From the crazy Mad Hatter to the subtle Gilbert Grape, Johnny Depp has given us a slew of wonderful performances over the years. With the recent reappearance of Captain Jack Sparrow in the fourth installment of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, I thought I’d bring forth my top five favorite performances by Depp. So here they are.
Edward from “Edward Scissorhands” (1990): “Edward Scissorhands” was the start of a beautiful friendship between Director Tim Burton and Depp, which would lead to an additional six collaborations over the years. I can’t imagine what Depp’s career would look like at this point if they had never met.
Depp portrays a young man who was left with scissors for hands, after his inventor (Vincent Price) dies before completing the full transformation. When a bored housewife comes along and finds Edward alone in his castle, she invites him to stay with her family. Through this good-natured act, Edward feels wanted again, and even manages to fall in love with their daughter (Winona Ryder), leading to a somewhat dark, fairy-tale ending that only Burton could pull off.
When watching “Edward Scissorhands,” I sometimes forget that Depp is the one portraying the character. Depp gives a brilliant performance straight from the get-go. Edward is as kind as anyone could be and Depp brought an innocence to the character that made us love Edward, despite his disfiguration.
George Jung from “Blow” (2001): “Blow” is one of my all-time favorite movies, partly due to the screenplay itself, but mostly because of Depp’s wonderful performance as real-life cocaine smuggler George Jung. With a great supporting cast — including Ray Liotta, Penelope Cruz and even Paul Reubens (aka Pee-wee Herman) — Depp could have easily been outshined. But he plays Jung with such determination and heart that sometimes it’s easy to rationalize his wrongdoings. It is especially disheartening when Jung gets set up by his former associates on his last deal, leading to a prison sentence of 60 years. We feel the disappointment and anguish that comes with his arrest, just as he does. It’s a powerful biopic and Depp did a superb job with it.
Benjamin Barker from “Sweeny Todd” (2007): Who knew that Depp could sing? Only pal Burton would have faith in that. Even though Depp’s singing performance as the so-called Demon Barber of Fleet Street was more speaking the words in a sing-song voice than full-throated singing, Depp still made it look easy.
“Sweeny Todd” tells the story of Benjamin Barker, aka Sweeny Todd, who seeks revenge on all those who made him suffer after the apparent death of his daughter. Todd opens up a barber shop, where he proceeds to kill off his customers and — with the help of a nearby tenant, Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter) — processes their bodies into meat pies to cover up any wrongdoing.
Despite the recurring gruesome act, Depp brought an allure to the character and made it hard to look away from the screen. Todd and Lovett are a disturbing pair of characters, but Depp and Carter brought about a silly, likability. And it was a nice surprise to see Depp succeed in performing outside his comfort zone.
Captain Jack Sparrow from “Pirates of the Caribbean” (First appearance 2003): A lot of people were skeptical — me among them — when the previews for “Pirates of the Caribbean” first surfaced. I thought, “This will never work. A movie based on a theme park ride… about pirates? No way. What is Johnny Depp thinking?” Boy, was I wrong.
Although the movies can get a little lost in themselves and are way too long for their own good, what holds them together is the sense of adventure, along with the utter silliness and drunken stupor that Depp brings to central character Captain Jack Sparrow. Looking at Sparrow now, you can’t imagine anyone other than Depp playing the role. And I’m both glad — and surprised — that Depp has stuck with the character through four movies.
Mort Rainey from “Secret Window” (2004): A lesser-known novelty of Depp’s, “Secret Window” is based on a Stephen King novel and tells the story of a novelist who is confronted by a stranger, John Shooter (Jon Turturro), who claims Rainey stole his book idea. Throughout the movie, Shooter becomes more and more violent, wanting proof from Rainey that he published the idea first. In the end, all is not what it seems on the surface.
What’s great about Depp’s performance in “Secret Window” is that what you see is not what you get. Depp brings an eerie quality to a normal guy — you know something isn’t quite right, but you can’t quite put your finger on it. Depp adds a lot of depth to the character and does a great job concealing Rainey’s true identity until the very end.
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