20 Facts About...Johnny Depp

A number of readers of The Stu View are fans of Johnny Depp. I myself am also a fan, as is my wife; although her reasons for admiring the brooding, dark-haired, devilishly handsome actor probably differ greatly to mine!

Add  this fan base to the imminent release of Depp's latest film The Rum Diary and the timing is perfect for a post all about the man who is one of the very best actors working in Hollywood today.

Here are twenty facts that you may, or may not, know about the man who went from pretty boy teen idol to accomplished, top-drawer Hollywood superstar.

20 Facts about...Johnny Depp

1. Johnny Depp was born John Christopher Depp II in Owensboro, Kentucky on June 9, 1963.

2. His family is of French descent but Depp also believes there may be some Native American blood in his family lineage.

3. Depp dropped out of high school to become a rock musician and played guitar in local band The Kids.

4. In 1983, aged 20, he married make up artist Lori Ann Allison, the sister of one of his band mates. They divorced in 1985.

5. During their time together, Lori introduced Johnny to Nicolas Cage, who advised him to take up acting.

6. Johnny Depp made his film debut in Wes Craven's horror classic A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984. He was one of Freddy Krueger's victims.

7. Depp had a small role in Oliver Stone's Platoon in 1987.

8. The Fox television series 21 Jump Street, which first hit screens in 1987, made Depp a teen idol.  Despite staying in the show for four seasons, he was never really happy and decided from then on he would only accept projects which felt right for him.  

9. His first major film role was that of Edward Scissorhands in Tim Burton's quirky cult classic from 1990. 

10. Johnny Depp has collaborated with director and close friend Tim Burton on seven occasions - Edward Scissorhands (1990), Ed Wood (1994), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Charlie & the Chocolate Factory (2005), The Corpse Bride (2005), Sweeney Todd (2007) and Alice in Wonderland (2010) 

11. Burton and Depp are currently working on the gothic horror tale Dark Shadows.

12. Depp was engaged to Winona Ryder from 1990 to 1993.

13. He has been in a relationship with singer Vanessa Paradis since 1998. The couple have two children.

14. After his break-up from Winona Ryder, Depp had one of his tattoos changed from 'Winona Forever' to 'Wino Forever'.

15. Based on the famous Disney ride, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) turned Johnny Depp into a true global superstar.

16. Depp's truly wonderful, eye-rolling portrayal of pirate Captain Jack Sparrow, based on Rolling Stone Keith Richards, earned him his first Oscar nomination. 

17. Johnny Depp has been nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award on three occasions - Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl in 2004, Finding Neverland in 2005 and Sweeney Todd in 2008.

18. His portrayal of Sweeney Todd earned Depp the Golden Globe award for Best Actor in 2008.

19. Johnny Depp's most popular film at the box-office is Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006). It took over $1 billion worldwide and sits at number 6 on the all-time list. 

20. Johnny Depp has appeared in 3 of the top 10 grossing movies of all-time - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (6), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (8) and Alice in Wonderland (9). 

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

21 Jump Street

Ed Wood

Movie Captions

Just a few movie photo captions to lighten up the start of another working week.

"They washed one side of my hair in ordinary medicated shampoo..."

"Best a man can get, my arse!"

You just won second prize in a beauty contest...

Primark reveals its Autumn 2011 Collection

"Could you possibly tell me where the Blue Oyster bar is please?" 

Christopher Lee, Prince of Terror - Dracula AD 1972 Featurette

For all fans of Christopher Lee, and Hammer Films in general, this is a short but very sweet post featuring a rare promotional film for Hammer's 1972 vampire offering Dracula AD 1972.

The picture quality isn't particularly good but this somehow adds an extra bit of atmosphere to the featurette, almost making it seem like you have just discovered it yourself in a dusty basement.

The short footage of Christopher Lee with his wife Gitte and daughter Christina is fascinating.





By this point in time, Christopher Lee had become disenchanted with the Hammer Dracula series and the direction the films were taking. Each successive film gave him less and less to do and the character of Dracula almost became a peripheral figure.

Dracula AD 1972 certainly did not improve things and bringing the character into the modern day was probably a mistake. However, the film did have 2 big plus points in its favour - Peter Cushing was back as the Count's nemesis Van Helsing and the prologue of the movie, featuring a 19th-century battle between the two enemies on top of a runaway coach, is truly spellbinding stuff.