Depp, Johnny

Depp, Johnny (1963-…), is a popular American actor known for his offbeat portrayals of unusual characters. He often plays colorful real-life personalities as well as fictional characters. Depp is perhaps best known for his performance as the pirate Captain Jack Sparrow in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series of family films, which began in 2003.

John Christopher Depp II was born in Owensboro, Kentucky, on June 9, 1963, and raised in Florida. He dropped out of high school to pursue a career as a rock musician.

Depp made his first motion-picture appearance in the horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). He gained popularity in 1987 for his role as Tommy Hanson, an undercover police officer posing as a high school student, in the TV series “21 Jump Street.”

Depp has worked as an actor on several films with the American director Tim Burton, including Edward Scissorhands (1990), Ed Wood (1994), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Corpse Bride (both 2005), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), Alice in Wonderland (2010), and Dark Shadows (2012). Depp also acted in the Alice in Wonderland sequel Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016), which Burton produced.

Depp’s other films include Benny & Joon (1993), Dead Man (1995), Donnie Brasco (1997), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), Chocolat (2000), Blow (2001), Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003), Finding Neverland (2004), and Public Enemies (2009). His later movies include The Rum Diary (2011), The Lone Ranger (2013), Black Mass (2015), Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018), and Jeanne du Barry (2023), among others. Depp also provided the voice for the title character of a chameleon in the animated feature film Rango (2011).

In 2015, Depp formed the rock band Hollywood Vampires with the American musicians Alice Cooper and Joe Perry. The group has performed throughout the world.