I find it interesting how much Depp often seems to model his characters on rock stars (or at least to some extent).
I think he's kind of a rock-star wannabe.
I read a magazine piece a year or so ago in which he interviewed Patti Smith. I've never been much of a Patti Smith fan (I know, sacrilege
), and overall I found the piece annoying and pretentious. I've always felt that way about Smith, and the article made me feel that way about Depp as well
But I am, of course, a huge Keith Richards' fan. Whatever his faults, Keith has never struck me as at all pretentious (one of my least favorite faults). So that relationship redeems Depp for me, even if it does seem to be a sort of shorthand way to acquire cool-by-association.
A few years back, when Depp was up against Sean Penn for an Oscar (I think), I read a magazine article arguing that Depp was actually the better actor of the two because he had taken a lightweight commercial character like Capt. Jack Sparrow and made it into something complex and interesting yet still comic and light, whereas Penn always had to go the standard actorly route of being all intense and serious and tortured and whatnot. At the time, I was thoroughly convinced. I thought the writer had an excellent point.
In the years since then, though, Depp has continued taking lightweight commercial jokey roles. I don't see him ever even attempting any of the deeper, more serious roles that are Penn's territory (and of course, many other actors'). So now my view has shifted again.
There you go -- more than you wanted to hear about my opinions re Johnny Depp!