There are only a handful of actors who can captivate audiences as both movie heroes and villains, and that number dwindles even more when those actors aren’t stereotyped. Among current movie veterans, Johnny Depp certainly tops the list. Because there are characters in the actor’s filmography who struggle to act heroic or simply play villains. He’s done great work on both ends of the spectrum, but it’s always been a great pleasure to see him as an enemy rather than a protagonist.
Before we get into why, let’s look at how bad guys can make a big difference to the story. One aspect is that the more evil a villain is, the worse his or her behavior is, the more likely they are to root for the hero. We fell more in love with Jamie Foxx because he was badass. Similarly, in Gone Girl, Rosamund Pike played the villain, and we felt sorry for him because she was so good at ruining Ben Affleck’s life (although it caused it).
what does this explain? Adversaries can be much more important than heroes, whether we admit it or not. At least to ensure that the film is thoroughly entertaining.
With this in mind, If you watch a Depp movie, he has played all kinds of characters under the sun. Whether it’s the disturbed writer in Secret Window or playing the Big Bad Wolf in Into the Woods, Depp has given us some spectacular moments of villainy on screen.
What works in Depp’s favor is the way he embodies all the hallmarks of that character with total honesty.
In Transcendence he plays a scientist trying to save the world, but early in the film he dies and comes back as an AI trying to control humans. It worked well as a computer trying to create order at the expense of humanity’s destruction, and as an emotional human scientist who wanted to save us. nicely depicts the gray area of the need to control everyone.
Similarly, in Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald, Depp embodies the madness of someone who wants to destroy for real reasons. He can play both sides perfectly. We were scared of him in Fantastic Beasts as much as we liked him as Jack Sparrow and Edward Scissorhands. The character, real-life gangster Whitey Bulger, is a psychopath, and the actor is able to portray his deranged behavior well. I finished shooting “La Favorite” that I play.
So the previous example proves that Depp is a much more compelling villain. I’m not the only one to say that, so are his fans. When Mads Mikkelsen took over Fantastic Beasts, fans were unhappy because Depp’s performance became a key factor in the success of the film, and in some ways its face. certainly has immense potential in the sector. Perhaps in the role of an era-defining villain like Marlon Brando in The Godfather, it would be a waste if he wasn’t seen again in another role.