Depp’s acting career has seen him star in some of the most iconic films with an impressive talent to go from heart throb roles such as ‘Cry Baby’ in 1990 to the surreal in his collaborations with Director, Tim Burton in ‘Edward Sissorhands’, ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ and ‘Alice in Wonderland’ to name but a few. The actor has shown an ability to cross film genres from horror to romance and everything in between. So what happened? 

Depp has gone from being one of the highest paid actors to being described the ‘most overpaid actor’ for two years running (2015 & 2016) in Forbes magazines list based on profits returned for films the actor has starred in. 

January 2011 – The Tourist 

Critics wrote in the Hollywood Reporter that Depp was, “Looking puffy and unassertive, Depp has registered less effectively in his entire film career”. The film became the butt of jokes with Ricky Gervais quipping, “everything this year was three dimensional. Except the characters in The Tourist”. The film still managed to turn a profit with a budget of $100m and grossing $278m 

May 2012 – Dark Shadows 

This film failed to win over the critics with ‘Variety’ writing that it was, “neither funny, nor eerie enough to seduce the uninitiated”. The budget for this film was $150m and grossed just $245m

July 2013 – Lone Ranger Rolling 

Stone critic, Peter Travers wrote, “Your expectations of how bad The Lone Ranger is can’t trump the reality.” Budget $215m – Gross $260m April 2014 – Transcendence “Ordinarily a gifted actor who fully invests himself in diverse roles, Depp is uncharacteristically listless”, wrote USA Today. Budget $100.8m Gross $103m 

January 2015 – Mortdecai 

The Telegraph’s Robbie Collin wrote that Mortdecai was “psychotically unfunny”. Budget $60m Gross $47m 

December 2015 – Black Mass 

Film critic Mark Kermode wrote, “Not quite the Godfather of comebacks” Budget $53m Gross $99.8m May 2016 – Alice Through the Looking Glass Screen Daily writes, “This fantastical film never takes flight” Budget $170,000 Gross $276,928 

 Whilst it’s unthinkable to deny the world some of Depp’s more iconic films, could it be true that Johnny Depp has given as much as he can to the film industry? Stories repeatedly printed in the media described Johnny Depp’s erratic behaviour on set. 

Production chief Scott Bailey is quoted admitting, “there were certainly days when our plans were challenged” while Bruckheimer defended the stars behaviour stating, “You’ve got to understand the pressure Johnny was under”. 

Johnny Depp’s artistic temperament was definitely tested when he was unhappy with the script of Pirates 5. In 2015 Depp wrote in text to his agent regarding the franchise, “Honestly, I will not again be doing anything that involves the discussion of furthering my embarrassment of having whored for all these f***ing wasted pieces of s**t. Nothing.” 

So moving on to Depp’s music career…. Although we were all watching the Depp v Heard trial and hearing how Heard had damaged his career, something else was going on behind the scenes. Depp blew off the verdict to go to England where he popped up on stage with musician Jeff Beck in Sheffield. The pair went on to tour together in other sold out U.K. locations and went on to announce that they would be dropping an album a month later. Of course we’re not a bunch of idiots, this takes months of planning, time in recording studios, negotiating deals, rehearsals, organising venues, security, schedules etc. It seems like Depp had already found his sweet spot in the world of music. In this world he doesn’t have to rely on script writers, producers or directors. A musician has a certain freedom to indulge themselves in their craft and project whatever message they want the audience.