In 2010, Johnny Depp starred in Tim Burton’s adaptation of the famous story Alice In Wonderland. But when it came time to act in front of a green screen, Depp entered a different and unfamiliar world of filmmaking.
What Johnny Depp considers the most important part of acting
Depp typically puts a lot of thought and imagination into the roles that he’s playing. As soon as he gets a script, he can already envision his character coming to life in his head.
“When I read a script, I start to get flashes of imagery. It may be a person I’ve known in my life. In Edward Scissorhands, it was a dog that I had had as a child,” he once said in an interview with The Independent. “These images arrive. That’s really the basis. If I am guilty of one thing in my work in any situation, especially the heavier, is that I have a tendency to lean toward humour.”
His dedication towards his craft has worked wonders for the actor over the years. His roles have not only been successful, but at times couldn’t be anymore different than each other. He’s gone from playing quirky, off the wall characters like Edward Scissorhands in the titular film, to outlaws like his role in Public Enemies.
Despite how unique his film roles usually are, Depp maintains the source of true acting remains the same.
“The most important thing that an actor needs to do is not to act, but to react. That’s what it is all about, and you do one of the most difficult things in the world, which is to just be–to be in the state of being,” he once said according to Cinemablend.
Johnny Depp was confused about acting in front of a green screen for ‘Alice In Wonderland’
Alice In Wonderland once required Depp to act in a different way than he was accustomed to. Depp starred as the Mad Hatter in Burton’s 2010 interpretation of the classic fairy tale. But the film needed a lot of CGI and special effects to do the fable justice. For Depp, however, it might have been too much CGI.
“The novelty of the green wears off very quickly. It’s exhausting, actually,” Depp once said in an interview with The Telegraph. “I mean, I like an obstacle – I don’t mind having to spew dialogue while having to step over dolly track while some guy is holding a card and I’m talking to a piece of tape. But the green beats you up. You’re kind of befuddled at the end of the day.”
Although Depp initially wasn’t comfortable with the green screen, he still considered making Alice an impressive feat.
“To choose to grab Alice in Wonderland, that in itself is one thing, and then to do it to the Tim Burton level is madness. It’s so huge because, whether it’s the CGI or the green screen or the 3D or the live action, he’s done it all here. It’s the greatest undertaking I’ve heard of,” Depp said.
Johnny Depp on the last thing he wants to do as an actor
Depp is well aware of his reputation of playing eccentric characters in his films. This is an intentional choice on Depp’s part, who wants to distance himself from who he really is when on screen.
“The last thing I want to look like is myself,” Depp said in an interview with Today. “I’ve always felt that it was important to escape. I always figured if I just did the same thing over and over, I’d not only bore myself, I’d bore the audience.”
