We all can agree that Johnny Depp is an outstanding actor. The sound of his name immediately paints a picture in your head. He’s been a part of countless successful projects and has always given soul to the characters he has played. Despite his popularity and celebrity status, he has been a great friend, a generous human being, and a role model to many. Johnny Depp has lived an amazing life so far, and we have found a way to celebrate it by making a list of 13 lesser-known facts about the life of Johnny Depp.

1 John Christopher Depp was born in Owensboro, Kentucky, and Depp moved frequently during his childhood. He and his family lived in more than 20 different places.

Johnny Depp was born to a civil engineer, John Christoper Depp, and a waitress, Betty Palmer, on June 9, 1963.  He was the youngest of four children. The Depp family moved a lot to accommodate their father’s job. They lived in more than 20 places, finally settling in Miramar, Florida. His parents divorced when Johnny was only 15 years old.

Following the divorce, he dropped out of school to pursue his dream of becoming a rockstar. His family is of English descent with some Belgian, French, and Dutch ancestry. He is descended from Pierre Dieppe, a French immigrant who settled in Virginia, and Elizabeth Key Grinstead, a colonial freedom fighter. Although Depp has claimed to have Native American ancestry, no real evidence has ever been presented. (source)

 2. Johnny Depp dropped out of high school and decided to become a rock musician at the age of 16. When he attempted to go back to school two weeks later, the principal told him to follow his dream.

Before starting his acting career, Johnny Depp was a budding musician. His parents divorced when he was 15, and within a year, Depp set out to become a rockstar. He played guitar in a popular band called The Kids. Depp also played with bands like Rock City Angels and contributed on the song named “Mary” on their debut album.

His career as a musician was short-lived as he decided to pursue an acting career. Despite that, he has been a part of a couple of rock bands like P, an alternative rock band from Hollywood, California, and he still plays in a band called the  Hollywood Vampires alongside Alice Cooper and Joe Perry. (source)

 3. Nicolas Cage introduced Johnny Depp, a struggling musician at the time, to his Hollywood agent that helped him get his first acting role.

Johnny Depp set out to be a musician at an early age of 16 but failed to make it big. He played with a band called Rock City Angels and married the sister of the band’s bassist and singer. Lori Anne Allison and Johnny Depp got married on 20 Dec 1983.

She worked as a makeup artist while Depp worked as a telemarketer for a pen company. They rented a house in LA which was owned by Nicholas Cage. They would often hang out together for a game of monopoly, and on one such evening, Nicholas Cage advised Depp to take acting as a career.

Despite Depp being reluctant, Nicholas Cage introduced Depp to his Hollywood agent, and just after the first audition, Depp got a part in A Nightmare on Elm Street. (source)

4 Despite being one of the highest-paid, male celebrities ever, Depp has never won an Oscar.

Johnny Depp’s acting career took off in 1984 where he played one of Freddy Kruger’s victims in the famous A Nightmare on Elm Street. Following the release of 21 Jump Street in 1987, the role of Officer Tom Hanson made Depp a popular teen idol. In 1990, he played the main role in Edward Scissorhands which defined him as an actor.

He has earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actor three times for his performances in The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Finding Neverland, and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Despite being a part of almost 69 movies and with countless other accolades to his name, Depp has never won an Academy Award. (source)

5 Disney executives were initially confused by Johnny Depp’s performance as Jack Sparrow in Pirates Of The Caribbean. The CEO of Disney proclaimed that Depp was ruining the film. Depp’s response to Disney executives was they could trust him with his choices or let him go.  

Disney signed Johnny Depp for Pirates of the Caribbean in 2002. Looking forward to a film that appealed to adults and teenage audiences, Producer Jerry Bruckheimer felt Depp was best suited for the role. He was influenced by rockstar Keith Richards and 18th-century pirates, and blended them perfectly into the character Jack Sparrow.

The portrayal of the character was not appreciated initially. Everyone at Disney was confused and thought that Depp was ruining the film and the character. Michael Eisner, then CEO of Disney, was outraged by the portrayal of the character and thought Depp was trying to make the character gay. Despite being criticized by the Disney executives and the CEO, Johnny Depp decided to keep the eccentric character, and Pirates of the Caribbean became a global hit.

It won several awards and nominations and became the fourth highest-grossing movie of all time up to that date. (source)