Cutting a different figure from the traditional Hollywood star, Johnny Depp was long considered one of the coolest men in the industry. While that may not be the case anymore, and for good reason, in his heyday, the American brought rock ‘n’ roll to the world of acting and had more in common with the musicians he called friends than with the clean-cut A-listers typically associated with his status.

Before his lauded acting career, Depp was a keen guitarist and has since played with a host of revered musicians, such as Iggy Pop, Oasis, Shane MacGowan, Jeff Beck, and other rock acts equally known for their hard-partying as they are widely influential sonics.

Music has impressed itself on his career so intensely that he even played the six-string on the soundtrack for his films Chocolat and Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Away from the silver screen, he has featured in music videos for the likes of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Paul McCartney, and even Avril Lavigne.

In the 1990s, Depp was a member of the supergroup P, which boasted Butthole Surfers frontman Gibby Haynes, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, and legendary Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones. Tragically, the band were playing at the Los Angeles venue The Viper Room, which Depp was co-owner of at the time, when their friend, up-and-coming Hollywood star River Phoenix, died of an overdose on the sidewalk outside the club. This absolute tragedy brought an end to the band, and they could not continue following it.

Alongside the more straight-up rock ‘n’ roll vibe, Depp’s career has always had a distinctly gothic edge. Outside of the name of his old club, he performs in the Hollywood Vampires supergroup alongside Alice Cooper and Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry, bringing his fascination with all things spooky closer into view.

The Hollywood Vampires. (Credits: Far Out / Tidal)
His acting career has also been brimming with gothic atmosphere. One of his most iconic roles is as Edward Scissorhands in Tim Burton’s dark romantic fantasy, and he has later explored more ominous tones with the director in Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Dark Shadows. Even his work in the auteur’s Alice in Wonderland and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is characterised with a deeply sinister edge, two adaptations from novels noted for such characteristics.

It’s not just his work with Burton that has been the source of gothic intrigue, though. While maligned, 2001’s From Hell, which was loosely based on Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s esoteric graphic novel exploring the Jack the Ripper murders, is undoubtedly one of the more harrowing moments in his oeuvre. Another derided flick of his, The Ninth Gate, a story immersed in the world of devil worship and cults, is also one that’s particularly dark, regardless of the hilarious moment where Emmanuelle Seigner’s mysterious woman rides him amid a burning castle.

Depp has had a lifelong love affair with horror. Speaking to SPLICEDwire in 1999 to promote Sleepy Hollow, he revealed that Tod Browning’s classic 1931 adaptation of Dracula, which made Bela Lugosi a cultural and gothic icon, is his favourite horror movie of all time.

He said: “But do I have a favourite? Well, Dracula, Tod Browning’s Dracula is, I think, so beautiful, even for all its clumsiness of that era, the way they made films in that era. That’s a beautiful film.”

Outlining his broad love of the genre, Depp then mentioned another Browning classic, Freaks, as well as his fascination with the Hammer horrors starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. While each era had completely different styles and feels, they bled into his works when called to bring darkness to the screen. Just take his performance as the 18th-century vampire Barnabas Collins in Dark Shadows; it is filled with the essence of Lugosi.