Johnny Depp Talks About Wes Craven Giving Him His Start as an Actor
Johnny Depp has had a hell of an acting career, and it all started with a small role in Wes Craven's A Nightmare on Elm Street that turned out to literally be one of the most bloody deaths ever put on film. During a Q&A session promoting his film Black Mass earlier this week, the actor was asked about the late director casting him in the 1984 horror film. Depp paid tribute to Craven and talked out how he gave him his start in movies:
“Wes Craven was the guy who gave me my start, from my perspective, for almost no reason in particular. I read scenes with his daughter when I auditioned for the part. At the time, I was a musician. I wasn’t really acting. It was not anything very near to my brain or my heart, which is pretty much how it remains to this day.
“But Wes Craven was brave enough to give me the gig based on his daughter’s opinion. I guess she had read with a bunch of actors, and after the casting sessions, she said, ‘No, that’s the guy.’ I always think of her for putting me in this mess, and certainly Wes Craven for being very brave to give me this gig. But he was a good man — so rest in peace, old Wes.”
It's pretty crazy how that all worked out for Depp and how a little role like this launched his career that eventually rocketed into the stratosphere. Especially when it wasn't really something that he was looking at doing. The guy wasn't an aspiring actor, he just was at the right place at the right time, with the right people. Everyone's got to start somewhere.
Via: Variety
