Johnny Depp has entertained his fans by giving massive blockbusters throughout his acting journey. From rising into prominence as a teen idol with 21 Jump Street, he established himself in Hollywood in the 1990s. In the next decade, he was on the list of most successful stars especially due to his role of Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
Given that he was already a successful star, he was given more space to choose his projects. It proved to be quite a boon for him especially when it came to choosing the Harry Potter franchise.
Johnny Depp Needed No Script to Agree to Play Grindelwald!
The 59-year-old actor, Johnny Depp joined one of the most famous franchises as Gellert Grindelwald, who was a dark wizard in the Fantastic Beasts movies.
The actor was offered to play the role of a dark wizard in the franchise. It was reported that he accepted the role without even reading the script. He played the role in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.
While it is quite unusual for an actor to accept a role without looking at the script, Depp signing for the role had a major link with the famous franchise.
Johnny Depp Was a Huge Fan of Harry Potter Franchise!
Back in a 2018 interview with Entertainment Weekly (EW), he opened up about having a soft spot for the Harry Potter series.
In the interview, he stated about watching the films with his kids.
“I read the books when my kids were smaller and watched the films with them. The books were superb.”
He was highly impressed with the series creator, J.K. Rowling.
“What J.K. [Rowling] delivered is really a difficult thing to do as a writer — to create a whole new universe and a set of rules. And you pick it up in one fell swoop in the first book and first film. It’s a whole lot of information and I was amazed — you never felt like you were being slathered with exposition or being condescended to.”
Not just that, he also mentioned knowing the film series’ actors like Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid) and Richard Griffiths (Vernon Dursley) which was also a connecting point for him.
While his role was a great opportunity for him to work in his favorite franchise, he got stuck into trouble when allegations of abuse were made against him by his ex-wife, Amber Heard. Though he continued to deny those charges even then, the other faction was still having doubts about him.
After losing the UK Libel Case in 2018, Warner Bros. asked him to resign which he did, with actor Mads Mikkelsen replacing him as Grindelwald in the series.
The Fantastic Beasts film series is available on HBO Max.
Source: EW
