It is always interesting to take a look into the lives of celebrities, but what is even more interesting, however, is to look at what they were up to before the fame hit.
Johnny Depp is a highly successful actor, most notably in the Disney community for his work as Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, but, Depp was not always an A-list actor.
Credit: Disney
Johnny Depp spoke with Iggy Pop for Interview Magazine to discuss his earlier career options, and one that he deemed as just “awful”. It seems that Johnny Depp’s first hurrah into the world of work was as a pen salesman, and somehow, Depp found a way to turn that into acting just as well.
“I marketed pens—on the phone. But the beauty of the gig was that you had to call these strangers and say, “Hi, how ya doing?” You made up a name, like, “Hey, it’s Edward Quartermaine from California. You’re eligible to receive this grandfather clock or a trip to Tahiti.” You promise them all these things if they buy a gross of pens. It was just awful. But I actually think that was the first experience I had with acting.”
Credit: D23
Clearly, Depp was not in moral agreement with the business practices that this pen company had in terms of promoting what was likely to end up as a false promise, but the acting aspect of it all is quite interesting. Depp was able to create a world of fun and imagination through his pen-selling personas, just as he would in the future with characters such as Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean, or the Mad Hatter from Disney’s live-action Alice in Wonderland.
Depp’s talent comes from his ability to create unique takes on characters, just as he did when selling pens — so much so that he even had Michael Eisner shaking in his boots after seeing Depp’s rendition of Jack Sparrow. However, due to the consistent success of his characters within films, it seems that Depp usually knows best when it comes to taking a risk and having a heavy payoff.
What is going on with Johnny Depp now?
Johnny Depp is currently in a rough patch with his career as Depp is in a current legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard (Aquaman) for which she has accused him of domestic abuse. Although the $150 million high court legal battle is still underway, Depp also went to court with the U.K. tabloid newspaper, The Sun, who accused him of being a “wife-beater”. Johnny Depp has since lost that libel battle with the U.K. high court and in turn, his career.
That being said, Amber Heard has now subpoenaed Disney to get all information regarding Johnny Depp’s behavior when filming Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, as well as other correspondences the company had with him. All of this negative light has reportedly caused Depp to turn to smaller production houses in search of work.
If Johnny Depp was able to make a pen selling job turn into a creative acting class, I, personally believe that he will be able to rise from this career slump in the future as well.
What is your favorite Johnny Depp role? Do you think that his pen-selling job would have been as “awful” as Depp described? Let us know your thoughts!