"We're Going In-Depp-th"

It’s been a long road for Johnny Depp to becoming one of Hollywood’s most charismatic and talented performers of this era. He made his initial splash as cop Tom Hanson on the late 1980’s Fox TV series 21 Jump Street and made his greatest mainstream mark as Captain Jack Sparrow in The Pirates of The Carribean series.

In between, Depp’s career flourished as he was taken under the wing of filmmaker Tim Burton on several of his films from Edward Scissorhands to Ed Wood to Sleepy Hollow, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street and Alice In Wonderland. Now the 48 year-old teams up with Burton once again in the horror comedy-drama Dark Shadows.

Unlike past Tim Burton films where he often lobbied hard for Depp, this time around, the film is Depp’s baby as producer. The actor shared his thoughts about being a producer on the film.

“It’s impossible to consider myself a producer,” Johnny says, “I can barely produce an English muffin in the morning. That’s a producer. Just as a fan of the show, our initial conversation about the thing was during Sweeney Todd, where I think I just blurted out mid-conversation, ‘God, maybe we should do a vampire movie together where you actually have a vampire that looks like a vampire.’”

“Dark Shadows was kind of looming on the periphery,” he adds, “Then, Tim and I started talking about it. When Tim and I started getting together and brought Seth [Grahame-Smith] on board and the three of just riffed really. One thing led to another and it basically dictated to us what it basically dictated it wanted to be in a sense, certainly with Tim at the forefront of leading the troops. I think Warner Bros. went into it hoping it was unwanted. I mean, I think everybody should approach a film as if it’s another unwanted.”

In the film, which is based on the late 1960’s ABC

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TV soap opera, Johnny plays Barnabas Collins, an 18th century playboy who is cursed by a witch to become a vampire and re-emerge in 1972 to find his home occupied by his descendants. He talks about what he wanted to bring to his portrayal of the character, played by the recently departed Jonathan Frid on the TV soap.

“What I wanted Barnabas to come across was there’s some kind of thread throughout all these characters,” Depp says, “I mean, the idea of this elegant, very upper-echelon, sort of well-schooled kind of gentleman, whose cursed in the 18th century and brought back to probably the most surreal era of our times, the 1970′s, 1972, how he would react to things, how radically different things were, not just through technology and automobiles and such, but actual items of enjoyment for people like Pet Rocks and fake flowers and plastic fruit and lava lamps and the macramé owls.”

Depp also talked about what was his inspiration for his portrayal of Barnabas.

“Approaching Barnabas,” he says, “Even from the early days of trying to explore the possibilities of the character, no matter where you went in your head, if you tried to veer away from the original Jonathan Frid character, it was apparent to Tim and myself, it had to be rooted in Jonathan Frid’s character of Barnabas.”

“It just had to be,” Johnny continues, “It was so classic and the sort of classic monster like Fangoria magazine and that kind of thing, so in terms of that, Jonathan did have, when he was playing Barnabas, there was this kind of rigidity to him, that pull of the back, that elegance was always there. I did believe, Tim and I talked early on [and agreed that] a vampire should look like a vampire, and it was a kind of rebellion against vampires that look like underwear models. There was a bit of Nosferatu in there.”

Johnny talks about how the original TV series made

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him fascinated with vampires.

“It’s a strange thing because, as a child, I certainly had a fascination with vampires and monsters, as did Tim,” Depp says, “And there’s this darkness and mystery and intrigue. And then, as you get older, you sort of recognize the erotic nature of the vampire and the idea of the undead and I suppose what was most interesting about Barnabas, and it was really challenging, more for Tim than me, is to make that guy, that vampire, clearly a vampire fit back into this odd society and dysfunctional family and I think he did it rather seamlessly.”

Depp also revealed his memories of 1972.

“’72,” Johnny says, “The memory was like lime green leisure suits and macramé owls and Earth shoes, just weird things that didn’t make sense then and still don’t.”

Johnny talks about his first moment as a vampire onscreen.

“We’ll go back to the erotic nature of vampires,” Depp recalls, “I felt as though I was biting one of the Village People. Big, sweaty stuntman. When I had the fangs, you want to be a little bit careful that you didn’t actually pierce the jugular, kind of like my experience shaving Alan Rickman, which, by the way, neither one of us ever want to do again, especially Alan.”

Depp talks about donning the costume of Barnabas.

“Generally, when you are doing a movie, depending on the character, there’s some degree of makeup involved, especially when you’re playing a vampire,” Johnny says of the experience, “You’re all white and kind of dead, sleeves, their guarded costumes, they’re generally sleeves, which I appreciate. We all do. I’m wearing sleeves.”

“Colleen Atwood and her amazing eye and her incredible taste, she has a real magic,” he continues, “Whereas soon as you don that kind of armor, the character starts to come alive, so it’s almost like working from the outside in, in a sense. You’ve put on this suit or whatever that makes you stand or walk

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a certain way. And the cane was one of the leftover things from the series and then, there’s the sleeves, we can keep talking about that.”

Depp was asked to comment on a remark made by Fright Night actor Chris Sarandon about how he felt sorry for the actor having to wear vampire nails.

“There are many more reasons to feel sorry for me beside the nails,” Johnny replies, “We can go through them now, or we can just cuddle after. Big group cuddle. Just all get greasy and weird… In every film that I’ve been lucky enough to do with Tim, there’s always some form of torture, and the nails were Tim’s idea. They were the length of the fingers and stuff, but it was OK, because I had a troop of people who would help me go to the bathroom. They had to have treatment afterwards, but they’re OK now. That is true.”

Johnny talks about having brought on the original TV series cast for cameos on the film version.

“It was great of Tim to bring them into the fold,” Depp says, “It was our way of saluting them, and Jonathan was terrific. He had already written me a letter a couple years before and signed a photograph to me, sort of passing the baton to Barnabas, which I thought was very sweet. He had his cane with him, his original Barnabas cane, and I wasn’t sure when he actually saw me, if he was going to attack me with it. But he didn’t.”

It was asked whether Depp made a pact with the devil to retain his youth.

“You’re missing the point,” Johnny jokes, “I am the devil. I am Satan. And I’ve been sleeping under your couch for months.”

Johnny talks about working with another Burton stalwart Helena Bonham Carter, whom has worked in the past with both Depp and Burton on Corpse Bride, Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Sweeney Todd, and Alice In Wonderland.

“I prefer Tim’s

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collaborations with Helena,” Depp says.

Depp was asked what character would stay the most with him.

“Probably the Earl of Rochester,” Johnny replies.

Johnny talks about his next upcoming role in the film The Night Stalker, which is also based on a TV series.

“That’s next,” Depp notes,”Although I was thinking of throwing my name into the ring for Catwoman, but that Anne Hathaway, damn it! I’m sorry, I’m too upset to answer the question. But from Dark Shadows came The Night Stalker, it was a show that I loved, this weird tone to it, this reporter becomes a detective in this really odd situation.”