Johnny Depp is one of the most revered actors in Hollywood. For decades we’ve watched as he’s captivated audiences both on and off the screen, as he completely disappears in the characters that he plays.
Below are 10+ interesting facts about Johnny Depp that you might not have known.
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Buckle in and brace yourselves: We’re now entering Bat Country!
1. Johnny’s first starring film role was in 1984’s *A Nightmare On Elm Street*.
A very young Johnny Depp played Glen Lantz , the boyfriend of Nancy.
If you haven’t seen the film, Johnny’s death is one of the most famous horror scenes of all time.
2. Johnny’s in a band.
Not just any band: a supergroup ! This trio of rockers is made up of Johnny Depp, Alice Cooper, and Joe Perry (Aerosmith).
Hollywood Vampires was the name of a celebrity drinking club formed in the ’70s by Alice Cooper.
3. Johnny was incredibly close with legendary author, Hunter S. Thompson.
Johnny played the role of Raoul Duke, a pseudonym for Thompson, in the ’90s cult classic Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas .
It’s equal parts arthouse and drug-film, interlaced with extremely revelatory commentary on the human condition.
He even got to honor his friend in a very special way!
Hunter’s dying wish was to have his remains shot out of a cannon, and Johnny is reported to have spent more than $3 million to make it happen!
“I just want to send my pal out the way he wants to go out,” he said in an interview.
4. Johnny was a featured artist on Oasis’ 1997 album “Be Here Now.”
If you listen for the slide-guitar part on “Fade In-Out,” that’s none other than Johnny himself.
Depp is a longtime fan of Oasis and a talented guitarist in his own right.
5. The inspiration for Captain Jack Sparrow was legendary rocker, Keith Richards.
If you’re a fan of The Rolling Stones , this will come as no surprise.
Not only does Depp imitate Richard’s vernacular perfectly, but he also has the same swagger in his walk.
Keith even makes a cameo appearance in *Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End*.
Keith played Jack’s estranged father, Captain Teague , Keeper of the Pirate Code.
Watching the pair of them onscreen together was a dream come true!
6. He’s appeared in 8 different Tim Burton films to date.
“There was a connection that was very hard to describe, even back then on Scissorhands . It was just there, instantly. I don’t know, it’s hard to explain,” Johnny said in an interview.
7. He has seriously expensive taste when it comes to wine.
It became a bit of a problem over the years, in fact, when it came to spending money on it.
The star confirmed that he regularly spent upwards of $30,000 dollars a month – just on wine!
8. Johnny has never won an Oscar.
Johnny was robbed . Say what you will about the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise as a whole, it doesn’t alter the fact that the first film was brilliant.
More specifically, that Johnny was brilliant in the role.
9. Depp reached out to infamous crime boss James “Whitey” Blugar for his role in *Black Mass*.
Unfortunately, “Whitey” declined each and every time. Which is too bad, considering the mobster reportedly wasn’t a fan of how Johnny chose to portray him.
I guess he maybe should have consulted with him then?
10. It was Nicolas Cage who convinced Johnny to pursue a career in acting.
During an interview with People Magazine , Cage said,
“He wanted to be a musician at the time, and he told me, ‘No, I can’t act.’ I said, ‘I think you can act.’ So I sent him to meet with my agent. She sent him out on his first audition, which was A Nightmare on Elm Street .”
11. Johnny was once the co-owner of Hollywood’s infamous Viper Room.
The Viper Room was once the most popular rock bar in Hollywood. It’s also the location where River Phoenix sadly overdosed and passed away.
Johnny is said to have sold the club due to battles with his own depression at the time.
12. He donated all of his earnings from *The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus* to Heath Ledger’s daughter.
While Johnny was filming The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus , tragedy struck and Heath Ledger sadly lost his life.
Johnny set up a savings account in Heath’s daughter’s name and he, along with Jude Law and Colin Farrell, donated every last penny of revenue they earned to her.
13. Johnny has been known to cosplay as Captain Jack Sparrow!
Johnny always keeps a Captain Jack costume at the ready. He’s been known to dress up and visit sick children in the hospital to help brighten their day!
Swashbuckling with Captain Jack? Count me in!
14. He was nearly trampled to death by his horse while filming *The Lone Ranger*.
Johnny had elected to do all of his own stunts. As you can see in the video, he’s riding at an incredibly fast pace before he slips to the side.
The horse avoids trampling him by just a few inches.
15. The influence behind his Willy Wonka character is seriously bizarre.
“Certain ingredients you add to these characters like Willy Wonka for example. I imagined what George Bush would be like incredibly stoned. And, thus was born my version of Willy Wonka.”
16. Johnny has a fossil named after him.
Paleontologist David Legg said,
“When I first saw the pair of isolated claws in the fossil records of this species I could not help but think of Edward Scissorhands . Even the genus name, Kootenichela, includes the reference to this film as ‘chela’ is Latin for claws or scissors.”
17. He plays with Barbies
Johnny has said that he uses Barbie dolls to help him discover the characters he’s playing. He also used to play with his daughter, Lily-Rose, until she outgrew them.
I know, it’s heartbreaking. They grow up too soon!
18. Johnny was once arrested for trashing a hotel room.
Supposedly this occurred after a blow-up fight with his then-girlfriend, Kate Moss. The hotel room cost a whopping $1200 dollars a night.
But the strangest thing about the whole incident was Johnny’s explanation.
He claimed that an armadillo had got into the room and that he’d trashed it in a fit of terror.
It seems almost too outrageous to be a lie, doesn’t it?
I know that if I saw an armadillo in my room, I’d run through the wall in order to escape.
19. He tattooed the name of his ex-fiance, Winona Ryder, on his arm.
The tattoo read “Winona Forever,” but unlike the ink on Johnny’s forearm, the relationship was anything but permanent.
After the breakup, he changed the tattoo so that it read “Wino Forever.”
20. Johnny saved the life of one of his *Sleepy Hollow* cast mates.
Fans of the film may remember the horse Gunpowder , Ichabod Crane’s dependable steed.
After filming wrapped, Johnny ended up adopting the horse in order to save him from being destroyed.
21. He really wanted Captain Jack Sparrow to have gold teeth.
The only problem was that Johnny was sure that Disney wouldn’t go for it.
He went and made an appointment with his dentist and had him actually implant the gold teeth into his mouth.
22. Johnny is fascinated by the macabre.
In case you hadn’t already noticed, Johnny tends to lean toward the dark side.
One of his greatest fascinations is the history of Jack the Ripper . It was one of the motivations for him wanting to star in From Hell .
23. He doesn’t watch his own movies.
He said in an interview with David Letterman, “Once my job is done, it’s none of my business.”
Johnny says he loves the process of making films but despises having to watch himself on screen.
24. Johnny is a restaurateur.
Johnny co-owns a club in Paris called Man Ray , alongside Sean Penn and John Malkovich. Ironically, the restaurant is actually an old renovated theater. They serve an array of Tibetan cuisine.
Now that’s one table I’d like to sit down at!
25. He came seriously close to becoming an Avenger.
Johnny was actually offered the role of Bruce Banner in Hulk . He ended up turning it down and the role went to Eric Bana instead.
Judging by how poorly the movie was received, it feels like this was the right move. Still, can you imagine Johnny Depp as Hulk?!
26. He’s the only actor who has appeared in at least 3 of the 10 films that have grossed over $1 billion dollars.
This would be a great question for Trivial Pursuit!
In case you were wondering, the three films Johnny’s appeared in are Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest , Alice in Wonderland , and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides .
27. Johnny actually owns his own private island.
The small isle is nestled somewhere in the Bahamas .
Johnny also took it upon himself to name the beaches on the island after his own children, his ex-girlfriend Vanessa Paradis, as well as his dear friend Hunter S. Thompson.
28. Johnny’s a seriously big deal in Serbia.
I guess you could say he’s a big deal everywhere but in the small village of Kustendorf , they take their appreciation of Johnny to the next level.
During a film festival, Serbian director and a friend of Johnny’s unveiled a lifesize statue in his likeness.
