There are few actors in Hollywood today who have spent as many hours in the makeup and hair trailer as Johnny Depp. He’s taken on so many roles that require heavy work on his face that he has taken to sleeping in full makeup instead of having it redone every morning. Here’s some of the most outlandish looks Depp has sported onscreen.
Depp’s first makeup-intensive role came in 1990 with “Edward Scissorhands,” which earned him a Golden Globe nomination. Stan Winston, the VFX artist who designed the hands Depp wore in the film, got an Oscar nomination for his work.
A decade later, Depp played two roles in the LGBT drama “Before Night Falls.” One was as the military officer Lt. Victor. The other was the flamboyant transvestite Bon Bon, who struts and poses his way through Fidel Castro’s prison filled with political dissidents.
Depp’s famous performance as Raoul Duke in “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” didn’t require much makeup, but Depp did have Hunter S. Thompson shave his head to match the writer’s male pattern baldness.
Undoubtedly, Depp’s most famous role is Captain Jack Sparrow in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films, which earned him his first Oscar nomination. The film also received a nomination for the makeup work that gave Sparrow his tanned, sea-weathered look.
Depp’s makeup took a turn for the gross in 2004 with “The Libertine.” In it, he plays the cocky, womanizing Earl of Rochester, who finds his pride and life cut down quickly when he contracts syphilis, for which Depp wore increasing levels of makeup to show the disease’s effects.
For his polarizing performance as Willy Wonka in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” Depp took on a pale, almost plastic appearance to emphasize the candy maker’s reclusive, eccentric nature after spending years cut off from the world in his factory.
Depp got his third Oscar nomination from his performance as Sweeney Todd, where he took on a deathly pale complexion and swept-back hairstyle as he slit throats as the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Depp was the center of controversy when he played the Native American Tonto in “The Lone Ranger,” but the film did get an Oscar nomination for the makeup work that gave Tonto his intricate face paint and headdress.
He was better received in the film “Into The Woods,” where he played the Big Bad Wolf with a costume inspired by Tex Avery’s famous cartoons.
To play the infamous Boston gangster Whitey Bulger in “Black Mass,” Depp went through over two hours of makeup to get his gaunt face and slicked-back hair.
Arguably Depp’s creepiest makeup job came when he mocked Donald Trump in a parody video for Funny or Die … though it wasn’t as creepy as the video that showed him removing all that makeup from his face.
Now Depp is returning to his role as the Mad Hatter in “Alice Through the Looking Glass,” which he first played back in 2010. Depp turned up the ridiculousness with this role, sporting clown makeup, colored contacts, crazy wigs, eyebrow extensions, elaborate outfits, and of course, the 10/6 top hat.
