Depp (with Whoopi Goldberg) said he was "stupefied" to receive the Strasberg Award. Photo by: Scott Gries / Getty Images |
According to Jim Jarmusch, the "complex" and at times "moody" Depp "seems happier than he's been. His kids and Vanessa really give him some grounding . . . something outside himself that gives him this delighted look in his eye." But certain qualities are unchanged – the feeling of being an outsider in Hollywood, for starters. He remains "shocked," he said, over his Oscar nomination for
Pirates. He was equally surprised to find himself in Manhattan on Oct. 30 getting ready to receive the Actors' Fund Lee Strasberg Artistic Achievement Award at the Waldorf-Astoria. "[I] took a shower. Shaved. Brushed my teeth," he said. "But you can never be prepared. You've got to walk around in confusion, not understanding why someone wants to give you something as prestigious as this." Onstage later, wearing a tuxedo and chewing a wad of gum, he said he was "grateful" and, with typical boyish charm, expressed his hope that "I won't pass out, vomit or soil myself."
He didn't. But here's another hope: Should Neverland lead to a win at the Oscars in February, Lily-Rose and Jack, whose snapshots Depp always carries with him in a little notebook, will help him think up a better speech. Weinstein has full faith in his "charming and self-deprecating" leading man. "Johnny's calmed down a tremendous amount. He is quieter, mellower, and [his family] is something that he really loves," he says. "It has given him tremendous serenity and strength."
• By KAREN S. SCHNEIDER. MONICA RIZZO, MIKE FLEEMAN and JULIE JORDAN in Los Angeles, JOANNE FOWLER and CAROLINE HOWARD in Manhattan, CARIS DAVIS and COURTNEY RUBIN in London and PETER MIKELBANK in Paris
