Every actor wants to end up in a position where the decisions over which roles they play are driven entirely by their interests. It’s a place that only a select few are ever lucky enough to reach, and it could be a long time before Johnny Depp finds himself there again, if it happens at all.
The fallen star’s forcible separation from Hollywood was said to be a mutual call, but it hasn’t come across that way. After being dropped from multiple high-profile parts and exiled from mainstream American cinema following his high-profile legal battles, Depp insisted that even if Hollywood wanted nothing to do with him, he didn’t want anything to do with Hollywood.
However, his words rang hollow when he came running back at the very first opportunity, signing up for a studio-backed thriller to make a mockery of his stance that he didn’t need Tinseltown anymore. It’s been a drastic fall from grace for a multi-time Academy Award nominee who, less than a decade ago, was the highest-paid name in the business bar none.
These days, the lure of a hefty paycheque might be enough to get Depp’s signature on a contract, and he’s a long way away from deliberating whether or not he wants to embody a part regardless of the riches on offer. Back in the halcyon days when he was sitting pretty at the top of the A-list, the star managed to get everything he wanted and more before a sentence had even been finished.
The chance to play a role he’d always admired from afar, the opportunity to reunite with his most famous frequent collaborator, and a $15million pay packet were all there for the taking. Before Tim Burton could get the words out of his mouth, Depp was already all-in to succeed Gene Wilder as the new Willy Wonka.
“We were having dinner, and Tim said, ‘I want to talk to you about something,’” he told Emmanuel Levy. “‘You know that story, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Well, I’m going to do it, and I’m wondering if you’d want to play…’ And I couldn’t even wait for him to finish the sentence. I said, ‘I’m in. Absolutely. No question about it.’”
“To be chosen to play Willy Wonka in itself is a great honour, but to be chosen by Tim Burton is double, triple the honour,” Depp continued. “His vision is always amazing, beyond anything you expect. Just the fact that he was involved meant I didn’t need to see a script before committing. If Tim wants to shoot 18 million feet of film of me staring into a light bulb and I couldn’t blink for three months, I’ll do it.”
