Johnny Depp: ‘Didn’t you know that all my characters are gay?’
The star asked the question when challenged by film executives over his acting methods.
Johnny Depp has a history of playing eccentric characters on the big screen – from the eerily vulnerable Edward Scissorhands, to his weird and wacky version of the legendary Willy Wonka.
However, it was his portrayal of the camp and colourful Captain Jack Sparrow – star of the ‘Pirates of The Caribbean’ franchise – that caused the actor to ask studio bosses: “Didn’t you know that all my characters are gay?”
The actor recalled the incident whilst discussing his recent role in crime thriller ‘Black Mass’.
Depp thought he was going to be fired from the set of the Disney movie for his wacky portrayal of the pirate – because studio bosses thought he was “going over the top.”
“It trickled back to me that [former Disney CEO] Michael Eisner went on some sort of bent about how ‘Goddammit, Johnny Depp’s ruining the film! What is that thing? It is drunk, is it gay?’” he said – before recalling a meeting with “the upper echelon”.
“What the f**k are you doing?” he was asked. “When they asked if it was gay, I said: ‘Didn’t you know all my characters are gay?’
“I really expected to be fired, but I wasn’t for some reason,” he revealed.
“They were actually gonna put subtitles under my character, they couldn’t understand Captain Jack.”
The star recently admitted he is “quite concerned” about daughter Lily-Rose’s increasing public profile since she opened up about her sexuality.
“To be honest, I’m quite worried,” he said.
“I wasn’t expecting all this to happen to Lily-Rose, especially not at this age.”
Lily-Rose made a subtle statement about her sexuality back in August – by taking part in a quirky new campaign aimed at promoting society’s inclusiveness and acceptance of LGBT people in America.
It is still unclear where on the spectrum Depp falls, but fellow activists have welcomed her decision to use her personal experience to help others deal with their sexuality.
Earlier this year, the actor’s partner Amber Heard said she has had to “fight” for movie roles since she came out as bisexual.
