Johnny Depp could only sigh with relief. Finally, he wasn't theguy in trouble. Depp, known for beating up couches in hotel rooms,was a little nervous. The Godfather has that effect on a person.
Depp was in the middle of a scene when the big guy finally madehis entrance. By all accounts, Brando arrived loudly. A doorslammed. Papers rustled. Chairs started scraping across the floorso people could get a better view. And Depp said, "Shhhh."
He shushed Brando. No, he didn't find a horse's head in histrailer the next day. "I didn't realize it was Marlon who hadarrived," Depp says. Maybe Brando admired his nerve. Maybe hethought Depp was joking. Maybe he thought Depp was nuts.
"Kid," Brando told Depp, walking to the front of the rehearsal,"I see that the party has begun, and you didn't wait for me." Therewas a deadly pause. And Brando finally smiled. He was never lateagain.
The Johnny and Marlon Show in "Don Juan DeMarco" (continuing atChicago area theaters) goes something like this: Depp is a guy fromQueens, N.Y., who claims to have had more than 1,000 lovers, althoughhis therapist, played by Brando, is sure the kid has lost hismarbles. During "intoxicating" therapy sessions that follow, Brandofinds his own love life with Faye Dunaway improving.
It's a buddy movie, although Brando andDepp aren't exactlyRedford and Newman. Strange, but true: The two have a lot in common."There are a lot of myths about Brando. Everyone thinks they knowhim, and they don't," Depp says. "Sometimes it's the same thing forme."
So, during the filming of "Don Juan," Depp sat down on a rareday off in a New York hotel suite to set some records straight. Myth: Depp "hired Brando
It's true. "I went to the studio and said, `We have to haveMarlon Brando play the therapist.' There was this long pause.Everyone thought I was crazy." That is, everyone except Brando, whomDepp had never met before. "It wasn't like Marlon was hanging aroundthe `Edward Scissorhands' set," Depp jokes. So calls were made.Brando was wooed. Depp wrote him, phoned him, pestered him. Aftersuccessfully nabbing Brando, the younger actor suggests, "I might gointo casting now." Myth: Depp is Brando's publicist
That's not official, and Depp doesn't get paid. It's just thathe can't say enough about Brando. "He's a real person, a real guy, avery funny guy," Depp says. Funny in what way? Depp, eversecretive, stops himself. "We played practical jokes on eachother." Such as? Depp looks horrified. "Oh, I can't . . . I justcan't say." Come on. "We were on this scaffold thing together."Depp refuses to say more.
He does get ticked when asked about Marlon'sphysical condition."He has no problem. He can go up and down stairs and everything." Myth: Depp identifies with weir characters
"Don Juan" is not Depp's first role as a wacko. There also were"Ed Wood," "Benny & Joon," "Edward Scissorhands" and "What's EatingGilbert Grape," to name but a few. "I think Ed Wood was saner thanmost people I know," Depp says. "As for the other characters,there's something about all of them that I liked. They aren'tboring." Myth: Depp is strange himself
He agrees. Consider that John Waters cast him in "Cry-Baby"because they both owned John Wayne Gacy paintings. And for "DonJuan," Depp perfected his Spanish accent by watching "Fantasy Island"for "that Ricardo Montalban effect." Myth: Depp grew up normal
Sort of. "I wasn't a popular kid. In high school, they calledme Johnny Dipp," Depp recalls. "I was kind of like my character in`What's Eating Gilbert Grape.' I lived in a small town, Miramar,Fla. All we had was a school, a drugstore and a pizza joint. I wasfrustrated and wanted to get out of there so bad. Everybody kneweverybody. It was suffocating." Myth: Depp is tormented
Yes and no. It's been almost a year and a half since the deathof River Phoenix at Depp's L.A. nightclub, the Viper Room. "Thething is . . . it's still odd for me to be connected with whathappened to River. My only connection is that I was there at thetime. I still have feelings about it. It was unbelievably tragicthat we lost such a young and talented man." Myth: Acting bores Depp
Absolutely . . . sometimes. "I would hate to say that I'm anactor and that's all I'll ever be. I'm actually harboring a secretdesire to be a reverend. I also want to be a spy. And maybe abassoon player, too," he says. Myth: Depp still carries Winona Ryder in his heart
Actually he carries his ex-fiancee on his arm. What will he dowith the large WINONA FOREVER tattoo on his right forearm? "I don'tknow," Depp says, mulling it over. "Maybe I should put herboyfriend's name on top of it. You have to look for the humor inthese things, you know. Someone told me I should have part of itbleached out and some letters added so it reads, `Win Navy Forever.'" Myth: Depp resents hotel rooms
Last year he was arrested for beating up a room at New York'sMark Hotel to the tune of $9,700 in damages. Reportedly this hadsomething to do with a spat with his girlfriend, waif model KateMoss.
These days, sitting in another hotel, Depp spares the end tablesfrom his evil eye. The couch doesn't appear afraid. "It's strange,but in the '60s, the Who were applauded for doing stuff like that.People thought it was cool." A pause. "I mean, really. My gettingarrested made national news. Was this really more important thanBosnia?" And now, when he goes to check into a hotel, "I get somestrange looks," he says.
Maybe Brando would understand.
Cindy Pearlman, a locally based free-lance writer, alsocontributes to Premiere and Entertainment Weekly magazines.
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