Johnny Depp’s “ The Lone Ranger” is one of the biggest box office bombs of the summer, and it’s earned the actor yet more negative reviews of his work.
His roles in “ Dark Shadows” and the more recent “ Pirates” films were not well received either.
Critics are starting to ask what’s happening with the once highly respected actor.
You almost have to tell younger generations, ‘there once was a time when Johnny Depp was actually quite a good actor.’–Renee Graham
Here & Now pop culture critic Renee Graham is a fan of much of Depp’s early screen work, including “ Edward Scissorhands,” “ Ed Wood” and “ What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.”
“He doesn’t say a lot, but he plays so much with his eyes,” Graham said of Depp’s role as Gilbert Grape. “There’s no make-up, there’s no weird accent, he doesn’t have particularly strange hair, it’s just Johnny Depp kind of naked and acting. And it’s a really beautiful performance, even though it’s a very calm, soft-spoken role.”
Graham believes what really derailed Depp’s acting career — paradoxically — was his success playing Jack Sparrow in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films.
Since then, in films such as “ Alice in Wonderland” and “ Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” everything Depp does seems to be a variation on Captain Jack Sparrow.
“So what you end up with are wacky accents, strange make-up and really sarcastic hair,” Graham said. “You almost have to tell younger generations, ‘there once was a time when Johnny Depp was actually quite a good actor,’ because you would never know it to look at what he does now.”
Graham’s suggestion for Johnny Depp’s career? She says he should take a page from actors such as Kevin Spacey and Michael Douglas, who reinvented themselves with Netflix and cable television roles — “ House of Cards” for Spacey and “ Behind the Candelabra” for Douglas.
She says that kind of work could also reinvent Depp’s acting credibility, if he’s willing to try it.
Guest
- Renee Graham, pop culture critic for Here & Now. She tweets @reneeygraham.
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