I played Ichabod Crane: one-part school-girl, and one-part Angela Lansbury. I was sure that I was going to get fired'.
- On 'Chocola' -- 'Juliette Binoche is amazing. She's a force. And a very dedicated person'.
Now in closing the show, James asks Johnny a number of questions taken
from the Bernard Pivot structured questionnaire -- where we learn that his
favorite word is 'why', and his least favorite word is 'no'. Before the
student ridden studio audience subsequently asks him about his views of life,
if he would play a woman in a film, and any tips he can give them on starting
off their acting career.
THE REVIEW:
I have to confess, that after watching this episode of 'Inside the Actors Studio', my opinion on Johnny Depp has not changed one single bit.
I still think he's great. Honestly. I have not seen a more humble human being
full of humility since Humpty Dumpty took a nose dive off of that wall for all of the Kings men.
Heck, if I was a hormonal homosexual, I'd go nutty for this guy. Straight up.
But I'm not. I'm just a fan of a very versatile actor who did his best to carve out
his own career path in life.
Like many of you, I'm sure, I first noticed Mister Depp when
he started to work with Mister Burton. OK -- admittedly -- I wasn't blows away by
'Eddy Scissor-mitts' all that much -- because I couldn't help but wonder how he
wiped his own ass after going for a crap. But when I saw 'Eddy-Woody' -- POW! I
stood up and took notice big time!
You see, from that point on-wards, I've sort of warmed up to
Johnny's acting choices a lot more than some other actors I like. I
understood why he chose to play x like y instead of z -- to defy conventionality
-- and oppose the norm but juxtaposing styles and ideologies. It just makes sense to me. Hopefully, like these Dippy-Deppy facts will make sense to you
too. (1) John Christopher Depp Jr. was born in Owensboro ,
Kentucky the 9th of June, 1963 . His Father, John Sr., worked as a
civil engineer, whilst his mother, Betty, is of Cherokee decent and worked as a
waitress. (2) Although he has never publicly regretted it, because he says it
helped him become the person he is today, Johnny has been arrested several
times for minor felonies in the past. (3) Johnny got his first film role in 'Nightmare
on Elm Street ', care of
actor, Nicolas Cage, who was his first wife's ex-boyfriend. (4) Not only did the
erstwhile Mister Depp drop out of high school and join the garage band, 'The
Kids', as their lead guitarist. But they also became so successful that they
even opened for musical acts such as 'Talking Heads' and 'The B-52s'. (5) Johnny
has a stake in a restaurant, plus owns an island in the Bahamas .
(6) He named his sons 'Jack' after the noted Victorian serial killer 'Jack the
Ripper', who he has a morbid passion for. (7) To date, Johnny has 13 tattoos
all over his body -- each of them signifying an important milestone in his
life. One of these tattoos was transformed from 'Winona Forever' to 'Wino
Forever' -- after he broke up with the actress he was going out with, Winona
Ryder. (8) He will only dance in films when the routine is choreographed for
him, and never in public. Johnny doesn't like dancing. (9) Johnny has always
resented the fact that he became a teen idol on the hit television show, '21 Jump
Street'. (10) He was playing with his band on stage at the 'Viper Club' in Los
Angeles , the same night that actor, River Phoenix,
overdosed on drugs and died there [click on link for review].
Sorry, dear reader. I do apologize for the rambling manner of this prose
piece. But I do feel a bit tipsy after watching Johnny speak James. I've come
over all 'Scissor-mitts' -- so to speak -- because I've remembered the one
thing I wanted James to ask him...
JACK THE RIPPER!
Well, both Johnny and I do share the same fascination about
this Victorian serial killer don't you know. And it would have been nice to hear
him explain in more detail about this subject matter, huh? Still, apart from
that little gripe, overall, this installment of 'Inside the Actors Studio' is
a blast for any Depp fan to watch. It was funny. It was revealing. And I have say that it was very nice
to hear how Johnny gives each of his characters a foundation based in neural
imagery. Reminded me of something Peter Sellers one said (click here for this
section). Don't you agree Johnny?
THE RATING: A