JOHNNY DEPP—AMERICA’S MOST OVERRATED ACTOR
BY JON NELSON
IMDb refers to actor Johnny Depp as “perhaps one of the most versatile actors of his day and age in Hollywood.” Certainly, Depp has enough fans that would agree with this assessment. You are about to read a dissenting viewpoint.
Depp has indeed portrayed some interesting and diverse characters in his career. But what few have acknowledged is the superficial nature of his treatment of these characters. Depp is a singularly one-dimensional actor who seems intent on portraying each of his characters in the same way: aloof, humorless, and utterly without emotion. I would challenge any of his fans (or his IMDb biographer) to provide a single example in the corpus of his work in which a Depp character emerges from this stereotypical typeset. There is simply nothing engaging about the man’s performances—in any of his work.
For me, the crowning moment occurred during Public Enemies. As one who has studied John Dillinger in depth and read about every relevant book and article I could find I was, to say the least, skeptical whether Depp would be able to portray his character accurately. I was also already quite familiar with Depp’s work and so I hesitated to see the movie. But my fascination with Dillinger and the time he lived in ultimately prevailed and I vowed to give Depp one more chance to prove himself to me.
Suffice it to say that I found this to be a particularly atrocious portrayal of Dillinger. None of his humor was present at any point during the movie. Things that should have elicited emotional responses, such as when his girlfriend Billie Frechette was captured, failed to do so. Dillinger was extremely upset when this occurred, but one would never know it by watching Johnny Depp. I left the theatre vowing never again to see any movie in which Johnny Depp is acting.
It remains a mystery to me how anybody can possibly view Depp’s wooden endeavors as worthwhile. There are simply far too many superior actors out there to take him seriously.
Categories: Miscellanea