Johnny Depp is Guinness World Book Best Paid Actor

Born on June 9, 1963, John Christopher Depp II, lived an early nomadic life which finally brought him to Miramar, Florida. It was then that his parents divorced and her mother married, Robert Palmer, who became a great ‘inspiration’’ for Depp.  The renowned actor and musician started practicing when his mother gave him a guitar when he turned twelve.

In 1979, at age 16, Depp dropped out of high school in an attempt to pursue rock music. Two weeks later he recanted and tried to return to school, but the principal advised him to follow his dreams. By 1980 he had joined the rock band, “The Kids” which saw great success in Florida. The band later moved to Los Angeles in pursuit of a record deal, changing their name to Six Gun Machine. The band broke up, however, before landing a record deal with Geffen Records. He worked with the Rock City Angels band to fulfill this contract.

Depp as an Actor

How often is it that a drinking buddy makes you a millionaire? After the band split up, Depp’s former wife, Lori Ann Allison, introduced him to actor Nicolas Cage, who then became his drinking buddy.  Cage advised him to try acting and later got him a tryout for the Wes Craven film, A Nightmare on Elm Street.

He landed a small role but enough to propel him forward, playing small roles until he landed his “teen idol” role in the Fox television series 21 jump Street which rolled out in 1987.

Empowered by his glory as a teen idol, Depp started taking roles he liked, even if they had little possibility of box office success.

Onto the Big Screen

Up to this point, Depp was a regularly paid actor, and even underpaid at times. That was about to change. In 1997 Depp and Al Pacino starred in the crime drama Donnie Brasco. To prepare for the role Depp spent time with Joseph Pistone, after whom the film was inspired. The film was both a financial and critical success, with critics calling it the best performance by Depp. 93% of fans loved the film.

Success and fame would shower on Depp again in the 1999 movie, Sleepy Hollows, directed by Tim Burton. The movie did so well that Depp was now on the top best-paid stars list.

The High Roller Depp

In 2003, Johnny Depp appeared in the Walt Disney Pictures adventure movie Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, which became an upbeat box office triumph, being the first in the series. He received applause from both fans and critics for his unprecedented performance as pirate Captain Jack Sparrow, finally being crowned an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and BAFTA nominations and winning a Screen Actor’s Guild Award for Best Actor as well as an MTV Movie Award.

The Guinness World Record Depp

In 2012, Depp was seen as a famous, wealthy, and prominent movie star, far from the drinking buddy of a movie star.  Now a success story, he was rated as one of the biggest screen stars in the world. He became listed by the Guinness World Records as the world’s highest-paid actor, with earnings of US$75 million.