The many faces of Johnny Depp

Johnny Depp, arguably one of the best actors ever and personally one of my favorites has done everything from pirate, to gangster, to drag!



A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984)

An aspiring musician at the time, Johnny only went to the auditions for Wes Craven's original "Nightmare" to accompany a friend. He got a leading role in the movie, and he got to put a metric ton of mousse in his hair.



EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (1990)

Breaking away from his status as a TV teen idol, Depp's first collaboration with director Tim Burton set the standard for his envelope-pushing looks. His hair is tousled, his skin is pale, his wardrobe is black. Of course, the cutting implements for digits are unique to Edward.



BENNY & JOON (1993)

Johnny's character -- a student of silent movie comedy named Sam -- puts his long, unruly hair under a hat and dresses himself in oddly formal clothes. And Johnny must have liked the look, because he's shown up at every movie premiere since dressed about the same.


ED WOOD (1994)

Edward D. Wood Jr. is known in Hollywood history as the worst movie director of all time. That he made such epically bad films like "Plan 9 From Outer Space" while wearing women's clothing only furthered his legend. But the real guy didn't look as good in a skirt and cashmere sweater as Johnny does.



DON JUAN DEMARCO (1995)

Yes, Johnny makes a point of not trading on his attractiveness. But when he played a guy convinced he's the world's greatest lover, he had no choice but to get tan, get buff, and unbutton his shirt.


DONNIE BRASCO (1997)

In the late '70s, FBI agent Joe Pistone went undercover to infiltrate the mafia. And in real life, as in the movie, the mobsters made him shave off his silly looking mustache before he could join their gang.


FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS (1998)

To fully capture the personality of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, Johnny lived in his basement for four months. He drove around Thompson's car, wore clothes right out of his closet, and he even let the author shave his head so their bald spots would match.


BEFORE NIGHT FALLS (2000)

Sometimes just one weird look isn't enough. In this film set in Cuba, he doubles up as the friendly and flamboyant transvestite, Bon Bon, and also the slick and menacing Lieutenant Victor.


PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL (2003)

Johnny was heavily involved in creating Jack Sparrow's signature look. He even had real gold caps added to his teeth, but the studio insisted he have most of them removed. And while the tattoo on his arm -- a sparrow with the word "Jack" underneath -- was fake in the first movie, Johnny later really got it inked as a tribute to his son, Jack.


CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (2005)

Johnny wanted to wear a long, prosthetic nose as part of his getup as Willy Wonka, but Tim Burton turned him down (he had unsuccessfully lobbied for a big nose in "Sleepy Hollow" as well). Not that the look he ended up with wasn't strange enough. Apparently, Wonka's bob haircut and over-sized sunglasses were inspired by "Vogue" editor Anna Wintour.


SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET (2007)

Another Tim Burton collaboration; another pale fellow with dark circles around his eyes and crazy black hair. The big difference is the streak of white in Sweeney's hair. Depp said it's symbolic of the character's inner rage, and that it was inspired by a white spot his brother had growing up.



ALICE IN WONDERLAND (2010)

Johnny says when he is working on a character he'll paint a portrait of how he envisions it will look. And even he thought he went too far when he sketched out his idea for the Hatter. Of course, when he then compared it to Tim Burton's own concept drawing, they were nearly the same. Johnny decided his hair should be orange after the tinted mercury used at the time in hat-making that literally turned people "mad as a hatter."

What's your favorite of Johnny Depp's wild and eclectic movie looks? Tell us in the comments.