Johnny Depp is a talented actor who can play any role. He stands out for his ability to play freaks, especially when paired with director Tim Burton. And yet, Depp is strong not only with grimaces and abundant make-up on his face. Let’s try to compile a list of his best roles to highlight all the actor’s strengths. As always, we are evaluating the role, not the film. We note the complexity of the role for the actor, the dissimilarity of the image (the uniqueness of the performance), and the memorability of this role. He has starred in many good films. We at The Dope Lists have compiled the top of the best films with his participation, have a fun reading!
Alice in Wonderland (2010)
Let’s start right away with the freak image because he couldn’t be a weirder character than the Mad Hatter from Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. Yes, there is a ton of make-up, and there are also special effects. Otherwise, even Johnny Depp himself cannot make such eyes. And yet, you see, the image is entirely otherworldly. Perhaps the roles of such a plan are a pleasure for Depp. This is his profile in its purest form, his role. We believe that neither the director nor the producers doubted that Johnny would easily cope with this task. That’s why we have put it in our Johnny Depp movies and TV shows list.
Dead Man (1995)
The tapes of Jim Jarmusch themselves are so unconventional that you don’t even need to play a freak here. Depp’s hero comes to the very wild West to work as an accountant by agreement, but he gets swearing and a bullet instead of work. Now he has to wander in the form of a dead man in the mind of Jarmusch in the company of a strange-looking Indian, who mistook him for the English poet William Blake. Depp’s expression speaks better than a hundred thousand words. From fear and excitement to a pale mask of the inevitability of death. It’s one of the movies we can’t miss to put in our list of Johnny Depp films.
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Perhaps Depp’s first truly stellar role. Lovely pair art in collaboration with Tim Burton. The tale told by this director is usually quite scary. However, in the case of “Edward Scissorhands,” everything is much more positive than usual (even, one might say, touching). Edward suffers from a rare ailment – he has scissors instead of hands. Considering that he looks rather strange – a pale face and a peculiar hairstyle, reminiscent of Burton’s own hair – it becomes clear why Edward has few / no friends. A good and kind girl (Winona Ryder) pulls Edward out into the light of day and even comes up with the use of his miraculous hands (he begins to cut hedges and make people hairstyles). But things are not going as smoothly as we would like since scissor hands are still much less dexterous than ordinary human hands. Johnny perfectly played the unsociable weird kid out of nowhere. In total reincarnation, the image is inseparable from the actor.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
Unjustly sentenced and separated from his beloved, the hairdresser returns to his native London with plans for revenge. And his revenge will be terrible because there is a sharp straight razor in the hands of the hairdresser. The simple idea of the story – “Let the hairdresser be a maniac and cut his clients” – is delivered by Burton with all grace, albeit bloody. For Depp, such roles are his native element. Give a simple, vivid image and play with it in all plot situations. Johnny’s outstanding play in a seemingly straightforward and schematic role. The actor colored a potentially primitive picture. And if you consider that he also sang (after all, “Sweeney Todd” is a musical), then it becomes clear why the academy nominated him for an Oscar.
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)
This is not a funny movie at all. About the difficult life in a family in which one son is disabled (DiCaprio, still very young), the mother never leaves the house, and the rest are not positive from such a pastime. Depp perfectly played a young guy, handsome, attractive to women, but still didn’t really appreciate it; caring for his little brother; striving for something new and more significant, but has not yet even understood what it is. A very touching picture and a moving Depp in the role.
Cocaine (Blow) (2001)
“The life of a bandit is beautiful, but short” is a well-known proverb from the 90s. It is pretty applicable to Depp’s character from the movie “Cocaine.” The main character of the film took up the supply of cocaine. He succeeded in criminal activities a lot, there was nowhere to put money, but the police were not very happy with this turn of events. Johnny Depp perfectly showed the change in a person’s character under the gradually increasing weight of wealth and power. The line of relations with parents is especially subtle. It’s one of the special mentions in our list of Johnny movies. Many people just call it “the Johnny Depp dope movie”.
Pirates of the Caribbean (2003)
Films about Jack Sparrow… sorry, about Captain Jack Sparrow already do not count. A unique case where Johnny made the producers nervous. After reviewing the original material with the image of a playful pirate, they were shocked. “He is drunk? He is gay? What is this anyway?” – after all, no one knew how gigantic the box office would collect this, at first glance, remarkably unpretentious, as it seemed from the trailer, adventure comedy. And Depp will be nominated for an Oscar for the main male role (by the way, an incredible case for a comedic role). Now, this role seems familiar. Sometimes it even seems that “what’s wrong with that, he just grimaces, as always in his films.” However, coming up with such an image from scratch is not a trivial task for an actor. And only such a figure as Depp can cope with this so easily and effectively. You can’t make a Johnny Depp films list without the “Pirates”.
Donnie Brasco (1997)
When you get introduced to a gang, you are constantly stressed. And if you manage to cope with this state and stay in the gang for a long time, you may have purely human relations with the gang members. In short, it is not easy to work as an undercover agent. Even in an organization as powerful as the FBI. Another role of Depp, where he plays “an ordinary person” and not a freak, filled with grimaces. He copes with this with the same ease as with his shocking images of pirates and hatters. Johnny made a great duet with Al Pacino in this movie. It’s safe to say it’s one of the best Johnny Depp films!
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
Johnny Depp plays Hunter Thompson in the film based on the book by Hunter Thompson (formally, he plays a character named Raoul Duke, but the story is autobiographical, and the portrait likeness is maximized – by the way, Hunter Thompson himself took part in this when he shaved Johnny’s bald head). Johnny Depp was never afraid of experimenting with his appearance for the sake of the role (which is not typical for an actor). The labors were not in vain. The image of a journalist addict with very peculiar life principles and perception of morality is so vivid that the film instantly became a cult. Yes, probably, Hunter Thompson himself was not so expressive, but this is a movie. The crazy duet of Depp and Benicio del Toro is so impressive and amusing that the tape was simply disassembled into quotes. Separate applause for Terry Gilliam, who staged this funny madness and allowed the actors to express themselves to the fullest. It’s so good it’s probably one of the Top 5 Johnny Depp movies.
Ed Wood (1994)
Ed Wood is considered the worst director of all time. From just a bad director, he becomes almost a symbol of the struggle for the right to do what you like and what you believe. However, without such a reading, there would be no image. An attempt to understand the motives of the person who makes such low-standard films. The image is very suitable for Johnny Depp: it seems to be an ordinary living person, but with a huge number of skeletons in the closet, including transvestism. A little crazy, with a great desire to achieve his goal. A chic duet with Martin Landau playing Bela Lugosi at the end of his days. Landau won an Oscar for his role, and Johnny’s award is hopefully ahead.
It’s a wrap! We hope you enjoyed our list of Johnny Depp movies. Despite his legal troubles in recent years, he remains one of the most loved actors in Hollywood’s history. Do you agree with us? Leave a comment below the article!