Johnny Depp has always been a huge fan of fellow actor Christopher Walken. So when Depp had the opportunity to act alongside his idol, it was an offer he couldn’t pass up. Even if that meant doing a film he had reservations about.
Johnny Depp did ‘Nick of Time’ after everyone accused him of playing weirdos
Nick of Time was a 1995 feature starring Johnny Depp as an unwitting pawn in a plan to assassinate a prominent political figure. His Nick of Time role was a little unconventional for Depp given the movies he usually picked at the time. Depp was mostly known for playing characters that stood out from most people in society in some way. But Nick of Time had Depp playing the straight man.
In a 1995 interview with The Washington Post, Depp asserted that he took the role with this reputation in mind.
“I liked the script,” Depp said. “I thought it was a good time to make a change. I figured I’d do something else after being accused by everybody of playing weirdos. It was an opportunity to play the straight man. It’s really a challenge to do that — you’ve got to keep the guy interesting. It’s tougher.”
Johnny Depp once shared he only did ‘Nick of Time’ so he’d get to work with Christopher Walken
Years later, Depp elaborated a bit further about why he decided to take on the role. Despite his reputation for playing weird characters, the actor didn’t want to add movies to his prolific filmography where he felt like he’d sold out. Which was why he was hesitant on taking more commercially appealing projects. Nick of Time was the exception.
“I’ve attempted things in the past where people thought I tried to sell out. For example I did this film Nick of Time with [director]John Badham. I don’t know if the film was particularly good,” he once said in an interview with Gainesville.
But Depp was willing to brush aside his reservations for the film if it meant acting alongside one of Hollywood’s greatest actors.
“I did that film not for money, or not to sell out. I didn’t think it was going to be successful at all. I didn’t care. I did it because I wanted to work with Christopher Walken and I wanted to work with John Badham. The script was very much like an old school Hitchcock film. All of those elements were intriguing to me so I took it,” Depp said.
How Johnny Depp responded to fans accusing him of selling out with ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’
In the early 2000s, Depp attached himself to the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. He would soon lead the Disney adventure film into becoming a multi-billion dollar series. But similarly to Nick of Time, some Depp fans would also accuse Depp of selling out because of its massive success. It was an accusation that Depp didn’t appreciate.
“I wouldn’t change anything, no. Because I think I went into it innocently, and it became what it became,” Depp once told The Guardian of his decision to do Pirates. “And now they want to tear me down. Instantly, as soon as I did Pirates II, they say: ‘Oh, he’s selling out.’ What the f*** does that mean, selling out? What if I did Ed Wood II, is that selling out? I mean, it’s not like I was ever looking to become franchise boy, I was never looking to become anything like that. I just latched on to a character I loved.”
