Johnny Depp doesn’t consider himself to be a Hollywood celebrity. The actor appeared alongside filmmaker Julian Temple at the San Sebastian Festival over the weekend to promote Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan. Depp has been in the headlines a lot over the past few years for various reasons, though his divorce with actress Amber Heard seems to gain the most attention these days.
Shane MacGowan is best-known as being the lead singer of The Pogues, though his behavior off the stage is just as famous, much like Johnny Depp. Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan attempts to pull back some of the mystique about the legendary front man, though he claims to be an ordinary man with a past littered with drugs and alcohol. When asked about taking on the project, Depp talked about his own anti-establishment ideals. He explains.
“First and most important is to never consider yourself a Hollywood celebrity. That’s death and grotesque. I’ve always been drawn to… people who are diligent in remaining themselves.”
Johnny Depp’s career has been guided by taking on his own passion projects while balancing them with huge Hollywood blockbusters. At the same time, he is pretty much able to do whatever he likes, thanks to his anti-establishment way of life, which is something he has shared with the likes of author Hunter S. Thompson, actor Marlon Brando, and musician Keith Richards. Depp had this to say about staying true to himself.
“(Thompson) was everything to me, like Marlon Brando was everything to me. A father, a friend, a brother, teacher, mentor. I have always been somewhat attracted to (the idea of) what is considered normal and the question of ‘What is normal?’ People say Brando-crazy, Thompson-crazy, Shane MacGowan-crazy, Keith Richards-crazy, [pointing to himself] Crazy! Maybe it’s true, I don’t know. Maybe you need to be, maybe that’s freedom.”
Shane MacGowan definitely fits into one of the aforementioned categories, along with Johnny Depp and Hunter S. Thompson. “I’ve had a long, long history with Shane,” Depp revealed. “Even before I met him, I was fascinated by his language, his ability to make these incredibly moving, powerful songs. He was so prolific while at the same time being on the heels of the devil.” With that being said, putting together Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan was not easy, thanks to how erratic MacGowan is.
Johnny Depp is a celebrity, but he has done it on his own terms, for the most part. The Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan documentary sounds like it was a positive experience for the actor/musician and he was thankful to be at the San Sebastian Festival. “This festival always has the least of… let’s call them Hollywood types,” he said. “I feel San Sebastian is truly a festival about cinema, about the filmmakers, about the people who work on them and get these films made, which is miraculous.” Variety was the first to report on Johnny Depp’s thoughts on celebrity.
