Johnny Depp. He’s been a presence in my life for my whole life and everyone else of generation. Who doesn’t know Johnny Depp? He’s one of those actors that have stood out and lasted throughout the decades, regularly appearing in movies I have seen not by planning, but merely by chance. Edward Scissorhands, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Pirates of the Caribbean, Chocolat, Before Night Falls, Blow – I’ve seen so many of Johnny’s movies, I took my kid to his movies, the list goes on and on.

Watching him a few nights ago on the Larry King Show was a pleasure. He said he’s just an ordinary guy who pumped gas to survive, a hell of a long time ago. I saw photographs of him recently in the current Vanity Fair magazine; he’s swallowing the gray plume of a cigarette in one photo and sipping on a glass of some very fine booze, probaby a fine aged rum, explaining, “Basically, if they’re going to pay me the stupid money right now, I’m going to take it.” I mean, who wouldn’t take it – the money, I mean. He finds photo shoots stupid and claims he’s just an ordinary guy who got lucky. Luck has everything to do with everything. He’s looking good in a fine black suit, a white shirt, looking very rich because Johnny Depp is one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood. Of course, he’s enjoying it immensely. He also donates lots of cash to many children’s charities. So, he gives back from his luckiness to those less lucky. Nice. Giving back, that is.

His claims of ordinariness lead me to believe that he’s just one of those guys anyone of us would have hung out with when we were young and spent long, long nights lasting until the early morning. Johnny Depp is one of those guys we would have partied with, listening to music, drinking, smoking, acting wild and making earth-shattering proclamations (so we thought at the time) of things we were certain of, like we would die before the age of 30, etcetera, into the wee hours of the morning while everyone else is asleep.