depp in deep

As his latest film, Pirate of the Caribbean: At world's end, makes waves around the world Bret Love talks to Johnny Depp about a career spen swimming againts the tide

Hollywood is a world that thrives on familiarity, where words like “typecasting,” “stereotype” and “archetype” are tossed about as frequently as balls at a juggling convention. Directors and casting agents often characterize actors using celebrity shorthand, describing them as a Russell Crowe “type” (tough, brooding and intense) or a Rachel McAdams “type” (sweet, charming girl next door). Most actors, once they’ve established such a well-defined niche, are careful not to deviate too far from their comfort zones, lest their box office receipts take a hit that impacts their own bottom line.

KARMA CHAMELEON
And then there’s Johnny Depp. In the 17 years since his 1990 breakthrough, it’s proven increasingly difficult to find any sort of rhyme or reason in the manner in which he approaches his career.

Despite his rakishly handsome leading man looks, Depp has emerged as an unconventional chameleon with a dogged determination to subjugate his own personality in his quest to create intriguing characters.

There is no Johnny Depp “type,” becausehis career choices seem to be about defying expectations at all costs; even at the expense of a bigger pay check. This certainly was not the career path most pundits would have initially predicted for the actor, who was born in Owensboro, Kentucky, in 1963, then raised in Florida. After dropping out of high school at the age of 15 with hopes of becoming a rock star, Depp’s early acting career (which included A Nightmare On Elm Street and the TV show 21 Jump Street) seemed to have him on a date with destiny as a teen heart-throb, drooled over by young girls and ignored by virtually everyone else. But he soon realized that typical leading man roles held no interest for him.

MAKING THE CUT
“It’s good fun playing characters like Captain Jack, Willy Wonka and Raoul Duke (from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas). They do things I would never dream of doing,” he admits. Luckily for Depp, his depth and range as an actor quickly attracted the attention of two of Tinseltown’s most distinctive directors, John Waters and Tim Burton, who cast him as the lead in Cry-Baby and Edward Scissorhands respectively.

The former allowed him to subvert his burgeoning pin-up image as a James Dean-like juvenile delinquent, while the latter established him as an alienated outcast of boyish beauty and an almost tragic, poetic grace, irrevocably altering the course of Depp’s career and establishing a creative bond with Burton that remains more vibrant than ever.

“Tim was the guy who went out on a limb and took a chance on me back in 1990,” Depp recalls fondly of the director (with whom he is currently filming Sweeney Todd, their sixth collaboration).

“I know over the years he’s had to butt heads with the studios quite a few times to allow me to be in his films, because I wasn’t particularly popular at the time. He’s fought long, hard battles to get me in and won, so there’s a bond of love and respect that will be there forever.

But he also happens to be one of the most interesting filmmakers of all time in my opinion, so I feel really lucky to have been chosen by him.

“We have a similar outlook, similar sensibilities, and a similar sense of humor and of the absurd.”

EXCESS ALL AREAS
Despite the success of Edward Scissorhands, Depp’s rise to the top of Hollywood’s A-list was hardly what you’d call meteoric. Throughout the 1990s, for every critical success such as What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and Donnie Brasco, there was a string of disappointments, including Don Juan DeMarco, Nick of Time, The Ninth Gate and The Astronaut’s Wife, which seemed to render his career more troublesomely erratic than endearingly eclectic. Tabloid stories of drugs and debauchery at his LA club the Viper Room (where River Phoenix succumbed to an overdose in 1993), bathfuls of champagne with then girlfriend Kate Moss and arrests for trashing a New York hotel suite threatened to overshadow his career. Worst of all, the studio system didn’t seem to have a clue what to do with his idiosyncratic approach to acting.

“For years, there were people saying, ‘You have to do this kind of movie because you’ve got to make money.’

“I always felt like, hopefully the money will come at some point, but if it doesn’t, that’s all right. I’ve done the things I felt were right in terms of movies,” he proudly insists.

“The only problem I ever had in terms of frustration with Hollywood was that I didn’t think they understood the movies that I did and didn’t know how to sell them properly, because they didn’t know how to label them.”

PARADIS FOUND
All that changed, he claims, when he found out that his longtime girlfriend, French actresssinger Vanessa Paradis, was pregnant with the couple’s first child, daughter Lily-Rose. “Knowing I was going to have a kid made it a lot easier for me to roll with the punches,” he says when asked about the frustrations of being perceived as an outsider in the industry. “That put a lot of things in perspective. For a number of years, I didn’t understand any of it, in terms of success or career. But when I found out Vanessa and I were going to have a baby, you find out what’s important like [snaps fingers] real quick. It was like finally understanding what it was all about for me, really.”

The result of that life-altering development was a move to a villa in France with Paradis; the purchase of a Tibetan restaurant in Paris called Man Ray that he co-owns with John Malkovich and Sean Penn; and a resurgent career that began with the double whammy of 2000’s Chocolat and Before Night Falls and exploded with 2003’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Loosely basing Captain Jack Sparrow on Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, Depp’s bold character captured the imagination of audiences around the world, to the tune of over US$650m (PHP31bn) in box office receipts, hundreds of millions more in merchandising and five Academy Award nominations (including one for Depp).

PIRATE REDUX
“I had about 20 years of studio-defined failures,” Depp admits, “but to me they were all great successes because we got them done. In terms of what struck a chord with Pirates, I believe that studios were underestimating the intelligence of the audience.

“People go to the movies to be stimulated, but you don’t go to the movies to know what the end is going to be. That film had such a different angle – that hyper kind of realism, and the insane action sequence – it wasn’t something they’ve seen all that much.”

The 44-year-old actor insists there was never a question in his mind that he would sign on for the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels, including last year’s Dead Man’s Chest and the new At World’s End, in which Sparrow and company must unite pirate lords from the four corners of the world to defeat Davey Jones, Lord Cutler Beckett and the entire Dutch East India Trading Company.

“Some people could look at it and say, ‘A-ha! Depp sold out’,” he confesses. “But I don’t believe that I have and that certainly wasn’t my intention. I wanted to play Captain Jack again because he’s so much fun to play and I think there’s so much more to explore with that character that I’d keep going and do Pirates of the Caribbean 7. Why not?”

PIRATE PAY DIRT
As a result of this willingness to defy expectations, the once-outcast actor has found himself in a remarkably enviable position, with a bevy of hits under his belt, a reported US$37m (PHP1.76bn) paycheck for the two Pirates sequels and a prominent place on the shortlist of every major film director in Hollywood. But how has his life changed in the process?

'Somebody mentioned me being on some Forbes list [of the world’s highest-paid actors],” he says, “it doesn’t make any sense to me at all, but if that’s where they wanna put me this week, that’s great. It doesn’t mean I’ll be there next week.”

Haute Corsair

Ther's no need to be in the doldrums with our guide to what the discerning buccaneer should be wearing this season, so , buckle up and run the gauntlet!

Shirt To Sailu
The most crucial part in looking like a real lady or gentleman of fortune is the loose-fitting, long-sleeved shirt. The collar must always fall flat and the cuffs left unfastened. Most oversized shirts will suffice. Linen or lightweight cotton is your best option. White period-inspired shirt with silver hooks and romantic bell cuffs, PHP1,757, by JPoi
Available at Graxie, R2 Lifestyle Center, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell Makati

Vested Interest

Captain Jack Sparrow would prefer a brown or grey vest in wool, but if you can’t find one, red or navy blue will do. Leave the buttons undone for the authentic effect. Brown “Alesia” vest with Chinesestyle hooks, PHP1,550, by Reian Mata.
Available at Graxie, R2 Lifestyle Center, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell, Makati

Treasure Chest

Buccaneers treasure their trinkets, be they gold, silver or bronze. Ornate costume jewelry can be found in most malls and antique shops. Byzantine-inspired choker with cross, PHP9,080 Lolita Pompadour at Firma, G/F Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center, Makati Gold pleated charm necklace, PHP165
Available at Graxie, R2 Lifestyle Center, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell, Makati

Swashbuckle-up!
Accessorize and go wide on the waist (and we don’t mean gourmandising!) with big belts. Brown leather belt bag with horsehair detail, PHP880. Brown leather belt with gold weaving, PHP880
Available at Firma, G/F Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center, Makati

Booted–up

Buccaneer You need to get hooked on the right pair of boots. The one rule to remember: avoid lace-ups. Stick to high, slip-on boots in either black or brown shades. Buccaneer boots are usually mid-calf in length and have large flaps which fold over. Leather knee-high boots with buckle in black or brown, PHP2,495
Available at Janilyn, #221 R2 Hip, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell, Makati

Bodice ripper
The bawdy, concubine look is guaranteed to excite any jolly Jack Tar.
Black cotton peasant shirt, PHP1,699
Black buccaneer cropped pants, PHP999
Black and pink bubble skirt, PHP899
Brown and gold obi waist sash, PHP899
Available at YRYS, G/F Glorietta 2, Ayala Center, Makati

Red or deadu
Take your cue from Captain Jack Sparrow and head off to the nearest scarf shop for a scarlet bandana. Drape it around your noggin and knot it at the back. Red silk shawl, PHP850 Maroon spring shawl with silver hatch detail, PHP690 Maroon polyester shawl with sequins, PHP640
Available at Anna Pashmina, R2 Power Plant Mall, Rockwell, Makati

Davy Jones’ locket
Nautical niceties in silver and bronze.
Silver shell locket (pendant), PHP1,380
Silver octopus paper weight, PHP6,380
Available at Firma, G/F Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center, Makati
Bronze bib necklace with two circle plates, PHP16,200
Bronze ring with magical symbol escudo, PHP3,320
Bronze spherical ring, PHP3,480
All by Rigaux at Firma, G/F Greenbelt 3, Ayala Center, Makati

Elephant butt
Pants are perhaps the simplest to pull off: black, brown or white will do. The cut of the pants will not matter because the bottom portion will be tucked in your boots. White elephant pants with extended waist, PHP3,150
Available at Graxie, R2 Lifestyle Center, Power Plant Mall, Rockwell, Makati

Party like a pirate

Maida C. Pineda lives out her pirate fantasies in the themed bards and restaurants around the country .

Aye, me hearties, so you’ll be wanting a taste of a pirate’s adventure? No need to go the Caribbean, ’cos right here in the Philippines we be ’avin’ pirate, nautical and seaside themes.
’Ere be our top three:

1. ROUGH AND READY

Pirates are fearless. Even when it comes to food they rough it up and get messy – and the Boodle Feast on offer at Blackbeard’s Seafood Island won’t disappoint. The restaurant is renowned for its grilled and barbecued seafood.

They’ve got crabs by the bucket, grilled tuna, salmon, bangus (milkfish) and snapper, alongside lobster, shrimp, oysters and clam specialties. Wash it down with bottles of ice-cold beer or island cocktails for your lady-love.

But for a truly memorable pirate food adventure, waiters dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow and his mates arrive at your table with the Boodle Feast – a massive wooden tray laden with banana leaves and a mountain of rice, crispy coco gin shrimps, San Mig clams, grilled tilapia, grilled squid, laing (coconut taro leaves), steamed crabs, grilled pork liempo (pork belly), and atchara (pickled) papaya.

With no cutlery or plate, you and your fellow famished pirates eat with your hands – rough and ready – straight from the banana leaves. This “Daptan Feast”, named for the town next door to Dipolog on the north-western coast of Mindanao, costs PHP790 (US$17) and serves up to six people.

2. JOIN THE PIRATE HORDES

If you fancy a walk through the galleys or steering your own merchant ship, then head to Il Pirata in Eastwood, Libis. This huge, brandnew restaurant can comfortably seat 300 ribald pirates and is every child’s fantasy – with lifelike statues of Captain Jack Sparrow and his crew, parrots, plus paintings of mischievous pirates to feed the imagination.

A boiling cauldron of pirate soup of the day greets diners, while a life-size boat has been turned into a spacious play area for the kids. The wait staff dress in pirate costumes and even the chef gets in on the action as a particularly fierce-looking buccaneer.

And according to this establishment, pirates have fine European tastes. Il Pirata prides itself on serving authentic Italian dishes. There’s risotto, homemade tagliatelle pasta with porcini mushrooms and truffle oil, plus thin and crispy wood-fired gourmet pizzas.

3. BEACH SPOTTERS
But if you want to truly mingle with the seafaring crowd, then head to the wellloved Red Pirates Pub near Boat Station 3 in Boracay. This little beach bar has rustic chairs and tables made from driftwood – and torches and candles to illuminate evening banter on the beach. The music is a sea-weary pirate’s coming ashore dream: a chilled-out island vibe featuring bongo drums and native instruments. You can even swap nautical stories with the owner, Captain Joey, who offers tours around the island.

1. Blackbeard’s Seafood Island
● 28-31 Shopwise Arcade, Araneta Center,
Cubao, Quezon City (tel +63 (2) 913-8761)
● Market! Market! Global City, Taguig,
Metro Manila (tel +63 (2) 886-7692)
● 536 Remedios Street, Malate, Metro
Manila (tel +63 (2) 400-9980)
● Eastwood, Libis, Quezon City
2. Il Pirata
● Eastwood, Libis, Quezon City (tel +63 421- 1996)
3. Red Pirates Pub
● Boracay, Boat Station 3, White Beach,
Angol (tel +63 (36) 288-5767)