Johnny Depp, cool guy or just up himself?

I was up late one night recently watching Letterman, and who happened to be on? Johnny Depp. I wouldn't say I'm a Big fan, though I do like some of his work. What struck me was his refusal to watch any of his Movies, and how he and Letterman played on this as a point of interest for we as viewers. Also, how he will rarely watch a Movie made in the last 20-30 years.

So, what is he saying, movies in the past 20/30 years are just crap? If that's the case, shouldn't he just get out of the acting business altogether and begin a profession he's proud to be associated with, rather than being appalled by? I for one, think he's a bit of a snob, and a little too up himself. At least he doesn't go for all that Hollywood hype, but if you can't find a good Movie made in the past 10 or so years, there's something definitely wrong with you.

What do you think - cool guy or just a snob?

He hates The United States.

Cool guy.

I don't know how cool he actually is because I've never met him... but I don't think the fact he doesn't watch recent films or his own makes him a snob... some people just prefer older films and I remember reading once he was a huge Buster Keaton fan... and a lot of actors can't watch themselves on screen... I doubt very serious if I could were I in the business because I would pick everything I did apart and beat myself up over not doing it a different way...

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It just comes off as a little high & mighty, personally. To say, I love the old classic actors and Movies, but Movies of today have no substance. I'm paraphrasing...lol

I don't think he hates the United States as much as he disagrees with some of the politics... he still owns a house in California but has repeatedly stated he likes living over seas because he's not hounded by the media or paparazzi as much... and his girlfriend is French...


Sounds like he was cutting up his own movies too then... and that's not being snobbish...

Since you paraphrase, I'll post the entire interview to see if anybody else comes to the same conclusions. It's quite entertaining.





If the error persists on the second one, watch it at YouTube .

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Thanks Mark... I thought it was pretty funny myself... and not snobbish at all. He poked fun at himself more than anything...

I don't think it makes him snobby either. You can't knock a guy for having his preferences. I mean, I'm picky when it comes to coffee. I have to have 2 level teaspoons orelse it just tastes like donkey piss to me. It doesn't make me a snob. It just makes me a picky c**t! Excuse moi French. I'm sure if you interviewed every person on earth, each one of them would have some weird quirkiness about them. It's just the way it is. While it may bother some people, to other's, it doesn't. Johnny Depp is a good bloke, end of. If anything, he strikes me as quite humble. He may not have the charisma and fun-guy attitude of Tom Hanks, but he's just as awesome in my eyes.

@mark F - Not the entire interview, but I still stand by my statement "The guys up himself". As for Tom Hanks having charisma and being a fun guy, please, he's a performer. Obviously Depp is not, though you missed the most significant part of the interview, when letterman asked, Depp, if he had seen any of his co-stars in any production, he have a look of bewilderment. Wouldn't you want to know what certain person you're working alongside? It doesn't matter anyway, cause he probably does watch all different Movies from all era's, just one of those "thespians" who wanna act a little mysterious...give me a break!

hmm. I think Depp looks more than a little uncomfortable, plus the audience is laughing like sycophantic hyenas. I've not watched Letterman that much but he's quite smarmy too isn't he? Weird questions, "what is life like with your fellow French residents" , "do you were a beret" WTF? that's so lame, no wonder Depp looks faintly embarrassed.

Loads of actors don't watch their own films, so I wouldn't say that makes him a snob. I guess if you've been doing it a long time then it is just a job. As for not watching films made in the last 20/30 years, why would that make him 'up himself' and more than someone who only watches action films, or only reads detective stories, or only eats vegetables?
I don't get it, he's just a bloke who happens to be an actor and a pretty good one.

I'm not trying to give you a hard time Michael, but Depp has always been a little quirky (it's the Cherokee and Irish blood mixed... believe me, I know ) ... years ago he was into self mutilation due to insecurity so that may have something to do with him not watching himself on screen... and he has probably watched a lot of films but didn't want to name them because of the way the media has a habit of twisting things around... not to mention David Letterman, can, himself, at times...

I don't know the guy obviously, but I guess he's a private person who likes to keep himself to himself. You only really see him when he's promoting a film which of course they have to do under their contracts. The rest of the time he's in France where their privacy law forbids the press discussion of private lives, even the private lives of public people.

Letterman is past his prime, true, but, when you're getting nothing from a interviewee, you tend to have nothing. I don't care whether he watches his own films, I never criticized him for that...read more carefully, next time. My criticism is towards his lack of knowledge for those whom he works with, or will be working with. Your quite right though, he can watch porn all day, for all I care. He just reminds me of an actor who leaves Hollywood because he hates them Hollywood types, but really, he's just as full of himself as they are.

I dunno about stuck up, but I do think he's kinda vapid. Part of me wonders if you have to be kind of empty to fill yourself with such a wide variety of characters so naturally, to be honest.

Anyway, he's always struck me as odd, and possibly a little messed up (more than usual for the profession, I mean). But I wouldn't get more specific than that.

This is one silly thread. A lot of actors don't come across well on talk shows including Robert de Niro. Why are you picking on him?

I've seen Depp on a lot of talk shows over the years. I don't believe he is a snob. But,
he seems to be someone who has made a choice on how he wants to live his life. He
loves the art of acting. But, as he said and paraphrasing it, once he has finished making
the movie, what he loves is over.

Some actors don't like to watch themselves because they would pick apart every move
and expression they made and it would make them self conscience and that would hinder
them when they acted again. I can understand that. He values his private life and is trying
to raise his children and have a relationship with his S/O without the prying eyes of his fans
and the press. I think that it is really commendable that he shies away from constant fame.
He does not make that many TV appearances so he probably does not feel as confident as
other actors who do make a lot of appearances.

He is an artist who simply wants to work and do the best he can at his craft and yet, have a
decent life with some peace.

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i think cool and i agree abit odd.

I'm going to let rip! So, anyone who is thin skinned and children should leave the room.

Firstly, will.15, if you believe it's such a silly thread, why comment? No one is forcing you to add your 2 cents worth, if anything, most of your remarks are...our shall I say? Bias, to put it mildly.

It's quite commendable how Mr. Depp raises his children away from the prying eyes of the paparazzi, it must be a constant nuisance having people so infatuated with your life, they'll write threads about such things.

When Depp spoke about Elizabeth Taylor being a real "broad", I was shocked. Yeah, sure, she maybe able to kick it with a few guys in a social situation, but, to suggest, she's down to earth. I maybe mistaken, but she's had 8 marriages, countless affairs, rings worth hundreds and thousands of dollars. All the luck to her, though "down to earth"....please! This just proves how out of touch Depp is, and he is not alone in Hollywood, France, England, Bahamas...wherever that Island was. I don't begrudge a Man making a dollar by all means, but, he kids himself thinking that only actors of yesteryear offered any real substance, because that's what he's saying, when he doesn't watch modern movies.

Attack me all you like, for we had a Movie critic here in Oz - Bill Collins! Fuddy duddy old prick, only liked the "classics". They meant something back then, today is all about fluff, which half of it is, but some Movies of today, wipe the floor with the old classics. I've watched Movies from the 40's and 50's, can see the appeal, though most wouldn't come close to be called cinematic gold...more like, cinematic tin.

First of all, I think we know so little, and can only know superficial things, about just about all famous actors. I don't know Elizabeth Taylor, you don't know Elizabeth Taylor. She does seem not-so down to earth from my perspective, but I don't see her on a day to day basis. She has given to charities and helped the less fortunate, and she has many friends in Hollywood who consider her a dear person, so it's really unfair for us to judge her based on something like the jewelry she wears.

The husband thing is another issue, but Hollywood is notorious for quickie weddings and divorces-it's just part of the culture surrounding them. Still, it is precisely this notion that marriage is not all that important in Hollywood that would lead me to believe she's slightly out of touch with the average American. As for Johnny Depp saying she's down to earth, that's his opinion of her. Saying she is despite most people thinking she is not doesn't by default make him not down to earth. Famous actors always have something kind to say about other famous people they've met or worked closely with.

Regarding his personal life, I say let him live wherever the hell he wants to. His long-time girlfriend, whom I believe he has multiple children with, is from another country. It makes sense that a private person would choose to live with her abroad instead of here under the intense scrutiny of the American media. And his political opinions are his own; I don't think they really make him seem "up himself".

I don't have too strong an opinion on Johnny Depp as a person one way or the other, but I will say that I'm not the biggest fan of his movies. And I would say that most of our opinions on actors or musicians are derived from their body of work. I really like films in which he plays a person who seems real, or at least could be real. By this I mean someone like John Dillinger in Public Enemies, Donnie Brasco, or Gilbert Grape, or George Jung from Blow, or J.M. Barrie in Finding Neverland. In my opinion, these are all more or less one-note performances, but he hits that note with exceptional ability and holds it throughout the entire film, and that's pretty impressive. I also think he has a real comedic inventiveness, which he showed in his creation of Jack Sparrow, or as Don Juan in Don Juan DeMarco, or as Ed in Ed Wood. I think it is in these performances that he shines his brightest.

But I don't like the performances for which he gets most of his attention, the 'quirky' ones like Willy Wonka, or Duke from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, the Mad Hatter, the list is pretty much endless... name his collaborations with Tim Burton. His quirky performance in Edward Scissorhands was great, though.

And can't he be a cool guy and up himself? My best friend is literally the coolest person anyone has ever met. Every time we go out, that's all I hear. And he is cool; that's why we're best friends. He also just makes me look awesome for hanging around him, so he's a great wingman. But when we're at a bar or club, he is so far up his own ass that it's amazing girls find him appealing at all. In fact, I would argue that the people commonly referred to as the 'coolest' guys are the ones who are most self-involved. Hollywood is a machine in which it is almost impossible to reach Depp's level of success without having a pretty great opinion of oneself.

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