![Johnny Depp Facts]()
Believe it or not,
Johnny Depp has been lighting up the silver screen for three decades.
Since breaking out on the hit show "21 Jump Street," Depp has become well known for his eccentric roles, most notably as the suave pirate Captain Jack Sparrow. While the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise made him a bankable star, Depp owes much of his career to renowned director Tim Burton for collaborations such as "
Edward Scissorhands" (1990) and "
Sleepy Hollow" (1999) -- just to name two.
But there's still much to know about the international star. From his early ambitions as a musician to his surprising fear, here are 33 things you probably don't know about Johnny Depp.
1. Depp was born in Owensboro, Kentucky in 1963 to Betty Sue Palmer, a waitress, and John Christopher Depp, a civil engineer.
2. He and his family moved frequently during his childhood, living in more than 20 different places before settling in Miramar, Florida.
3. Prior to becoming an actor, Depp dreamed of becoming a rock star. He was trying to make it as a musician in Los Angeles when he transitioned to acting.
4. When he was 12, his mother gave him a guitar. After playing in several garage bands, the future actor dropped out of high school to pursue music.
5. He reportedly went back to school two weeks later, but the principal encouraged him to follow his dreams and be a musician. After enjoying modest local success, Depp and his band The Kids moved to Los Angeles to get a record contract.
6. The Kids once opened for legendary punk rocker
Iggy Pop, but they struggled to have greater success.
7. Depp credits
Nicolas Cage with helping him get his first acting job after Cage hooked him up with his first agent. Depp has seemingly never forgotten.
8. When Cage fell into financial trouble in 2007, Depp reportedly
offered to pay off his debt as a way to say thank you for kickstarting his career.
9. He was even listed in the 2012 Guinness Book of World Records as the highest paid actor, netting a total of $75 million in 2011.
10. Depp's most financially successful films have been the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise and "Alice in Wonderland," which have grossed $3 billion and $1 billion, respectively.
11. Despite several critically acclaimed roles, the actor has never won an Oscar.
12. He has been nominated for the Best Actor Oscar three times, for "
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (2007), "
Finding Neverland" (2004), and "
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" (2003).
13. He won a Golden Globe in 2008 for his role in "Sweeney Todd."
14. His first acting role was in
Wes Craven's 1984 classic "A Nightmare on Elm Street."
15. He has collaborated with director Tim Burton on eight films, beginning with "Edward Scissorhands" (1990) and most recently starring in "Dark Shadows" (2012).
16. He has twice been named the "Sexiest Man Alive" by People magazine in 2003 and 2009.
17. Depp is currently engaged to actress
Amber Heard after proposing on
Christmas Eve 2013. The couple met on the set of "The Rum Diary" (2012).
18. Despite five (known) engagements, Depp has only been married one time. He was wed to Lori Anne Allison in 1983 and later divorced in 1985.
19. After his marriage, Depp was engaged to actresses
Jennifer Grey ("
Dirty Dancing") and Sherilyn Fenn ("Twin Peaks") in the late 1980s.
20. In 1990, the actor also became engaged to his "Edward Scissorhands" co-star
Winona Ryder.
21. He even got a tattoo -- "Winona Forever" -- to commemorate their love. Following their breakup, Depp altered the ink to read "Wino Forever."
22. With over a dozen tattoos, Depp has said his "
body is a journal in a way. It's like what sailors used to do, where every tattoo meant something..."
23. After calling it off with Ryder, Depp began dating British supermodel
Kate Moss,
who has a thing for musicians and actors.
24. During this time,
the actor infamously trashed the Mark Hotel in New York City. He even blamed an armadillo for the damage!
25. Following his relationship with Moss, he settled down with French singer and actress Vanessa Paradis from 1998 to 2012. Although they never married, the couple have two children together, Lily-Rose Melody and John "Jack" Christopher.
26. Don't ask him to dance! He fears dancing more than anything in the world and has never danced in real life. He's only danced as a character in a movie with a choreographed routine.
27. Initially just a fan, Depp became a long-time friend of journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson. He starred in two film adaptations of Thompson's novels, "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" (1998) and "The Rum Diary" (2011).
28. He even paid for most of Thompson's memorial event, including the shooting of the writer's ashes by cannon -- as were his wishes.
29.
Depp travels with his Captain Jack Sparrow costume from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise in order to surprise kids at hospitals. He says he'll "just sneak in and go and surprise a bunch of kiddies... It basically turns into a two, three-hour improvisation and it's really fun."
30. His quirky and crowd-pleasing performance as the suave pirate Captain Jack Sparrow was modeled after
Keith Richards, the guitarist for
The Rolling Stones.
31. Richards and Depp are friends and spent time together on the set of "
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (2007),
which Rolling Stone magazine covered in a 2007 issue.
32. Depp's rock star connections don't stop there. He's twice recorded with
Oasis, notably playing lead slide guitar on the British band's 1997 track "Fade In-Out."
33. Depp is set to star as the infamous Boston gangster James "Whitey" Bulger in the biopic "Black Mass." Directed by Scott Cooper ("
Out of the Furnace"), the film begins production this summer.
[Sources:
IMDb,
Wikipedia,
Star Pulse]
Article photo via Getty
