Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. He says Disney bosses hated how he played the character.
Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. He says Disney bosses hated how he played the character.
Johnny Depp is known for playing some of cinema's craziest characters, including hedge trimmer Edward Scissorhands, camp pirate Jack Sparrow and chocolatier Willy Wonka.
But the actor has opened up about his inspiration behind many of his biggest roles in a new interview, reports The Guardian, with Depp admitting that "all my characters are gay".
Depp was speaking as part of a live discussion in Los Angeles as part of the AFI Festival when he was asked about his outlandish performance as Jack Sparrow in the first Pirates of the Caribbean film that had Disney executives up in arms.
Johnny Depp hates auditions and feels pressure to deliver in real-life roles among other revelations. Photo / Getty
"It trickled back to me somehow that, 'Goddammit, Johnny Depp's ruining the film! What is that thing? Is it drunk, is it gay?," Depp said.
He was then called into a meeting with a studio executive who asked Depp what he was doing.
"When they asked if it was gay, I said: 'Didn't you know all my characters are gay?'"
Depp, whose plays convicted murderer and crime boss Whitey Bulger in his latest movie Black Mass, made plenty of other astonishing admissions during the hour-long discussion.
One of the biggest was that The Lone Ranger star is "absolutely horrible at auditioning".
His worst was in front of directing duo the Coen brothers, known for cult hits like Fargo and The Big Lebowski.
"I can only imagine the choices I must have made, but what I do recall very well was how loud the silence was after I finished whatever I had done," he said, claiming he "embarrassed myself to new heights".
Depp also said he only reads scripts once, pays little attention to script notes and hates watching his own performances.
Johnny Depp, left, and Rory Cochrane appear in a scene from Black Mass. Photo / AP
Of his role as Bulger, Depp said he made a rare exception but during the screening he "held on to my chair very tightly".
And he admitted roles about real people came with plenty of extra pressure compared to Sparrow or Wonka.
"It's very, very important to me, no matter who the person is, to play that person with the utmost degree of truth that I'm able to bring.
"But playing a character like Jack Sparrow or Willy Wonka, that requires nothing but a degree of responsibility to the intent of the story - responsibility to the film-maker to deliver the goods.
A scene from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory starring Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka.
"More than anything it just comes down to imagination: what are the ingredients for this character?"
His final admission might make his long-term fans unhappy: he never wanted to be on 21 Jump Street - his breakthrough role.
