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Rediff.com  » Movies » Vote: Johnny Depp's wackiest look!

Vote: Johnny Depp's wackiest look!

Last updated on: March 10, 2010 15:07 IST

Image: A scene from Alice in Wonderland
Anita Mehta in Mumbai

If there's one word to describe the characters that Johnny Depp has essayed it has to be 'quirky'.

The actor has made a mark playing unattractive, misunderstood and quirky characters.

Alice in Wonderland, Tim Burton's seventh collaboration with Depp hitting screens this Friday, sees the actor in yet another unusual role of Tarrant Hightopp, the Mad Hatter with orange hair, garish make up and outlandish dressing style that keep changing throughout the film to reflect his emotions.

While we wait to see if Alice is Depp's freakiest role yet, here's a look at the other times he freaked us out with his weirdness. Don't forget to vote at the end of this slide show for your favourite look.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Image: A scene from Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Playing a barber might seem a tame choice but not when it's Sweeney Todd.

Sweeney is not always easy to watch, but you can't turn away either. From our first glimpse of Johnny Depp's haunted, vengeful eyes as the ex-convict barber sails into London on a mission to kill the man who stole his wife and child, and sent him off to prison, we're swept into Burton's pitch-black vision.

Depp essayed this demented character with classic flair in this movie version of the Stephen Sondheim musical.

What's more, he sang his own songs too, befittingly winning him a Golden Globe Award in 2007.

Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean series

Image: A scene from The Pirates of the Caribbean

As the flamboyant Captain Jack Sparrow, Depp stole the show and could very easily been seen as the film's best special effect.

The outrageous performance, which was reportedly inspired by Keith Richards, earned Depp his first Academy Award nomination.

Audiences voted Depp's endearing, drunk and double-crossing swashbuckler Jack Sparrow as the main reason to watch this one on the big screen.

Depp gave Sparrow a freakiness that would be tough to emulate. The film's director, Gore Verbinski, stated that Depp's Jack Sparrow character closely resembles Depp's own personality.

Depp has agreed in many subsequent interviews that Sparrow is "definitely a big part of me", and is perhaps his only character he's allowed himself to repeat.

Having voiced for a video game for the franchise, Johnny Depp will soon star in fourth installment of the Caribbean franchise.

Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Image: A scene from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Depp's ability to bring creepiness and originality to his roles stands out best in this character.

His look -- severe bob and oversize sunglasses -- was based on Vogue editor Anna Wintour.

Critics compared Depp's oddly etched performance to Michael Jackson. We have a pale man locked away for years and who gives candy to young children in hopes of making them stay with him in the warehouse forever.

That awkward smile and high pitched voice just upped the creepiness ten fold even wiping away Gene Wilder's portrayal of this role earlier.

Edward Scissorhands

Image: A scene from Edward Scissorhands

The whimsy that drives Depp's career springs from his early days as an actor. One of his first characters was Edward Scissorhands, in which Depp played an abandoned monster with scissors where his digits should have been.

Dealing with self-discovery and isolation, it took Stan Winston one hour 45 minutes to create Depp's deep obsidian eyes, wonderfully set off by white makeup.

Much like Boris Karloff's screen version of Frankenstein's monster, Depp wasn't given much room to verbally emote much in the same way the rest of the cast did.

Nevertheless, he remarkably pulled off the seemingly difficult role by his use of body language.

Ed Wood

Image: A scene from Ed Wood

Playing Ed Wood, Depp's serenely obsessive portrait of the grade-Z moviemaker and cross-dresser with a special affection for angora sweaters, was a role that Depp said, "was the rocket ship that took me away from that horrible, black, bleak time. This guy needed to be the ultimate optimist, dreamer, and idealist. It was like being in a completely different suit or skin. It felt very good."

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