Johnny Depp has been the star of many beloved Hollywood hits including ‘Edward Scissorhands’, ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ and Harry Potter spin-off ‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’. Currently, the 57-year-old US actor is giving his final day of evidence in a bitter High Court clash, in London, over allegations that he physically abused his then-wife Amber Heard. He strongly denies the allegations. But unearthed accounts reveal this may not be the only issue to affect the star’s ability to land future roles after a bitter clash emerged with Disney over one of his most famous characters.
Johnny revealed that mannerisms for the notorious, nomadic philanderer he played in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ were based on Rolling Stones legend Keith Richards.
He “borrowed the persona” of his idol and over the film franchise developed a “great affinity” for Captain Jack Sparrow, according to a 2018 Rolling Stone article.
This “protectiveness” over the character led him to battle with Disney screenwriters on a number of occasions about their plans for the plucky pirate.
The star moaned: “Why must you have these f***ing heinous subplots?
“It’s convoluted. There is not a f***ing soul that wants to see Captain Jack Sparrow sad.”
The Hollywood star played the role for the fifth time in 2017 in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge’, known as ‘Dead Men Tell No Tales’ in the US.
Johnny revealed further clashes to GQ in 2018 that he became “uncomfortable about creative decisions” made for him and alleged: “Disney hated me.”
He continued: “[They were] thinking of every way they could to get rid of me, to fire me. ‘Oh, we’re going to have to subtitle him.’ ‘We don’t understand Captain Jack Sparrow. What’s wrong with him?’ ‘What’s wrong with his arms?’ ‘Is he drunk?’ ‘Is he mentally f***ing stupefied?’ ‘Is he gay?’
“I told them, ‘Look, you don’t like what I’m doing, fire me. You hired me to do a job and play the character and this is what I want to do.’
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“This is the work. I mean, hadn’t they seen any of the work I’d done previously? You might want to take a look at that before you hire a motherf***er, you know?”
Despite the problems behind the scenes, Johnny professed to love playing the role – which Rolling Stone claimed enhanced his self-belief of being a “funny man”.
One such instance he felt highlighted this was the rude choice of words he decided to mumble when his character washed ashore in one of the earlier films.
He confessed to having uttered “Dirty Sanchez” – slang for an obscene sex act – and added: “Before the DVD, they dropped it out.”
The ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ team are now gearing up to release a sixth installment but bosses are faced with a dilemma.
The next film, which does not have a full title, is due to be set elsewhere in the Pirates universe and will star Australian actress Margot Robbie.