TOTAL FILM's "favourite actor of our lifetime"–a new interview with Johnny Depp

The new issue of TOTAL FILM (UK) names Johnny Depp the “favourite actor of our lifetime” and introduces their brand new interview with Johnny with a paragraph of praise: “Any way you take him, he’s cool: goatee, glasses, cowboy hat, smoking, non-smoking, dressed up, dressed down, dressed as a woman. Or a pirate. Or a wonky, wacko sweet-seller. . . . He can do anything. Really well.” Now that we have an accord, on to some of TOTAL FILM’s questions–these contain no spoilers about PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END:

TOTAL FILM: Why do you think audiences have taken to [Captain Jack Sparrow] so much?

JD: I really have no idea. [. . . W]hat I thought would be the greatest challenge would be to create a character that a three-year-old would enjoy and an 83-year-old would enjoy. That was my goal. And the main ingredient of why I think he works for me at least is irreverence. Just total irreverence. Silliness. Not caring.

TOTAL FILM: He doesn’t care. And yet, he always has a plan . . . .

JD: [Laughs] Oh, yes, he’s always got a plan! Even when he doesn’t have a plan, he’s got a plan. Amazingly, he always sort of lands on his feet. He’s kind of feline in that way. He has more than nine lives, that’s for sure.

TOTAL FILM: Even after the success of the first film, no one was expecting the billion-dollar juggernaut that was DEAD MAN’S CHEST. Was it a surprise to you?

JD: Uh, yeah. It was shocking. Still is. I’m sort of amazed that so many people in so many corners of the globe embraced the films and embraced the character. It’s very moving, you know. Nothing like this has ever happened to me–and what’s happened with PIRATES hasn’t happened to many people. It’s very emotional, you know, that people feel this very strong connection with Captain Jack. Seeing little kids dressed up as him and talking like him and stuff–it’s just amazing.

That’s just a snippet of what Johnny has to say about Captain Jack and the experience of filming AT WORLD’S END. You can read the full TOTAL FILM interview on the Zone’s News & Views forum; thanks very much to trinni for sharing her scans of the article, but beware, there are some spoilers. –Part-Time Poet

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