Johnny Depp’s bad boy persona used to be helpful. As a real life Capt. Jack Sparrow, his rakish personality helped sell the movies he made, as he hit the press circuit armed with anecdotes, delivered between drags of a freshly rolled cigarette. He was charming and mysterious. But no longer. A new Rolling Stone profile compares Depp’s current, debauched existence to Elvis’s final, drug-fueled days. It was an alarming portrayal of Depp, 55, who was described drinking goblet after goblet of vintage red wine, smoking hash and, it is heavily implied, partaking in stronger substances while in a gated mansion that leaves him cut off from reality.
But Variety notes that Depp has increasingly been viewed as a liability to potential movie partners even before this article. His persona comes across as out of step with #MeToo and Time’s Up movements, after being accused by ex-wife Amber Heard of domestic assault. And a legal battle with his former business managers brought to light to embarrassing spending details and exposed him as an actor in desperate need of a paycheck to fund a lifestyle he can’t really afford.
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