Johnny Depp is one of the biggest movie stars in the world. Fame and talent not always go hand in hand but the actor has proven many times that he is one of the best in his generation. But in the past decade or so most of his movies were coldly received by critics.

I personally haven’t been thrilled by his recent work either. Suffice to say that seeing him in person at the Los Angeles press conference of “Transcendence” (in theaters nationwide now) was the most entertaining “Johnny Depp experience” I have had in a long, long time.

Of course he wasn’t alone, director Wally Pfister, screenwriter Jack Paglen, and co-stars Rebecca Hall, Paul Bettany, Kate Mara and Morgan Freeman were there. But let’s be honest, you want to know what Depp had to say. Here is a selection of the most interesting, funniest or plain weird things Mr. Depp said.

“I played Russell Crowe”

I think this film is essentially about a man chosen by God to grow a long beard, grab a few insects, a couple of animals and know the rest of the world will be slaughtered, but the animals will come to him and follow through. [Pfister says “That was Noah”] That’s Noah? Oh No-ah! Sorry, I was in that one as well. I played Russell Crowe. That beard was a bitch too, seriously. [a reporter mentions that his character “seems to age backwards] That’s (The Curious Case of) Benjamin Button. I was in that one too, as Brad Pitt.

“Having no intelligence…”

[On “artificial intelligence”] Having no intelligence I am looking forward to anything: Artificial, superficial, superduper… I thought there was something very beautiful to Wally Pfister’s idea of the sort of disintegration of the character, and to really watch him slowly kind of go out.

Transcendense-Poster
“A lot of rather strange things happened”

[On his travel to China] It really was an amazing experience on a cultural level. Just constant information and something new everywhere you look. […] A lot of rather strange things happened that I prefer don’t talk about. I went to this TV show and these boys that looked exactly the same had the name of the movie on their heads. That’s scared me a little bit. I mean, those incredible hairdos should be dissected by scientists.

“I didn’t give it any thought at all”

[Answering if ‘Frankenstein’ had an influence] It didn’t. I wish I had. It would have been brilliant to say, so I probably will say that for the rest of the day. But, no, I didn’t give it any thought at all. But in about an hour and a half, it will have been the whole basis for my character. Thanks for that.

“It’s sort of like Che Guevara”

For Will […] you could make an analogy to a security guard guy who three weeks prior to, he was mowing lawns for a living, the second he puts on a uniform and a badge, boing, he’s like, a man. I’d imagine the majority of us all have felt the wrath of the overzealous security guard guy.[…] When you realize you’re essentially God, there ain’t nothing on earth more powerful than you, you can do anything you want. You can transfer every cent from the Bank of England into an account in Syria. Will was just so focused on the cause. It’s sort of like Che Guevara. You get into it, too far into it, maybe.

“I’ve done horrible things in my life”

[someone asks if a romantic gesture of him ever went wrong] So many things come into my mind. I could come up with a 45-minute doozy for you… We’d all go to jail. We’d all be implicated. Yes! Paul (Bettany) told me to say, “Yes.” [after the awkward insistence of the reporter] I’ve done horrible things in my life. Things go wrong all the time, especially between me and technology. I’m not familiar with it and I’m too old school a brain and dumb to be able to figure it out. Anything I have to attack with my thumbs for any period of time makes me feel stupid. So I try to avoid it as much as possible—to protect my thumbs, of course.

“Would you be married to a hard drive?”

Technology is moving and reshaping itself every day, radically. If her character was in that situation and the technology/intelligence existed right this second and given a split second to decide, we’re all capable of answering that question ourselves with the person you love: would you do it? Would you be married to a hard drive? Think about how technology is moving so rapidly. Things become obsolete very, very quickly. So let’s say, Will Caster, in 15 years time, is going to be in some weird room in Vegas, and people are plugging quarters into him. Right? Who has a minidisc or laser disc player? It’s over.

“I always try to hide”

Johnny Depp: It’s always more difficult and slightly exposing to play something that’s close to the surface, something that’s close to yourself. I always try to hide because I can’t stand the way I look. I think it’s important to change every time, and come up with something that’s as interesting as you can for your characters. In any case, it really depends on what the screenplay is asking of you and what your responsibility is to that character. You have the author’s intent to deal with and the filmmaker’s vision and then you have your own wants, needs and desires for the character. It’s collaborative, but I knew right off the bat that certainly there was no need to go into pink-haired, clown nose, Ronald McDonald shoes at the same time.

Transcendense-Depp

“…a video clip for Paul McCartney”

I met Wally, ironically, on a video clip for Paul McCartney. I was, of course, aware of his work as a director of photography. It’s legendary. He’s a legend. So I was very familiar with that. When the idea of this film arrived, I was beyond thrilled. Wally has such a drive and he worked nonstop. As Morgan (Freeman) says, you step into the ring with the guy and he snaps his finger and it’s just there. […] He’s one of those guys who, if he wanted to film me staring at this (an empty can of Red Bull), I’d be more than happy to do it.

“I didn’t see any sort of virgin blather”

In terms of a first screenplay, literally (he picks up his fedora hat from the table) my hat is off to writer Jack Paglen. I didn’t see any sort of virgin blather in screen direction or anything like that. It was just a beautifully executed piece and a complicated one. The mathematics involved in putting this film together and the great support of (the production company behind the film) Alcon, it was not an easy little operetta.

“Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) is the foremost researcher in the field of Artificial Intelligence, working to create a sentient machine that combines the collective intelligence of everything ever known with the full range of human emotions. His highly controversial experiments have made him famous, but they have also made him the prime target of anti-technology extremists who will do whatever it takes to stop him.

However, in their attempt to destroy Will, they inadvertently become the catalyst for him to succeed—to be a participant in his own transcendence. For his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) and best friend Max Waters (Paul Bettany), both fellow researchers, the question is not if they can…but if they should.

Their worst fears are realized as Will’s thirst for knowledge evolves into a seemingly omnipresent quest for power, to what end is unknown. The only thing that is becoming terrifyingly clear is there may be no way to stop him.”