FILM-MORTDECAI/NEWS CONFERENCE Johnny Depp talks about acting and directing at launch of new film "Mortdecai"

Record ID: 628925

  • Title: FILM-MORTDECAI/NEWS CONFERENCE Johnny Depp talks about acting and directing at launch of new film "Mortdecai"
  • Date: 18th January 2015
  • Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (JANUARY 18, 2015) (REUTERS) NEWS CONFERENCE ROOM MODERATOR CHRISTIAN AUST, ACTOR JOHNNY DEPP WHO PLAYS LEAD ROLE OF CHARLIE MORTDECAI, ACTOR PAUL BETTANY WHO PLAYS MORTDECAI'S RIGH-HAND MAN JOCK STRAPP, AND "MORTDECAI" MOVIE DIRECTOR DAVID KOEP ENTERING ROOM AHEAD OF NEWS CONFERENCE DEPP SEATED AT TABLE CAMERA OPERATORS (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR, JOHNNY
  • Embargoed: 2nd February 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAAEZDZWB9MFSDA72YD1DULIBYQ
  • Story Text: Actor Johnny Depp talked about his choice of movie characters, directing and not wanting to pursue a music career during a news conference on Sunday (January 18), ahead of the world premiere of his new film "Mortdecai" in Berlin.
    Based on a novel by the English author Kyril Bonfiglioli's popular trilogy, "Mortdecai" tells the story of namesake Charlie Mortdecai played by Depp, a debonair art dealer and part-time rogue, who traverses the globe in a race to recover a stolen Goya painting, rumored to contain the code to a lost bank account filled with Nazi gold.
    The action-packed comedy, directed by David Koepp and featuring a star-studded cast including Paul Bettany, Ewan McGregor and Gwyneth Paltrow, will see its official launch on Sunday, when cast and crew will walk the red carpet in the German capital.
    During a news conference at the city's historical Hotel Adlon, Depp, who is also the producer of the film, said playing the irreverent moustache-obsessed Charlie Mortdecai had been an exhilarating experience.
    "It was too much actually, it was actually too much fun, Paul (Bettany) and I were very irresponsible and I held, so was David (Koep). David was irresponsible as well. We got the giggles and it would last forever and ever," Depp said.
    American director David Koepp, known for writing and co-writing films such as "Mission Impossible" (1996), "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" (2008) and who previously directed Depp in "Secret Window" (2004), said the American actor had a natural talent for bringing to life quirky and unique characters.
    "What I appreciate on the first take, the first day, I don't say Johnny (Depp) so much place the guy, or becomes the guy, as he releases the guy. So suddenly the first take happens and Charlie Mortdecai exists and it's a completely full blooded human being, completely different form any character you've ever seen before and you just sort of take notes and say "That's fascinating" and you start throwing things at it. The first three or four takes on the first day I ruined every one by laughing," Koepp said.
    When asked about what it was like to perform the charismatic, anti-hero British aristocrat Mortdecai, Depp made an impression with a flawless English accent and said that this, and the other sly adventurers immortalised by the Hollywood star like Jack Sparrow, Tonto and Sweeney Todd, were all living in his head.
    "Well you know he can sort of show up now and again. (Depp makes different sounds) Isn't that weird? They all live in there (points at his head). It can't be good for you. Just saying," Depp said, adding that each character had come from some core, internal "truth".
    "I think any character that you play, it's gotta come from some centre of truth. You know what I mean? There has to be some truth in what's happening behind the eyeballs, you know. So certainly one of the ingredients...do I like playing these characters? Well, I mean, I don't know, I mean even way back when I didn't, if somebody said "this is how you should play it", I couldn't, I wouldn't have been able to do that," Depp said.
    The 51-year-old actor, currently starring as a louche Wolf in hit movie version of Broadway musical "Into the Woods", said the key to a successful acting career was to constantly reinvent oneself with new roles.
    "Yeah, you wanna do, you wanna surprise people. The second you no longer surprise people you are dead as an actor, I think," Depp said.
    Co-star Paul Bettany, who plays Mortdecai's man servant and right-hand-man Jock Strapp, said he was delighted to have been offered to play a comedic role by Depp, a type of part the British actor hadn't done since performing in the 2001 movie A Knight's Tale.
    Bettany said working with Depp on the set had been a very rewarding experience, with both actors feeding into each other's creative process to work around some of the scenes.
    "You find yourself in that battle sometimes and with Johnny there is none of that. There is only trying to make the scene better with absolutely no ego attached to it, and there is no actor in the world that I can think of that I would ever suggest something to," Bettany said.
    Depp, who in December confirmed on NBC's "Today" show his engagement to 27-year-old Texas native, Amber Heard, who co-starred with the actor in the 2011's "The Rum Diary," also spoke about his work as a director.
    The movie star, who worked as a musician before turning to acting, is currently working on a documentary feature about Rolling Stone's guitarist Keith Richards.
    "The directing thing, I don't think I'll ever do it again, I don't want to do anything that has to make sense like that. Do you know what I am saying? There is a whole lot of mathematics and thought behind that kind of stuff, directing, and I don't wanna think that stuff. I want to wake up, go to work, have the day be wonderful, process be wonderful and then stop thinking about it, at 6 o'clock or whenever you get off, but a director can't stop thinking about it," Depp said, adding also that his music collaborations will never lead him to form his own band.
    "I just, you know, I've been very lucky to play on friends' records and you know, write some songs with pals, so it's still going, music is still part of my life, it's just that is not, I am not, you won't be hearing of the Johnny Depp Band or anything like that, it won't ever exist," Depp said.
    "Mortdecai" will hit movie theaters on January 23.
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