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Johnny Depp has fond memories of his first machine gun.
He was a kid growing up in Owensboro, Ky., and around age 5 or 6, began shooting .22s, then moved to .38s, .44s and .45s.
Then he got his hands on a relative's Thompson submachine gun.
"I butted it up against the tree 'cause it tends to ride up on you," says Depp, 46, who relives the moment, complete with shooting sounds. "My pop came in and grabbed it, so it didn't go anywhere."
Guns are a topic of conversation for Depp, given that the superstar is talking about his new film, "Public Enemies," the Michael Mann gangster epic that opened Wednesday in which Depp plays infamous 1930s bank robber John H. Dillinger.
Depp hasn't played many ordinary citizens. He seems to prefer portraying an eye-lined pirate ("The Pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy), the creepy candy impresario ("Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"), the dreamy creator of Peter Pan ("Finding Neverland"), and the Mad Hatter from the upcoming Tim Burton version of "Alice in Wonderland."
But Dillinger fits perfectly into Depp's personal canon of larger-than-life rebels and outsiders. The outlaw also holds sentimental appeal for the star, whose Kentucky hometown is but three hours from the gangster's birthplace in Mooresville, Ind.
Dillinger was just a punk when he was sentenced to 9 years in the penitentiary for his part in a drunken mugging. He emerged as a hardened criminal, led a gang on a dozen bank robberies (hauling away $300,000--about $4.8 million today), escaped from prison a couple of times, had a shootout with the FBI, and finally went down in a hail of bullets outside the Biograph Theater on Lincoln Avenue (now the home of Victory Gardens Theater).
While researching his role, Depp searched for a voice recording of the outlaw but couldn't find one, although a recording of Dillinger's father turned out to be revelatory.
"Hearing Dillinger's pop ... these are guys I know. I knew him then," Depp says. "I wanted to salute my grandfather through Dillinger and salute Dillinger through my grandfather. You know, my grandfather drove a bus by day back in the '30s and ran moonshine by night."
Depp says he felt a connection to Dillinger in old films Depp watched for hours on his family's black-and-white TV.
That was in Florida, where his parents ultimately moved and split up. Young Depp was enthralled with Dillinger as well as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.
"I guess the era got me, the '30s, '40s and even the '20s. I was fascinated with the old Bogey movies, with Cagney movies, or even Fred Astaire."
Undeniably, Dillinger the myth remains bigger than Dillinger the man, even though "Public Enemies" is based on Bryan Burrough's nonfiction book about the gangster.
Depp says he doesn't see Dillinger "as an enemy of the public." He points out that Dillinger's prime antagonist, J. Edgar Hoover, wreaked more havoc and misery during his 40-year tenure atop the FBI than Dillinger did during his 18-month crime spree.
"I mean, who's the real criminal?" Depp asks.
The movie is "bloody and brutal," but it takes place during the height of the Depression, during a wave of foreclosures and bank failures. "People at certain points just had to take up arms, did they not?"
Like most actors, Depp has issues with the media; reports of friction between Mann, known for his attention to detail, and Depp have been well publicized over the past months. Depp says it was all part of the process.
"He's intense, and as long as you sort of walk into the ring ready for that, it's all fine," Depp explains, noting that Mann "is painting the picture, and that's the one thing that takes a bit of getting used to. I'm definitely not good at just being a color on the palette, you know."
And he adds: "I need a brush in my hand sometimes."
Depp hasn't seen "Public Enemies." In fact, he hasn't seen the last two "Pirate" films, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," or "Sweeney Todd."
"I try not to," he says. "Once you see it, maybe you have to admit it is product or something."
Depp doesn't like the idea of a price tag being placed on himself or the artistic process. "Having done it, lived it ... I like the idea of just walking away with the experience."
He was a kid growing up in Owensboro, Ky., and around age 5 or 6, began shooting .22s, then moved to .38s, .44s and .45s.
Then he got his hands on a relative's Thompson submachine gun.
"I butted it up against the tree 'cause it tends to ride up on you," says Depp, 46, who relives the moment, complete with shooting sounds. "My pop came in and grabbed it, so it didn't go anywhere."
Guns are a topic of conversation for Depp, given that the superstar is talking about his new film, "Public Enemies," the Michael Mann gangster epic that opened Wednesday in which Depp plays infamous 1930s bank robber John H. Dillinger.
Depp hasn't played many ordinary citizens. He seems to prefer portraying an eye-lined pirate ("The Pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy), the creepy candy impresario ("Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"), the dreamy creator of Peter Pan ("Finding Neverland"), and the Mad Hatter from the upcoming Tim Burton version of "Alice in Wonderland."
But Dillinger fits perfectly into Depp's personal canon of larger-than-life rebels and outsiders. The outlaw also holds sentimental appeal for the star, whose Kentucky hometown is but three hours from the gangster's birthplace in Mooresville, Ind.
Dillinger was just a punk when he was sentenced to 9 years in the penitentiary for his part in a drunken mugging. He emerged as a hardened criminal, led a gang on a dozen bank robberies (hauling away $300,000--about $4.8 million today), escaped from prison a couple of times, had a shootout with the FBI, and finally went down in a hail of bullets outside the Biograph Theater on Lincoln Avenue (now the home of Victory Gardens Theater).
While researching his role, Depp searched for a voice recording of the outlaw but couldn't find one, although a recording of Dillinger's father turned out to be revelatory.
"Hearing Dillinger's pop ... these are guys I know. I knew him then," Depp says. "I wanted to salute my grandfather through Dillinger and salute Dillinger through my grandfather. You know, my grandfather drove a bus by day back in the '30s and ran moonshine by night."
Depp says he felt a connection to Dillinger in old films Depp watched for hours on his family's black-and-white TV.
That was in Florida, where his parents ultimately moved and split up. Young Depp was enthralled with Dillinger as well as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.
"I guess the era got me, the '30s, '40s and even the '20s. I was fascinated with the old Bogey movies, with Cagney movies, or even Fred Astaire."
Undeniably, Dillinger the myth remains bigger than Dillinger the man, even though "Public Enemies" is based on Bryan Burrough's nonfiction book about the gangster.
Depp says he doesn't see Dillinger "as an enemy of the public." He points out that Dillinger's prime antagonist, J. Edgar Hoover, wreaked more havoc and misery during his 40-year tenure atop the FBI than Dillinger did during his 18-month crime spree.
"I mean, who's the real criminal?" Depp asks.
The movie is "bloody and brutal," but it takes place during the height of the Depression, during a wave of foreclosures and bank failures. "People at certain points just had to take up arms, did they not?"
Like most actors, Depp has issues with the media; reports of friction between Mann, known for his attention to detail, and Depp have been well publicized over the past months. Depp says it was all part of the process.
"He's intense, and as long as you sort of walk into the ring ready for that, it's all fine," Depp explains, noting that Mann "is painting the picture, and that's the one thing that takes a bit of getting used to. I'm definitely not good at just being a color on the palette, you know."
And he adds: "I need a brush in my hand sometimes."
Depp hasn't seen "Public Enemies." In fact, he hasn't seen the last two "Pirate" films, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," or "Sweeney Todd."
"I try not to," he says. "Once you see it, maybe you have to admit it is product or something."
Depp doesn't like the idea of a price tag being placed on himself or the artistic process. "Having done it, lived it ... I like the idea of just walking away with the experience."
