Published: Friday, July 3, 2009
Depp shows he can shoot 'em up, too
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Associated press/Universal Pictures, Peter Mountai
Johnny Depp (left) is John Dillinger and Marion Cotillard is Billie Frechette in "Public Enemies," showing at Alderwood, Everett, Galaxy Monroe, Marysville, Metro, Pacific Place, Uptown, Woodinville and Cascade Mall theaters.
HOLLYWOOD -- Actor Johnny Depp has fond memories of his first machine gun.
He was a kid growing up in Owensboro, Ky., and about age 5 or 6, began shooting .22s, then moved to .38s, .44s and .45s. Then he got his hands on a relative's Thompson submachine gun.
"I butted it up against the tree 'cause it tends to ride up on you," said Depp, 46, who relives the moment, complete with shooting sounds. "My pop came in and grabbed it, so it didn't go anywhere."
Guns are a topic of conversation for Depp, given that the superstar is talking about his new film, "Public Enemies" (which opened Wednesday), the Michael Mann gangster epic in which he plays infamous 1930s bank robber John H. Dillinger.
But firearms crop up in other ways too, like the first time Depp met his longtime friend, the late Hunter Thompson. Depp -- who played the author in the 1998 film version of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and recently finished work on an adaptation of "The Rum Diary" -- went to Thompson's house in Colorado, where he complimented the writer on a 12-gauge shotgun hanging on the wall.
"He said, 'Oh, yeah, wanna fire it?'" Depp said.
Thompson told him to hold a couple of small propane tanks.
"I got a cigarette hanging in my mouth and he starts handing me these little matchbox-shaped square bits and told me to tape them to the sides of the tanks. I said, 'What is this we are taping to the side of this propane tank?' And he said, 'Nitroglycerin.'"
Depp opens his black eyes wide: "I chucked my cigarette in the sink!"
Depp is perhaps the most eccentric of all the major male movie stars. Ironically enough, he's practically the only actor who didn't ascend to superstardom with shoot-'em-up roles.
Depp hasn't played many ordinary citizens. He seems to prefer portraying an eye-lined pirate ("The Pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy), the creepy candy impresario ("Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"), the dreamy creator of Peter Pan ("Finding Neverland"), and the Mad Hatter from the upcoming Tim Burton version of "Alice in Wonderland."
The vivid looks of his characters sprout from Depp's own imagination.
"You get these strong images in your head and you can't shake them," he said.
Disney recently released early images from "Alice in Wonderland," and Depp's Hatter, of course, looks more than a little mad (some believe that hatters frequently suffered from mercury poisoning, as mercury was once used to cure felt).
Dillinger fits perfectly into Depp's personal canon of larger-than-life rebels and outsiders. The outlaw also holds sentimental appeal for the star, whose Kentucky hometown is but three hours from the gangster's birthplace in Mooresville, Ind.
Depp said he felt a connection to Dillinger in old films Depp watched for hours on his family's black-and-white TV.
"I guess the era got me, the '30s, '40s and even the '20s. I was fascinated with the old Bogey movies, with Cagney movies, or even Fred Astaire."
He was a kid growing up in Owensboro, Ky., and about age 5 or 6, began shooting .22s, then moved to .38s, .44s and .45s. Then he got his hands on a relative's Thompson submachine gun.
"I butted it up against the tree 'cause it tends to ride up on you," said Depp, 46, who relives the moment, complete with shooting sounds. "My pop came in and grabbed it, so it didn't go anywhere."
Guns are a topic of conversation for Depp, given that the superstar is talking about his new film, "Public Enemies" (which opened Wednesday), the Michael Mann gangster epic in which he plays infamous 1930s bank robber John H. Dillinger.
But firearms crop up in other ways too, like the first time Depp met his longtime friend, the late Hunter Thompson. Depp -- who played the author in the 1998 film version of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and recently finished work on an adaptation of "The Rum Diary" -- went to Thompson's house in Colorado, where he complimented the writer on a 12-gauge shotgun hanging on the wall.
"He said, 'Oh, yeah, wanna fire it?'" Depp said.
Thompson told him to hold a couple of small propane tanks.
"I got a cigarette hanging in my mouth and he starts handing me these little matchbox-shaped square bits and told me to tape them to the sides of the tanks. I said, 'What is this we are taping to the side of this propane tank?' And he said, 'Nitroglycerin.'"
Depp opens his black eyes wide: "I chucked my cigarette in the sink!"
Depp is perhaps the most eccentric of all the major male movie stars. Ironically enough, he's practically the only actor who didn't ascend to superstardom with shoot-'em-up roles.
Depp hasn't played many ordinary citizens. He seems to prefer portraying an eye-lined pirate ("The Pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy), the creepy candy impresario ("Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"), the dreamy creator of Peter Pan ("Finding Neverland"), and the Mad Hatter from the upcoming Tim Burton version of "Alice in Wonderland."
The vivid looks of his characters sprout from Depp's own imagination.
"You get these strong images in your head and you can't shake them," he said.
Disney recently released early images from "Alice in Wonderland," and Depp's Hatter, of course, looks more than a little mad (some believe that hatters frequently suffered from mercury poisoning, as mercury was once used to cure felt).
Dillinger fits perfectly into Depp's personal canon of larger-than-life rebels and outsiders. The outlaw also holds sentimental appeal for the star, whose Kentucky hometown is but three hours from the gangster's birthplace in Mooresville, Ind.
Depp said he felt a connection to Dillinger in old films Depp watched for hours on his family's black-and-white TV.
"I guess the era got me, the '30s, '40s and even the '20s. I was fascinated with the old Bogey movies, with Cagney movies, or even Fred Astaire."
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