Despite the relative disappointment of “Dark Shadows” — the film’s closing on $200 million worldwide, which is nothing to be sniffed at — Johnny Depp is still one of the biggest stars in the world, something sure to only be further cemented by next year’s “The Lone Ranger.” But the actor must have had one of the most curious career paths of any top-tier star: from horror movie fodder in “Nightmare on Elm Street” to war movie bit-parter in “Platoon” to TV hearthrob in “21 Jump Street” to freakish leading man in “Edward Scissorhands” to leading man in indie-minded films like “Benny & Joon” and “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” to would-be mainstream leading man in “Chocolat” and “From Hell.”
And then came “Pirates of the Caribbean.” A blockbuster movie based on a theme park ride, with Depp as the most recognizable name in the cast, many raised eyebrows, but the film turned out to be tremendously entertaining, and finally made him a brand name A-lister, with audiences turning out in droves to see the actor in further sequels, as well as a diverse mix of films like the Oscar-nominated “Finding Neverland,” horror sleeper hit “Secret Window,” and films with most frequent collaborator Tim Burton, “Charlie & The Chocolate Factory,” “The Corpse Bride” and “Alice in Wonderland.”
We have to admit at being a little tired of Depp’s shtick these days: the actor seems to march from overblown caricature to overblown caricature in big budget tentpoles, with smaller films like “The Rum Diary” becoming rarer and rarer. But a fun cameo in this year’s “21 Jump Street” reboot certainly reminded us that the possibility is still there for something more interesting, and looking back on his career has made us realize that whatever happens, he’ll always be one of cinema’s most idiosyncratic and brilliant actors; we hope that a planned collaboration with Edgar Wright on “The Night Stalker” delivers another classic Depp turn. The actor turns 49 today: to mark the occasion, we’ve picked out our five favorite performance by him. Let us know your own favorites in the comments section.
“Ed Wood” (1994)
We decided to limit ourselves to just one Burton/Depp collaboration: “Edward Scissorhands” came close, and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and even “Sweeney Todd” had their advocates. But it was their second film together (of eight, so far) that takes the prize for us. Probably Burton’s finest film (and curiously, his most grounded in the real world — obviously a relative thing, but still), his portrait of Edward D. Wood Jr, the man frequently pointed to as the worst director in history, is personal, funny and deeply touching. And at the center of a collection of wonderful performances (Martin Landau‘s Oscar-winning Bela Lugosi and Bill Murray‘s camp old queen Bunny are particular highlights) is Depp, as the title character. As the helmer, the actor brings a certain cheap ’50s matinee idol charm, like a flea market Cary Grant, and a cheery hopelessness that makes him entirely winning and entirely human in a way that Depp’s performances rarely do — he cannily shows that Wood could talk the talk, even if he couldn’t then walk the walk. Had you not believed that Wood was able to convince people to fund and appear in his films, the whole picture could have come crashing down, but Depp is so persuasive throughout that you feel that you too would have stolen a rubber octopus for him. He also carefully walks the line when it comes to the character’s cross-dressing habits: playing it for laughs without unnecesssarily making fun of Wood, a very delicate balancing act that pays off with plenty of pathos.