Depp fell into acting when his wife introduced him to her ex-boyfriend, actor Nicolas Cage. Cage saw potential in Depp, and introduced the hopeful musician to a Hollywood agent. After several small roles as a film extra, Depp landed his first legitimate movie role in the horror film Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). By 1985, the Kids had broken up—and so had Depp's marriage. After his split with Allison, Depp met actress Sherilyn Fenn, whom he met on the set of the short film, Dummies (1985). The couple dated, and were briefly engaged, but split shortly after. After their break-up, Depp then met and proposed to actress Jennifer Grey; their romance was also short-lived.
Depp started to study acting in earnest, first in classes at the Loft Studio in Los Angeles and then with a private coach. The lessons paid off in 1987, when he replaced actor Jeff Yagher in the role of undercover cop Tommy Hanson in the popular Canadian-filmed television series 21 Jump Street. The role thrust Depp into almost immediate stardom. He became a teen idol overnight; a title that he greatly resented. When his contract on Jump Street expired in 1989, he leapt at the opportunity to pursue weightier roles.
In 1990, Depp starred in the John Waters '50s-kitsch musical Cry-Baby (1990), which became a cult hit and succeeded in changing his image. That same year, he received an opportunity to exhibit his versatility as an actor in the titular role of Tim Burton's fantasy film, Edward Scissorhands. The movie not only established Depp as an A-list actor, but it also grossed more than $54 million at the box office. Following the film's success, Depp carved a niche for himself as a serious, somewhat dark, idiosyncratic performer, consistently selecting roles that surprise critics and audiences alike.
It was during shooting for Edward Scissorhands that Depp finally met co-star Winona Ryder, whom he'd been eyeing since a brief meeting at the premier for her film Great Ball of Fire (1989). The two began dating on the set, and soon became a Hollywood power couple. Five months after their first date, Depp and Ryder became engaged. To solidify their love, Depp even had "Winona Forever" tattooed on his right arm. The couple split, however, in 1993 after Ryder's parents forbade their daughter to marry.
Outside of his personal life, Depp continued to flourish, gaining critical acclaim and increasing popularity for his work. Several of his most notable roles included his role as the social misanthrope Sam in Benny & Joon (1993), which earned him a Golden Globe nod, and Gilbert in What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993), which cast him as a young man dissatisfied with the confines of his small-town life.
Pirates of the Caribbean is a series of fantasy swashbuckler films produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and based on Walt Disney's theme park ride of the same name.The films take place in a fictional historical setting; a world ruled largely by an amalgam of alternative versions of the British Empire and the East India Company, with the pirates representing freedom from the ruling powers.
The films started with their first release on the big screen in 2003 with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, which received positive reviews from the critics and grossed $654 million worldwide. After the first film's success, Walt Disney Pictures revealed that a trilogy was in the works. The franchise's second film, subtitled Dead Man's Chest, was released three years later in 2006; the sequel proved successful, breaking financial records worldwide the day of its premiere. It ended up being the number one film of the year upon earning $1.1 billion at the worldwide box office. The third film in the series, subtitled At World's End, followed in 2007, and Disney released a fourth film, subtitled On Stranger Tides, on May 20, 2011 in conventional 2D, Digital 3-D and IMAX 3D. On Stranger Tides succeeded in grossing more than $1 billion, becoming the second film in the franchise and the eighth film in history to achieve this. So far, the film franchise has grossed $3.72 billion worldwide; it is the eighth highest-grossing film series of all-time and it was the first franchise where more than one film grossed $1 billion worldwide. A fifth film, tentatively subtitled Dead Men Tell No Tales, is currently in development and is set for release on July 7, 2017.
The films started with their first release on the big screen in 2003 with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, which received positive reviews from the critics and grossed $654 million worldwide. After the first film's success, Walt Disney Pictures revealed that a trilogy was in the works. The franchise's second film, subtitled Dead Man's Chest, was released three years later in 2006; the sequel proved successful, breaking financial records worldwide the day of its premiere. It ended up being the number one film of the year upon earning $1.1 billion at the worldwide box office. The third film in the series, subtitled At World's End, followed in 2007, and Disney released a fourth film, subtitled On Stranger Tides, on May 20, 2011 in conventional 2D, Digital 3-D and IMAX 3D. On Stranger Tides succeeded in grossing more than $1 billion, becoming the second film in the franchise and the eighth film in history to achieve this. So far, the film franchise has grossed $3.72 billion worldwide; it is the eighth highest-grossing film series of all-time and it was the first franchise where more than one film grossed $1 billion worldwide. A fifth film, tentatively subtitled Dead Men Tell No Tales, is currently in development and is set for release on July 7, 2017.
"The sort of connection I made when first thinking about Captain Jack, was the idea that pirates were the rock and roll stars of that era. Their myths or legends would arrive months before they would ever make port, much like rock stars."
―Johnny Depp
Alice in Wonderland is a 2010 American fantasy film directed by Tim Burton and written by Linda Woolverton. Released by Walt Disney Pictures, the film stars Mia Wasikowska as Alice Kingsleigh with Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter. The film was shot in the United Kingdom and the United States.
The story is inspired by the English author Lewis Carroll's 1865 fantasy novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its 1871 sequel Through the Looking-Glass. Wasikowska plays a nineteen-year-old Alice. She is told that she can restore the White Queen to her throne because she is the only one who can slay the Jabberwocky, a dragon-like creature that is controlled by the Red Queen and terrorizes Underland's inhabitants.
The story is inspired by the English author Lewis Carroll's 1865 fantasy novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its 1871 sequel Through the Looking-Glass. Wasikowska plays a nineteen-year-old Alice. She is told that she can restore the White Queen to her throne because she is the only one who can slay the Jabberwocky, a dragon-like creature that is controlled by the Red Queen and terrorizes Underland's inhabitants.
Johnny Depp stars as Tarrant Hightopp, The Mad Hatter. Burton explained that Depp "tried to find a grounding to the character ... as opposed to just being mad." Burton also said that, "In a lot of versions it's a very one-note kind of character and you know Depp's goal was to try and bring out a human side to the strangeness of the character." The orange hair is an allusion to the mercury poisoning suffered by hatters who used mercury to cure felt; Depp believes that the character "was poisoned ... and it was coming out through his hair, through his fingernails and eyes". Depp and Burton decided that the Hatter's clothes, skin, hair, personality and accent would change throughout the film to reflect his emotions. In an interview with Depp, the character was paralleled to "a mood ring, as his emotions are very close to the surface". The Hatter is "made up of different people and their extreme sides", with a gentle voice much like the character's creator Lewis Carroll reflecting the lighter personality and with a Scottish Glaswegian accent (which Depp modeled after Gregor Fisher's Rab C. Nesbitt character) reflecting a darker, more dangerous personality. Illusionary dancer David "Elsewhere" Bernal doubled for Depp during the "Futterwacken" sequence near the end of the film.
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