"It has a nice, warm, honest feel to it": Johnny Depp on FINDING NEVERLAND
Johnny Depp told UK film critic Glenn Whipp that he took the role of J. M. Barrie in FINDING NEVERLAND–as he would later take the role of Captain Jack Sparrow in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN–because he was eager to make a movie his young children could view and enjoy. “I couldn’t exactly sit them down and put in FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS,” a laughing Johnny confided. “But I did want to give them something. When you become a parent, your head gets into a different space. You give to your kids, you play with your kids, and it awakens the play within you.”
Director Marc Forster confirms that he “always saw Johnny” in the role of Barrie because Johnny “has the child within him very much alive.” Johnny approves of the finished film: “I think it has a nice, warm, honest feel to it [. . . ]. We’re not glossing over his life, just focusing on a period when he was probably the happiest. Everyone knows PETER PAN. This shows the process behind it. I hate to use the word ‘inspirational,’ but it got to me, you know?” Judging by the enthusiastic response, FINDING NEVERLAND is getting to its audiences as well.
Thanks, Emma, for posting Glenn Whipp’s article on the News forum. You can read the full story here.