BEN: Hello, Little Fox readers, and welcome back to People in the News. Today Olivia is going to tell you about the American actor Johnny Depp. He's one of the most famous—and unusual—actors in the world.
OLIVIA: That's right, Ben. Johnny was born on June 9, 1963. His father was a civil engineer, and his mom worked as a waitress. Johnny was the youngest of four children, and life at home was often noisy and unpredictable. His parents, who later got divorced, frequently argued. Because his family also moved around a lot, Johnny often changed schools and had trouble making friends. He's admitted to many interviewers that he was a bit of an oddball as a kid. He mostly kept to himself, spending his time drawing, reading comic books, and watching horror movies.
When Johnny turned 12, his mother bought him something that quickly turned into his passion—a guitar. Johnny practiced constantly, locking himself in his bedroom for hours.
As a teenager Johnny often acted out, getting into trouble for smoking and even experimenting with drugs. At around age 16, he decided to drop out of high school to focus on his band, The Kids. In 1983 Johnny and The Kids moved to California, hoping to get a record deal. The band didn't have much success, however, and Johnny soon found himself living in a friend's car and selling pens over the phone as a way to make money.
Johnny had never considered a career as an actor until a friend saw potential in Johnny and introduced him to a Hollywood agent, who helped him find acting jobs. By 1984 Johnny had landed his first role in a Hollywood movie, A Nightmare on Elm Street.
The movie was very successful at the box office, but it didn't make Johnny a star. Nor did it change Johnny's feelings about acting. He still saw himself as a musician, not a Hollywood actor. Then Johnny got a part in Platoon, a movie about the war in Vietnam. Before filming began, the actors were required to attend military boot camp and sleep in the jungle under harsh conditions. They had to eat military rations and take turns sitting up all night, watching for any dangers.
Johnny's role in Platoon was small, but its demands taught him something important—he enjoyed taking on challenging roles. Soon Johnny was taking acting lessons and working closely with acting coaches, determined to learn more about the craft.
In 1987 Johnny was offered the chance to star in 21 Jump Street—a TV show about undercover police officers in a high school. At first Johnny turned down the role because he didn’t want to commit himself to a job that could go on for years and years. Later he changed his mind, though, because he needed the money. Soon the show was a big hit, especially among teenage girls.
BEN: Wow, he must have been thrilled by all the attention!
OLIVIA: It was actually just the opposite, Ben. Johnny was miserable because the role didn't involve much skill or acting ability; it was just about being a famous TV star. In fact, he even destroyed a 21 Jump Street billboard because he couldn't stand seeing his own picture on it! After four seasons he quit 21 Jump Street to concentrate on acting projects that challenged him more. One of these was Edward Scissorhands, an unusual movie about a lonely boy with scissors for hands. Johnny threw himself into the leading role, and when the film was released, he received rave reviews for his sensitive portrayal of Edward.
After Edward Scissorhands Johnny was offered plenty of other movie roles, but he turned down most of them, taking only parts that involved quirky or interesting characters. And he prepared for these parts in an unusual way—by painting portraits of the characters to help him bring them to life.
The role that made Johnny a superstar was, of course, Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. At first many people had low expectations for the movie, which was originally based on a theme park ride. During production, executives grew even more concerned about the film because Johnny was playing Sparrow in an odd way, as if the pirate captain were slightly crazy. The executives tried to get Johnny to change this approach, but Johnny continued to follow his own vision. Later, when the movie came out, fans and critics definitely showed their appreciation for Johnny's acting—the movie was a hit at the box office, and he received several awards for his outstanding and unusual performance.
Since then some of Johnny's best-known roles have been in movies for kids. He's played Willie Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland.
Johnny has told many interviewers that he doesn’t really care if his movies are huge hits or huge flops, and he doesn’t take his fame very seriously. He rarely even watches his own movies! Instead the thing that matters most to him is his family. Today he spends lots of time with his kids, both in France and on a secluded Caribbean island where he owns a house. When he's not making movies, he still enjoys drawing and playing his guitar.
BEN: Johnny Depp sounds like a pretty unique actor, Olivia.
OLIVIA: He is, Ben. He's a famous movie star now, but he's basically the same person he always was—a quiet outsider who follows his own artistic vision.
BEN: Thanks for that interesting report. We'll see you next week, Little Fox readers, when we meet another person in the news!