21 Jump Street Page - Johnny Depp - Article 5 - Depp into the Heart of Johnny

In a George magazine cover story, Saturday Night Live comedian Bill Murray advised Johnny Depp: "Be careful or you'll finf yourself 10 years from now doing him. Make sure your next role is some drastically different guy".

That was in the mid-`90s, when Johnny Depp played the infamous Colorado rancher Hunter S. Thompson in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Murray had earlier played Thompson in where the Buffalo Roam in 1980.

Depp took Murray's advice to heart. Consider his more recent films: Sleepy Hollow, Astronaut's Wife, and the Ninth Gate (Leave the unknown alone.

Directed by Roman Polanski and shot in New York, Toledo, Portugal, and Paris, The Ninth Gate stars Johnny Depp (Dean Corso) as a highly skilled book expert - locating rare books for waelthy collectors - a position that requires dexterity, expertise, nerves of steel - and a few scruples.

"Reading, you imagine the character that re in the book. I realized right away this character was very close to what Johnny Depp looks like: his smile, charm, and wickedness combined."

Depp's empahatic nuanced performances in such films as Ed Wood, Donnie Brasco, and Edward Scissorhands have earned him recognition as Hollywood's finest young actors. Says the actor about his role in Ninth Gate, "I think Corso is very passionate about books, but he's also a hard nosed businessmanand a great cynic. I think he's probably a failed writer, so he has great hatred for what he loves in a way."

Polanski applauds enthusiatically Depp's understated portrayal of Corso, from indifferent cynic to passionate seeker. "The way he played it gave an unexpected color to the character. I imagined Corso a bit differently but Johnny always sounds right when he says a line. He never sounds phony, there's never a wrong tone in his delivery.

He was also impressed with the intuitive understanding Depp brought to his work. "With some actors you have to be very specific and explain every detail to get the performance out of them. With Johnny, there's no need for this. His approach is instictual.

Depp earned a Golden Globe nomination for best actor in Edward Scissorhands. He wa honored with a second Golden Globe nomination for the offbeat Benny and Joon. His performance in Ed Wood as the endearingly loopy, thoroughly untalented B-movie director earned him a third Golden Globe nomination and an actor of the year award from the London Critics Circle.