 Johnny Depp Talks about Secret Window |
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 Johnny Depp talks about Secret Window, and how his family and new life in France have given him the peace of mind he longed for....After overdosing on the LA lifestyle, Johnny Depp has finally found happiness with French singer/actress Vanessa Paradis and their two children in France.
Depp's new film, Secret Window, has him playing a writer working from a remote mountain retreat whose life is suddenly threatened by the presence of a mysterious stalker (John Turturro), who claims that Depp's character has plagiarised his work and must now face 'justice'.
Was your Oscar nomination for Pirates Of The Caribbean a form of career validation for you?
It was a shock! My performance was pretty out there, and while we were filming Pirates Of The Caribbean there were a lot of people who worried that I was pushing the envelope a bit far (laughs)! But it worked out in the end and everybody came away from the film feeling pretty good about the result and obviously it reached a huge audience. So overall I'm really happy about the whole experience.
Is it odd how Pirates has thrust you back into the Hollywood mainstream after many years when your films - with the exception of Sleepy Hollow - often didn't find a large audience?
It's surprising considering how I've spent a lot of time fighting against the mainstream and playing a lot of characters and doing a lot of films that were pretty unconventional. I always fought the whole movie-star trip because I didn't see anything creatively interesting in playing up to a certain fixed image.
You hated the pretty-boy image that was foisted on you after 21 Jump Street...
Oh, in the worst way. When I started doing movies I didn't want to be a poster boy and get turned into something saccharine and obnoxiously cute and processed. I really hated the idea of becoming a celebrity commodity where nothing has any value - it's all about appearances and image just for the sake of making money. I remember getting scripts - action things, romantic leads, which had the life sucked out of it. But I can still remember reading the script for Edward Scissorhands and I immediately identified with this guy who is totally out of place in the world.
Your new film, Secret Window, has you playing a writer living in an isolated setting with a strange man (John Turturro) stalking you...
It's almost like having my own worst private nightmares come true (laughs). I'm paranoid about being watched, and so playing someone who's basically being stalked was a very weird experience.
The producers must be quite happy that suddenly the star of their film has got a huge amount of visibility from Pirates and the Oscar nomination.
Yeah, it's kind of a nice bonus and I think the film (Secret Window) deserves to find an audience. But the truth is that I've never purposely tried to make unsuccessful movies. I simply wanted to make interesting films, which often means that you're not going to be playing action heroes or romantic leads, because often the substance to those kinds of characters is very thin. And as an actor, I like having something to think about when I'm working and I truly enjoy the process of creating a character.
Does your current box-office standing mean that you're tempted to take advantage of your success and make some big movies now which you might have turned down before?
No. I pretty much spent most of my career doing everything I could not to become a star and play romantic leads. I've been running away from my celebrity for so long now that I don't think I'm suddenly going to go down that road even if a lot of money is getting thrown my way. I'd still rather play interesting characters than go down the movie-star route.
The only thing I really care about is what a wonderful life I have with Vanessa and our children - my work only interests me to the point where I can be creative in some way. You won't see me flying my own private jet to Aspen or skiing in Switzerland with the aristocracy (laughs).
Related Links: Detailed information on Secret Window
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