I do not know what is sexy about me, says Johnny Depp

Actor Johnny Depp may have twice been voted the ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ and been listed in the 2012 Guinness Book of World Records as the highest paid actor, but the Hollywood star himself prefers to play it down. “I hate fame,” says the actor, best known for films like Pirates of the Caribbean and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, among others. Showing a keen interest in Bollywood and India, the actor admits that he would love to vist the country someday and also “would love to be a part of your cinema.” In an interview with DNA, the actor gets candid about dealing with the pressures of stardom and being Johnny Depp!   

Q: Being a celebrity puts enormous pressures on your personal life, especially when it comes to rumours about your love life. How do you handle it?
A: It doesn’t matter… I think one has to sign up for stuff like that as soon as they enter the showbiz.

Q: Is there a downside to fame?
A: I’m shy, paranoid, whatever word you want to use. I hate fame. I’ve done everything I can to avoid it.

Q: What do you think of awards and competition?
A: They do not matter to me.

Q: Women find your quirky selection of roles rather sexy too…
A: I am doing things that are true to me; apart from that I do not know what is sexy about me.

Q: You seem to be drawn towards films that tend to explore the darker facets…
A: My life is pretty abnormal and hence I get drawn to offbeat roles.

Q: How much of the real ‘Johnny Depp’ do we get to see on screen? Is there any onscreen character that you can say has been the closest to the real you?
A: None, I am a product and do what I am asked to in my movies.

Q: You played a vampire in your recent release Dark Shadows. How was it playing Barnabas Collins?
A: It was fun. What I wanted to come across with Barnabas is, again, there is some kind of thread throughout all these characters.  The idea of this very elegant, upper echelon, sort of well-schooled kind of gentleman who’s cursed in the 18th century and is brought back to probably the most surreal era of our times, the 1970s, 1972.  How he would react to things and how radically different things were, not just with regard to technology and automobiles and such, but actual items of enjoyment for people, like pet rocks, fake flowers, plastic fruit, lava lamps. 

Q: The film had you pairing with filmmaker Tim Burton again…
A: Tim and I have talked about it for many years, but this was the first project that I wanted to play since I  was a little boy.

Q: Any plans to visit India?
A: Yes, I would love to visit the country.