Actor, musician. Born in 1964, in Kentucky. Raised in Miramar, Florida, he started his own rock group at thirteen and later played lead guitar with The Kids band. He turned to acting in the mid-80's and gained popularity in the role of police officer Tom Hanson, who masquerades as a high school student in the TV series '21 Jump Street.
Depp boasts tattoos ("Betty Sue" and "Winona Forever," which, after his breakup with Winona Ryder, was changed to "Wino Forever"), a rap sheet (for trashing a New York hotel suite), and a supermodel girlfriend (Kate Moss). He also owns part of the hip L.A. nightclub (The Viper Room) where River Phoenix, another promising young actor, died of an apparent drug overdose. His attempt to achieve box-office success with a more
mainstream movie, Nick of Time, did not work, but his brilliant performance in Jim Jarmusch's phantasmagoric Western Dead Man (1996) proved beyond a doubt his reputation as one of the most talented actors working today, as did his compelling performance opposite Al Pacino in Donnie Brasco (1997). Depp will next test his mettle as director with The Brave, which stars Marlon Brando, who, incidentally, waived his usual bloated salary to accept the role.
