Depp impact

Want to understand Johnny Depp? Talk to Orlando Bloom, his young co-star in the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movies."Johnny sat me down one night and told me that basically he had made a career making movies that are mostly failures or considered to be failures," Bloom says.

"He said he couldn't be happier."

And indeed Depp does look pretty mellow as he walks into a suite at a Beverly Hills hotel on a sunny summer afternoon, clad in a ripped, white T-shirt, faded jeans and a large, floppy gray hat.

"I'm sorry," he says as an introduction, "it's just me."

Not that being Johnny Depp is anything to sneeze at. Told of Bloom's account, he shrugs.

"My philosophy about this business goes back to all those years ago when I was on '21 Jump Street' (1987-1989)," he says. "I was forced into the role of being a product. It was a very uncomfortable situation, and I couldn't get a handle on it. It wasn't on my terms at all.

"At that point I decided that I will only do the things that are right for me," Depp says. "It's no one else's decision. And, whether it works or fails miserably, I'll still keep going.

"Of course it still surprises me that I have been able to get jobs and keep doing films for all of these years," the actor adds. "I guess I still don't care about the business side of movies. It doesn't make sense to me. I'm not a businessman, I'm an actor.

"As far as all those movies that by industry definition were failures, well, to me they were great successes."

If ever Depp has tackled a project that seemed like a slam dunk, however, it's his current film, 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest'. 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl' (2003) grossed $653 million worldwide, and expectations for the sequel, opening nationwide on July 7, are equally high.

That explains why the 43-year-old Depp, best known for what he calls "those weird little art movies," now commands $20 million apiece for the new film and another sequel.

The second installment of 'Pirates of the Caribbean' finds Depp's swashbuckling Capt. Jack Sparrow trying to rescue his friends Will (Bloom) and Elizabeth (Keira Knightley), who on their wedding day have been arrested for their part in helping Sparrow escape the law in the first installment.

"When they came to me and said, 'We'd like you to do '2' and '3' together,' I was all for it," he says, "because I just wanted selfishly to be the guy again."

There will be more of the same from Sparrow in the sequel, but Depp also promises plenty that's new and exciting.

"It's more action, more thrills," the actor says. "I have a huge fight on a wheel covered in water that gets loose and starts rolling me through the jungles. I have the scars to prove that I did the stunts."

He also has the teeth: To save on time and effort in the makeup chair, Depp had gold pirate teeth bonded onto his own choppers for the film, and they're still there, because he's only halfway through the second 'Pirates of the Caribbean' sequel, which is due out next summer.

"It's a painful process to put the teeth on," he explains, "so I have to leave them on. It's sort of even cool. My kids think it's a riot."

"My kids" means 7-year-old Lily Rose and 4-year-old Jack, Depp's children with French actress/singer Vanessa Paradis. The family jets between homes in France and Los Angeles.

"As a dad you get those moments where it's 8 in the morning and your kid wants candy," he says. "You're like, 'Uh, it's not really a good idea. You need your breakfast, you can't have candy.' But then I'm like, 'All right, maybe you can have a little bit of candy.'

"One of the luxuries for any actor, and one of the joys of the gig, is that you get to observe people," Depp says, "and by observing people you sort of find these little traits, these interesting little things that people do. You go, 'Oh, I'll have a bit of that. I'll have a bit of that.'

"And you just store it up and save it for later, because you never know when you'll need it."

source: khaleejtimes.com