Today, the Miramar High School graduate is being watched by millions of movie-goers in the highly acclaimed movie Platoon.
Some critics describe as the first realistic depiction of the Vietnam War. Director and writer Oliver Stone drops Depp and the rest of the dirty, sweat-soaked platoon into a jungle heavy with the stench of death.
To describe it in one word: intense.
“For the first week or so, he didn’t know if he would make it,” said John Depp of Hallandale, Johnny’s father. “For two weeks before they started filming, they made Johnny and the others live in the jungle.
“It was 115 degrees by eight in the morning. It was just mud and swarms of ants. They slept in two-man foxholes and didn’t get much sleep, and they ate out of cans.”
Johnny is currently filming a series for TV in Vancouver, British Columbia, and was unavailable for comment.
In 1983, Depp, the lead guitarist in The Kids rock band, left south Broward for Hollywood, Calif., looking for a record deal.
Meanwhile, a friend, actor Nicolas Cage, introduced Depp to his agent and persuaded the musician to give acting another chance.
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