Johnny Depp!

I couldn't see any recent threads about Johnny so I decided to make one.

What does everything think of Johnny? I'm a male but I think he's extremely hot! And he's such a versatile performer. I mean if you watch Sweeney Todd, Pirates of the Caribbean and Edward Scissorhands you can't recognise him playing all those different characters. If you look at some other great actor like Robert De Niro he's good but he plays the same kind of role all the time.

Johnny Depp's versatility leads me to come to the conclusion that he is the greatest actor of all time.

Hooray for a Johnny Depp thread :)

As you know Cal man, I completely agree with your opinion of Johnny Depp. Not only does he have looks good enough to turn guys like you homosexual (even with Ellen Page), but he also has talent and acting versatility like no other. I completely agree that his roles range from many different characters.. a pirate, a chocolate maker, an investigator, a book collector, an astronaut, a serial killer... the list goes on. He is through my eyes certainly the greatest actor of all time.

He's a charismatic actor and that's why he is so likeable, but it has nothing to do with not being recognisable in different roles. He always plays basically himself, a weird outcast. I wouldn't call his cinematography diverse at all.

I'd have to agree with Moz, I am the first to say that JD is beautiful beyond comprehension, and nobody could have played Jack Sparrow like that. But to a degree it is his looks/charisma that carry him through the roles more than great acting talent....if you want versitility come get on the Daniel Day-Lewis train (shameless plug). He has been type-cast as the rogueish outcast. He might be one of the best looking actors in history but certainly not the greatest.

John Hurt
Patrick Stewart
Liam Neeson
Al Pacino and
Tom Hanks

are all better actors than him (to name but a few), Tom Hanks plays a versitility of roles thats for sure.

"I don't know if I would say he is the best actor of all time...but definitely in the top 10. I don't agree that he plays the same role all the time. I feel he is a versatile actor...Would Edward Scissorhands be the same movie if Tom Hanks played Edward? Would Blow be the same if Al Pacino played Johnny's role? Or how about Liam Neeson as Gilbert in What's Eating Gilbert Grape? Just about every role that Johnny has played he has made completely his own and in most of the movies he has been in I could not see anyone else playing in the roles he did...
Now that being said The Astronauts Wife and Secret Window were pure crap..."

I wasnt saying that, I was saying he basically plays variations of the same outcast type of person in most of his roles. I am not saying another actor would be able to do it, but I just feel like he's doing most of it by, well, being his own weird self.

I think Johnny is a good actor, I wouldn't go as far as saying greatest ever, or even greatest living. Yeah, he has played a lot of different roles, but I've never found any of his performances truely spectacular or moving, I think the most feeling I've ever seen from one of his roles was Edward Scissorhands, everything else was lacking by comparison. If it came to how well he did any one role, I'd say no one has (nor likely ever will) touch Anthony Hopkins performance of Dr. Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs. If it came down to versatility I'd be hard pressed to pick any one actor, but Kurt Russell,Bruce Willis, Matt Damon and Harrison Ford all come to mind as highly versatile actors. Heck, even if it came down to shear physical attractiveness I'd have to give it to some one like Brad Pitt, who is also quite versatile and passionate in his acting. I don't want to belittle Johnny, he is a good actor, but I never thought he was as good as people say he is.

I have to agree with Moz. Johnny is an incredibly talented actor and i love almost all of his characters. But he really plays variations of the same type of person, that kind of weird or exotic guy. But that's not a bad thing cause i can't think of another actor that can play this kind of role that well.

Johnny Depp is quite a good actor. However, I must say that he always does play the same sort of character. Therefore, I agree with Moz. Although he is one of my favorite actors.

i really like Johnny Depp's roles. he fits perfectly into Tim Burton's movies and therefore characters, which are all a little crazy, mysterious and silly. all around i think he is very talented, although i don't consider him being one of the greatest actors. it's a pity he mentioned a few times he would like to quit acting in the near future, as i would like to see what true potential he has.

I can't help but see that some people have said that Johnny plays the same sort of character. What the hell?! I don't know how to make sense of that.

I mean an inebriated sea captain is sooooo similar to an artificial child with scissors for hands.
And a flamboyant cross-dressing director is sooooo similar to a London street barber who slits the throats of innocents.
And of course, an over-the-top chocolate maker is incredibly similar to a heart-throb teenager rebel.

I rest my case.

LOL! You show them, Cal man. Agreed :D

"I can't help but see that some people have said that Johnny plays the same sort of character. What the hell?! I don't know how to make sense of that.

I mean an inebriated sea captain is sooooo similar to an artificial child with scissors for hands.
And a flamboyant cross-dressing director is sooooo similar to a London street barber who slits the throats of innocents.
And of course, an over-the-top chocolate maker is incredibly similar to a heart-throb teenager rebel.

I rest my case."

In all accounts he is the funny outcast, the weird duck in the pond. The fact that he's a pirate or a man with scissors has everything to do with make up and not with the actor.

All accounts an outcast?

A book detective is an outcast?
A london barber is an outcast?
An evil astronaut is an outcast?
A popular cocaine dealer is an outcast?
A regular teen with a girlfriend is an outcast?
A talented inspector is an outcast?

Look, he has played some outcasts but not so much as to be playing the same person all the time.

OK, the roles that make him famous and well known, the roles he gets praised for the most, are the roles where he's a variation of that weird person. I'm going to stop discussing it here because I think it's a jolly good man anyway, but it almost seems like it's dangerous to not see him as the best thing since sliced bread here because the fans will come after me like rabid dogs.

I like many of the choices he makes for his roles.
Some of my fave are:

5. Sleepy Hollow - Tim Burton's has a great style to his movies, but for my money, not enough substance. Sleepy Hollow is the exception. The idea of this movie wasn't one that had any real appeal for me, but it turned out to have more in terms of story & character than I would've expected. A fleshed out story, combined with Burton's "avante gardeness", Johnny Depp's usual distinctive approach to the role & a great cast of "other" characters made this a surprise hit for me.

4. Chocolat - Juliette Binoche & chocolate. Two great tastes that go great together.

3. Donnie Brasco - Fergedabowdittt....

2. Once Upon A Time In Mexico - While I still enjoyed the very first movie of this "El Mariachi trilogy", this one does come in second. This movie represents the one characteristic I like most about Johnny Depp: he tries to approach each role in a manner that one wouldn't expect from a typical "Hollywood pretty boy".

1. Finding Neverland - Simply, an absolutely beautiful film.

I love Johnny Depp. I won't say that every movie he's made is a masterpiece, but I do think he's an amazing actor, when given space. And I do think he was one of the best things in Sweeney Todd.

I love that he doesn't feel like he has to follow the pack, and takes his own road, and his choices of movies reflect that. Few would pick up the range of characters he's chosen. Few would even manage the range, even. And yes, there is quite a range.

And anyone who thinks his stardom is new-found? Might want to be refreshed on what he went through in the 80s. Thanks. Maybe it's that it was "only tv fans?" I don't know. But he had a huge following at the time. And I think it's part of what made him as anti-Hollywood as he is. Which, for the record, I think is a great thing.

I still have every hope that they will make Good Omens with Gilliam directing, and Johnny as Crowley. Because he'd be damned cool. :D

A role I don't see many saying as one of their favorites (though I know there is a shitlaod of them so one may forget) is the role he played in 1998's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Just reading the quotes he says from movie sites makes me crack up and I have to stop myself from watching it everyday. I brought up a conversation to my freidns and I asked them "what movie would you get signed if there was a one autograph limit and you were next in line to meet him?" Hands down, it would be Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas for me.

And yes, he is the greatest Actor of all time. Or no contest in my Lifetime.

Johnny Depp is a good actor, there is no doubt about that, but he's not my favorite. Almost everyone of my friends do, and they say it's because as you say PvtCaboose91, that he is hot (the girls) and becuase of his versatility (the boys). Well, yeah he do different movies and special roles (note: Almost with the same director, Tim Burton), but i haven't Depp as my favorite, just because of that!

First film I saw him in was Nightmare On Elm Street, Even then I thought he would be big, Damn fine actor ;)

Oh, yes... He´s good. But, from my point of view, he hardly would convince as a badass villain or anykind of badass character.

I tottally agree with the GemLi´s list. Besides, I make mine GemLi´s words...

WELL Johnny Depp was wonderful in ALICE IN WONDERLAND-- The MAD HATTER was an unforgettable role. I never realized how many movies Johnny Depp had made. I think my other most favorite was the semi -normal gypsy he played in CHOCOLAT.

His sounds funny, but a good kind of funny, in the trailer for "Rango". I am quite looking forward to that.