POLL: There has been a great deal of hoopla over Johnny Depp playing Tonto, a Native American, in Disney’s new Lone Ranger film. However, it is unfair to focus on this single role without taking Depp’s career into account. He is playing an Indian because he has a good working relationship with Gore Verbinski, the director of the film, and because the movies where Depp plays an outrageously dressed character earn much, much, much more money than the movies where he simply acts. Depp’s breakout role was Edward Scissorhands (1990), and most of his collaborations with his favorite director, Tim Burton, have involved him wearing elaborate costumes. Furthermore, the first Pirates of the Caribbean was an unexpected blockbuster, and his choice of roles has changed dramatically since then. Aside from three more Pirates movies, with number five slated for 2015, Depp has made Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Alice in Wonderland (2010), and Dark Shadows (2012) for Tim Burton, all of which required enough make-up to fill a tanker truck. Playing Tonto in The Lone Ranger is nothing more than a logical progression.
Take the poll and decide whether Depp is simply a misunderstood artist or a cynical, insensitive superstar fixated on the size of his paycheck. Read More…