Star tells of fun doing film, while paying tribute to Native Americans
Johnny Depp is one of the world’s highest paid movie stars.
And after his split from Vanessa Paradis he is also the most eligible.
Depp reunites with Pirates Of The Caribbean director Gore Verbinski for Disney blockbuster The Lone Ranger, based on the old TV show, where he plays Tonto, the Comanche warrior.
It’s a role that resonates for the actor, who believes he is descended from Native Americans.
Your character, Tonto, is very striking. How did you create the look for him?
I
saw a painting by Kirby Sattler, and looked at the face of this Native
American warrior and thought, “That’s it”. That was my inspiration. Joel
Harlow [make-up artist] created the make-up and took pictures, which I
then showed to Jerry Bruckheimer [Lone Ranger producer]. Jerry said,
“This is great. Who is this?” [Laughs.]
Was it a long process to apply the make-up every morning?
It
was fairly detailed. A lot of times I would sleep with the make-up on
just to avoid having to go through the application process in the
morning.
Did you ever scare yourself waking up and seeing yourself in the mirror with the Tonto make-up?
I did scare myself. The worst was waking up and seeing that your pillow was smeared with black and white make-up.
Did you want to pay tribute to Native Americans and their place in history?
When
we were mapping out the story, my idea was that Tonto was not the
sidekick but the creator of the Lone Ranger. I didn’t want him to be the
white guy’s flunky. I wanted Tonto’s story to come first, and to show
respect to Native American culture because their history has been
largely forgotten and trivialised. It was important to salute the Native
Americans and thank them for all they gave to us, even though
everything was stripped away from them. The priority was to ensure they
were treated with dignity.
So was giving Tonto his historical due your way of changing our view of the Native American?
I
hated the clichéd way Native Americans had been portrayed. I wanted to
flip that image. It was important to me to reach out to kids on
reservations and remind them they are descended from warriors and should
take pride in that heritage.
Were you familiar with The Lone Ranger TV serials while growing up?
Oh, sure. But I identified with Tonto. And when I would play with friends, I would always play the Indian, never the cowboy.
You had a dangerous moment with a horse while shooting The Lone Ranger?
I
was lucky not to have been trampled by the horse. We were going at a
fast gallop when the saddle slipped and I nearly fell off. I hung on by
grabbing the reins and the horse’s mane and did my best not to fall
under the galloping hooves. It could have been a disaster. I realised
that I was not in a very good position and I should just let go and
brace myself in falling
Were you hurt when you fell?
There was some pain and cuts and bruises, but when I stood up I felt pretty good. My first reaction was that I was very lucky.
Johnny, how does it feel to turn 50?
It’s
great. I don’t feel any different at 50 – it’s like 40, or 30. I don’t
wake up in the morning in pain or say to myself, “God, my back is
killing me.” I feel pretty good.
Did you have a birthday party?
It
was a simple celebration. I spent the day with my kids [Lily-Rose and
Jack] and we went to dinner. I’m not someone who likes to make a big
deal about birthdays.
How are you dealing with being a single man these days?
The
adjustment is about making sure your kids are OK and that they
understand that there is no reason for people to hate each other. You
spend 14 beautiful years together and it’s a win-win... [Vanessa] is a
great mommy and a great woman. You’ve got a couple of kids, a woman
who’s been good to you. Keep loving, no matter what.
You’ve hinted at retiring. Can you see yourself doing that soon?
I
don’t know. Maybe in 10 years. I really enjoy the process and the
camaraderie from working with pretty much the same [film] crew for the
last 13 years. But at some point I would like to explore the world and
wander a bit. I would like to experience a degree of anonymity
somewhere. ?
