Johnny
being Johnny, he might have popped up the third week in August in
some wry little character piece almost no one saw. And his
performance would have been the best thing in it, a suitably obscure
talking point for James Lipton. But this year, Johnny tried something
different: He applied his outrageous gifts to Pirates of the
Caribbean, a movie for the masses—winning over
even the theme-park
set with his cheeky swashbuckler, Jack Sparrow. That was the
beginning of the summer. At the end, playing a weirdly hell-bent CIA
agent, Depp stole Once
Upon A Time in Mexico from Antonio Banderas,
thus bookending the sweaty months with two of the season’s
most
entertaining movies.
And he did all this while turning 40. It’s a lesson to Hollywood’s febrile comers, all of whom call Depp their hero: Work hard, learn well. And make peace with the fact that you’ll never be as cool as Johnny Depp. ~ L.K.
Johnny
Depp (SWASHBUCKLER)
Le
Raincy, France
05-13-03
(suit by Dolce & Gabbana)