Like any actor with a lengthy career, Johhny Depp has experienced his ups and downs in Hollywood, but after years of scrutiny from the public eye, the A-lister has learned not to let the critics faze him.
"What is really satisfying is, like Marlon [Brando], getting to that place where he just didn't give a f--k," Depp says in his latest interview with Details magazine, explaining his evolution as an actor while smoldering on the cover. "First, I reached a point where I cared so much and was so diligent in terms of approaching the work. Then you get to where you care so f--king much that it gets goddamn beleaguering, you know? But then a great thing happens. Suddenly you care enough to not give a f--k, because not giving a f--k, that's the total liberation. Being game to try anything."
Expletives aside, the 51-year-old actor makes a solid point, considering his recent movie flops, including Transcendence and The Lone Ranger, have caused critics to question his career, and, despite his newfound ability to "not give a f--k," he admits it has been difficult in the past to live up to outsiders' expectations.
"It's like being a dog at the track," Depp, who is currently engaged to actress Amber Heard, explains of the expectation to produce successful blockbusters following the success of the 2003 hit The Pirates of the Caribbean. "They expect you to live up to some race you happened to be in and won accidentally. From that first second, you're nothing more than a commodity. They have expectations of another Pirates. It's great if something works. Boy, that's killer. But God, to have that as your design...it's ugly, I think."
In addition to spilling on the politics of Tinseltown, Depp also revealed a surprising character confession. "I'm f--kin' shy, man," the Sleepy Hollow star admits. "I'm living, in a sense, like a fugitive. I don't like to be in social situations—it's fine for me in a weird way, having to run and hide. Less and less, I have the opportunity to observe, because I'm the one being observed."
Still, despite his shy demeanor, Depp says he longer has time to play the Hollywood game.
"The process I love. The other stuff...I can deal with being a fugitive for a bit, but I don't know how much longer a human being really wants to be that. Actors essentially have to peddle their ass to sell the movie. All the by-products or occupational hazards of the thing..." he said before quoting his mentor, Brando. "At a certain point, one has to dig deep and go, 'Man, it is a birdsong.'"