Digging Depp – a look at the actor’s best performances

Some say Johnny Depp has been in a bit of a slump. That might be like saying that airhorns are just a little annoying.

But it has been four years since he’s had a bona fide hit. He even had two in 2011, with “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” and the lovably odd “Rango.”

After that, he has appeared in such ill-received fare as “The Rum Diary,” “Dark Shadows,” “The Lone Ranger,” “Transcendence” and “Mortdecai.” Yeesh. Only “Into the Woods” and a fun cameo in “21 Jump Street” were highlights during that stretch.

But his performance in “Black Mass,” which opened Friday, sounds like it’s an about-face. Early word is saying that he’s riveting as South Boston’s most violent criminal ever. Word is that he disappears into the role.

That’s nothing really new for Depp, though. He can be a veritable chameleon. I’ve long admired his acting and creative choices, despite his recent dry spell. Here are my picks for Depp’s five best performances:

1. “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” (2003) — That Depp nabbed his first Oscar nomination for best actor in a Walt Disney movie based on a theme park ride is a testament to how brilliant his performance was, wholly crafting a character (Keith Richards was supposedly the inspiration) so memorable that it fueled a billion-dollar franchise. The movies that followed this first outing were too chaotic, and Depp never recaptured the magic of the original performance, but his Capt. Jack Sparrow was a one-of-a-kind creation.

2. “Edward Scissorhands” (1990) — I think this is his most imaginative performance in a thoroughly imaginative film, directed by Tim Burton with wacky pastel-colored vision about a boy brought to life by a mad scientist-type creator, who died before completing him and giving him “real” hands. Burton’s fable was as odd as it was endearing, but the heart that Depp infused into Edward made it magical.

3. “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” (1993) — This isn’t flashy acting at all, no special makeup, no ticks or high-pitched vocal work, no outlandish costumes. But this is his most realistic performance. His Gilbert is the center of a chaotic storm of a Midwest family burdened with an obese mother who never leaves the house and a mentally disabled younger brother (an astonishing Leonardo DiCaprio). Depp makes us feel the weight that is ever-crushing down on Gilbert and speaks volumes with his eyes. It’s a ragingly beautiful, internal performance, further proving that acting isn’t just saying lines printed on a page.

4. “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (2007) — He teamed with Burton again for this adaptation of the Broadway musical about a murderous barber shop owner, and this is probably his most daring performance — mostly because he sings. He was the first one to admit that he was not a trained singer (and it shows), but he crafted a singing style that befit the character and the role, for which Depp received his third Oscar nomination for best actor.

5. “Rango” (2011) — This is purely a vocal performance as this is an animated film, and here Depp is literally a chameleon, one with a penchant for performing. But Depp is probably at his most playful here, and even though we don’t actually see him, he still crafted a character with quirky charms and oddball characteristics, just with his voice. Now that’s acting.

This story was originally published September 18, 2015 at 3:20 PM with the headline "Digging Depp – a look at the actor’s best performances."