Johnny Depp became an actor by accident while chasing a record deal
Johnny Depp dropped out of school at 16 to be a rock guitarist, and his principal told him to follow that dream. A few years later, broke in Los Angeles, a drinking buddy named Nicolas Cage suggested acting instead. With no experience, Depp landed a role in A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Depp was born in Owensboro, Kentucky, on 9 June 1963, last-born of the four children of a waitress and a civil engineer. The family moved often before settling in Miramar, Florida, in 1970. His mother gave him a guitar at 12. He left Miramar High School in 1979, tried to return two weeks later, and was advised by the principal to stick with music. His band, the Kids, moved to Los Angeles chasing a contract, and he paid bills with odd jobs including telemarketing.
The band broke up in 1984 without a deal. Cage got him an audition with Wes Craven, and Craven's daughter noticed him, so he was cast as the boyfriend of the heroine in the 1984 horror film. He said he had no great desire to act but kept taking parts to cover costs, including a small role as a Vietnamese-speaking private in Oliver Stone's Platoon. The Fox series 21 Jump Street made him a teen idol from 1987, an experience that left him disillusioned.
Afterward he chose parts that interested him over parts likely to sell tickets. For Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands in 1990 he studied Charlie Chaplin films to learn how to win sympathy without words, and the film earned $53 million at home. Critics compared his work in Benny and Joon to Buster Keaton's, and he said Ed Wood, with Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi, revived his love of acting even though the film lost money. He went on to make eight films with Burton.
Worldwide fame came with Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean from 2003, one of three roles that earned Best Actor nominations, alongside J. M. Barrie in Finding Neverland and Sweeney Todd. His films have grossed more than $10.8 billion. He still plays music, forming the rock group Hollywood Vampires with Alice Cooper and Joe Perry.
Source: Johnny Depp
