Famous and Interesting: November 2008

Monday, November 24, 2008

PEOPLE's Sexiest Men Alive 2008

PEOPLE's new 2008's Sexiest Men Alive are..

HUGH JACKMAN, DANIEL CRAIG, ZAC EFRON, ED WESTWICK, MARK-PAUL GOSSELAAR, ROBERT PATTINSON, JOSHUA JACKSON, DAVID BECKHAM

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Johnny Depp

John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor, known for his portrayals of

offbeat, eccentric characters such as Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series.

Depp was born in Owensboro, Kentucky, Depp's mother bought her son a guitar when he was 12, and Depp began playing in various garage bands. His first band was in honor of his girlfriend, Meredith. Depp dropped out of high school to become a rock musician. As he once explained on Inside the Actors Studio, he attempted to go back to school two weeks later, but the principal told him to follow his dream of being a musician. He played with The Kids, a band that enjoyed modest local success. The Kids set out together for Los Angeles in pursuit of a record deal, changing their name to Six Gun Method. The group split before signing a record deal. Depp subsequently collaborated with the band Rock City Angels and co-wrote their song "Mary", which appeared on Rock City Angels' debut for Geffen Records titled Young Man's Blues.

On December 24, 1983, Depp married Lori Anne Allison, a makeup artist and sister of his band's bass player and singer. During Depp's marriage, his wife worked as a makeup artist while he worked a variety of odd jobs, including a telemarketer for ink pens. Later, his wife introduced him to actor Nicolas Cage, who advised Depp to pursue an acting career. In 1985, Depp and Allison divorced. After his marriage ended, Depp dated and was engaged to Sherilyn Fenn (whom he met on the set of the 1985 short film Dummies).

Depp starred in a lead role on the FOX TV television series, 21 Jump Street, which premiered in 1987. Depp accepted this role because he wasn't getting much work in the business and wanted to work with actor Frederic Forrest, who inspired him. Later in the season, Depp's long time friend Sal Jenco joined the cast as a semi-co-star as the janitor named Blowfish. The series' success turned Depp into a popular teen idol during the late 1980s. Depp promised himself that after his contract on the series expired, he would only appear in films that he felt were right for him.

In 1994, Depp was arrested and questioned by police for allegedly causing serious damage to a New York City hotel suite. He was arrested again in 1999 for brawling with paparazzi outside a restaurant while dining in London with his girlfriend, Vanessa Paradis. Since 1998, Depp has had a relationship with Vanessa Paradis, a French actress and singer whom he met while filming The Ninth Gate.

The couple have two children. Daughter Lily-Rose Melody Depp was born May 27, 1999. Son John "Jack" Christopher Depp III was born April 9, 2002. In 2007, his daughter recovered from a serious illness, an E. coli infection that began to cause her kidneys to shut down and resulted in an extended hospital stay. The family divides its time between their home in Meudon, located in the suburbs of Paris, Los Angeles, and their villa in Le Plan-de-la-Tour, a small town an hour and a half from Saint-Tropez, in the south of France.

Johnny Depp received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star on November 19, 1999

Depp's first major role was in the 1984 horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street, playing the

heroine's boyfriend and one of Freddy's victims. In 1986, he also appeared in a secondary role as a Vietnamese-speaking private in Oliver Stone's Platoon. Depp then left his teen idol image in 1990, playing the quirky title role in the Tim Burton film, Edward Scissorhands. The film's success began a long association with Burton. Depp, an avid fan and long-time friend of writer Hunter S. Thompson, played a version of Thompson (named Raoul Duke) in 1998's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, based on the writer's pseudobiographical novel of the same name.

Depp's status as a major star was solidified with the success of the 2003 Walt Disney Pictures film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, for which his lead performance as the suave pirate Captain Jack Sparrow was highly praised. The performance was initially received negatively by the studio bosses who saw the film, but the character became popular with the movie-going public; in 2006. Jack Sparrow character closely resembles Depp's own personality, although Depp himself said that he modelled the character after Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. Depp, who has noted that he was "surprised" and "touched" at the positive reception given to the film, was nominated for an Academy Award for the role.

In 2004, he was again nominated for a Best Actor Oscar, this time for playing Scottish author J. M. Barrie in the film Finding Neverland. Depp next starred as Willy Wonka in the 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which was a major success at the box office.
Depp returned to the character of Jack Sparrow for the sequel Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which opened on July 7, 2006 and grossed $135.5 million in the first three days of its U.S. release, breaking a box office record in reaching the highest weekend tally ever. The next sequel to Pirates of the Caribbean, At World's End, was released May 24, 2007.

Depp played the title role of Sweeney Todd in Tim Burton's film adaptation of the musical Sweeney Todd, for

which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. The traditional ceremony for the 65th Golden Globe Awards did not take place due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike.

As a child, Depp was obsessed with Dark Shadows, a gothic-themed soap opera that aired on ABC from 1966 to 1971. As a result, he accepted Warner Brothers proposal to make a film version of the show. In July 2007, a rights deal was struck with the estate of Dan Curtis, the show's

producer/director. Depp and Graham King will produce the movie with David Kennedy, who ran Dan Curtis Productions inc. until Curtis died in 2006. Depp will also appear in a film version of writer Hunter S. Thompson's book, The Rum Diary, portraying the main character Paul Kemp. Depp's production company has also picked up the rights to the story of poisoned former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko. Depp signed on to play one incarnation of the Heath Ledger character in the 2009 film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus along with Jude Law and Colin Farrell. All three actors gave their salaries from the film to Ledger's daughter, Matilda. In upcoming films, he will portray the Mad Hatter in Burton's Alice in Wonderland. Disney Studios also announced that a fourth installment of the Pirates series is in development, in which Depp would reprise his Captain Jack Sparrow role.