Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp is an American actor who has played a large number of high profile roles in films such as Pirates of the Caribbean and Edward Scissorhands.

Johnny Depp: Childhood

Johnny Depp was born to Betty Sue Palmer and John Christopher Depp in Owensboro, Kentucky. He has one brother and two sisters, one of whom (Christie) now works as his personal manager. Depp's family moved often throughout his childhood, though they eventually settled in Florida.

John Christopher Depp II was born on June 9, 1963, in Owensboro, KY. The son of a waitress and a civil engineer and the youngest of four kids, Depp was a fourth generation Kentuckian with Cherokee roots. The family moved constantly while Depp was growing up, first from Kentucky to Florida when Depp was six years old and from house to motel to apartment endlessly thereafter, racking up over 20 addresses by the actor's estimation. His father left the family when Depp was 15 years old, at which point Depp had already been in trouble with school and the law from the use of drugs and alcohol.

Johnny Depp started to learn the guitar when he was 12 years old and played in a number of garage bands. He dropped out of school to play in a band named The Kids, who moved to Los Angeles and changed their name to Six Gun Method. Johnny Depp also worked with the band Rock City Angels and co-wrote 'Mary', which appeared on their album Young Man's Blues, released on Geffen Records.

Johnny Depp: Acting Career

In the early 1980s, Depp's wife at the time, Lori Anne Allison, introduced him to Nicolas Cage, who encouraged him to pursue an acting career.

In 1987, Johnny Depp landed his first lead TV role in 21 Jump Street. He reportedly took the role because it meant that he would get to work with Frederic Forrest. Depp's friend Sal Jenco was also cast in the series.

John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol. Turning to film, he played the title character of Edward Scissorhands (1990), and later found box office success in films such as Sleepy Hollow (1999), Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), and Rango (2011). He has collaborated with director and friend Tim Burton in seven films, including Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) and Alice in Wonderland (2010). Depp has gained acclaim for his portrayals of people such as Edward D. Wood, Jr., in Ed Wood, Joseph D. Pistone in Donnie Brasco, Hunter S. 

Thompson in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, George Jung in Blow, and the bank robber John Dillinger in Michael Mann's Public Enemies. Films featuring Depp have grossed over $2.6 billion at the United States box office and over $6 billion worldwide. He has been nominated for top awards many times, winning the Best Actor Awards from the Golden Globes for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and from the Screen Actors Guild for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. He also has garnered a sex symbol status in American cinema, being twice named as the Sexiest man alive by People magazine in 2003 and 2009.

Johnny Depp first appeared in a feature film in 1984, when he appeared in A Nightmare on Elm Street, playing one of Freddy Kruger's victims. In '86, he appeared in Oliver Stone's Platoon, which also starred Charlie Sheen and Willem Dafoe.

In 1990, Depp took the lead role in Edward Scissorhands. The film was directed by Tim Burton, with whom Depp would have a long-standing working relationship. The highly successful film also stars Winona Ryder and features music by Danny Elfman.

In 1994, Burton cast him to play the title role in Ed Wood.

Johnny Depp is a huge fan and a personal friend of the writer Hunter S Thompson. In 1998, he played the role of Thompson in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, adapted from the writer's autobiographical novel of the same name. When Thompson died, Johnny Depp paid for a large proportion of the funeral proceedings, in which Thompson's ashes were fired from a cannon in Aspen, Colorado.

In 1999, Depp starred opposite Christina Ricci in another Burton movie, Sleepy Hollow.

In 2003, Johnny Depp starred in the first of the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, The Curse of the Black Pearl. He plays the pirate Captain Jack Sparrow, whom he loosely based on Keith Richards (who makes a cameo appearance in the last film of the trilogy). The films also star Bill Nighy, Keira Knightley. He was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for his role, which became hugely popular among the cinema-going public. The second film, Dead Man's Chest was released in 2006 and the third installment, At World's End was released in 2007.