Johnny Depp: The Playboy Interviews (50 Years of the Playboy Interview) Read Online Free PDF Page B

made for Scissorhands . That was funny to a lot of people. Was it funny to you?
    Depp: It makes you think. I’ve had other threats, too, and what hits you is that these people believe they’re right. They can justify their hatred of you because in their world, you are the enemy. It makes you rethink your job when you realize you can affect someone so intensely. So to me, they’re not evil.
    Playboy: Stalkers and kooks aren’t evil?
    Depp: They think their hate is justified.
    Playboy: How can you sleep?
    Depp: I’m cautious but not really paranoid. I carry a gun. Not today, but when there are threats I carry a gun. I grew up around them and I can shoot a little. I could never kill an animal, but I always liked target practice. Now I have a couple of Winchesters, a couple of .380s and a .38. Because basically, who wants to have a bunch of bodyguards? I don’t see myself with that kind of star treatment. I’d rather bounce around on my own. But at the same time, when there’s someone out there who actually wants to take your life, you should try to be ready.
    Playboy: Being stalked must darken your view of human nature.
    Depp: I never had the brightest view of human nature. I think humanity—society, at least—is violent. It’s not getting any better. I don’t think I’m cynical, but I do think maybe the world is more…sinful than ever before.
    Playboy: Does that feeling find its way into your work?
    Depp: It must. It’s a sense that the world is harsh to some people. Harsh, judgmental and wrong.
    Playboy: Your movie misfits often fight back in funny ways. There’s a story that you insisted on filming an alternate line in Benny & Joon at the climax of the love story.
    Depp: That’s true. It’s right when the music comes up and he looks into her eyes. The line is, “Joon, I love you.”
    Playboy: And your line was—
    Depp: “Joon, I’m a bed wetter.” I’m still passionate about that line. I didn’t get away with it, but I think it could have gotten a laugh and been touching at the same time. You can’t help laughing at the pain of this poor bastard, but he’s honest. And more than that…it’s easy to say “I love you.” The audience expects it. But to say you’re a bed wetter, to reveal something like that, is saying I love you. It’s saying I really love you, enough to tell you my deep, dark secret.
    Playboy: Do you have a favorite date movie?
    Depp: Wuthering Heights with Olivier is a real tearjerker. Or Mike Leigh’s film Naked . You won’t forget that one.
    Playboy: How does porn affect you?
    Depp: I like a porn film now and again, but I don’t go out of my way to see one. I saw Edward Penis Hands . Tim Burton sent me a copy. It is a great film, really funny. As for most of it, I suppose it’s arousing to some people, but I get a little embarrassed watching people fuck. You’re sitting there watching and suddenly it seems so strange—the image changes in your mind and they’re not people anymore. The guy looks like a dog, making horrible faces. I’m sure there are beautiful porn films, artistically made. I just don’t want to see that guy.
    Playboy: How about love scenes in your own films? Are they arousing?
    Depp: I’ve never done a love scene that was arousing. The atmosphere is too ridiculous. You’re lying there kissing some girl, professing your undying love, and you see that grip over there eating a bologna sandwich.
    Playboy: You’ve never had a boner on-screen?
    Depp: Oh, I may have had a boner, but not in a love scene.
    Playboy: You’d better explain.
    Depp: Who knows what goes on underneath the table, outside the frame? I may have a feather duster down my pants. It’s not necessarily sexual, either. If I’m having a difficult time with a scene, getting too serious, I like to take a handheld duster or maybe a wrench, shove it down my pants and play the scene that way. Any object that doesn’t belong—it takes your mind off the seriousness of the situation. Just when