Reflecting upon the career of Johnny Depp it is forgivable to peer back over the actor’s filmography absent-mindedly overlooking the roles which rocketed him towards the status he holds within Hollywood today. Whilst you could count his starring roles in films directed by Tim Burton on both hands with relative ease, it could be argued that Depp’s career has been somewhat shackled by the weight of these performances.
If Edward Scissorhands is the film which unleashed Depp as the superstar he was to become, it is probable that Ed Wood is a respectable shout as the performance of his colourful career. This list ignores these roles however, casting Sleepy Hollow, Sweeney Todd et al. aside in favour of his other performances which deserve reflection – perfect time considering Depp returns to the big screen in Wally Pfister’s directorial debut Transcendence, which is out in cinemas right now.
Benny & Joon (1993)
With early appearances in horror classic A Nightmare in Elm Street and Vietnam drama Platoon under his belt, Johnny Depp carved a presence for himself on the screen – big and small – largely thanks to high school drama 21 Jump Street (which ran for three years from ‘87, bringing him into the 90s he was so destined to shake) and a role as the eponymous character in Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands.
Yet it was in 1993 with the arrival of quirky rom-com Benny & Joon where Depp first showcased the several strings to his proverbial bow. Following the two eccentric leads, the film remains in audience’s hearts thanks to the physical comedy routines Depp partakes in throughout, harking rather obviously to silent film performers Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. Depp won a Golden Globe for his role of Sam, who falls in love with Mary Stuart Masterson’s schizophrenic Joon.
