Johnny Depp's Greatest Roles

by Helen Earnshaw | 6 August 2013

Johnny Depp is back on the big screen this week as he takes on the role of Tonto in The Lone Ranger.

Over the years Depp has shown that he is one of the most versatile and talented actors of his generation, with great performance after great performance.

To celebrate the return of Depp to the big screen, we count down the top six performances of his career so far.

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl

Of course, there is only one place to start when looking at Johnny Depp's finest performances... of course I am talking about Captain Jack Sparrow.

Curse of the Black Pearl was a big risk for everyone involved as pirate movies had not had a lot of success at the box office.

With with a fantastic central performance from Depp and Disney behind the film, it went on to be a box office smash.

Based on rocker Keith Richards, Jack Sparrow is Depp's greatest character creation; he went on to charm cinema audiences as well as receive a Best Actor Oscar nomination.

He has since played the character in three further movies, and Jack Sparrow has done nothing but grow in popularity.

2. Edward Scissorhands

Edward Scissorhands may be over twenty years old, released back in 1991, but this remains one of my favourite Depp performances and movies.

It was the first collaboration between Depp and director Tim Burton, in a movie that was a modern twist on Beauty and the Beast.

This role was a far cry from his heart-throb status on 21 Jump Street, and it kicked off a career that saw him put characters before money and success.

This is a delightful fable from start to finish - there is just a real magic to this movie.

Depp gives an innocent performance and it was to be a role that changed the direction of his career.

3. Finding Neverland

Depp returned to the biopic in 2004 when he played J.M. Barrie in Finding Neverland.

Directed by Marc Forster and also starring Kate Winslet, the movie follows Barrie's friendship with a family who inspired him to write the classic Peter Pan.

Depp is incredibly charming as Barrie, a man who is not interested in what other people think about him.

Depp depicts Barrie as a compelling character who lives in his own world, where he believes what he wants to believe. Depp's central performance saw him nominated again for the Best Actor Oscar.

This is a charming movie that will make you laugh and cry, and is pushed forward by some great performances.

4. What's Eating Gilbert Grape

In 1993 Depp teamed up with Leonardo DiCaprio in Lasse Hallström's What's Eating Gilbert Grape; which was a big screen adaptation of the novel by Peter Hedges.

The movie follows Gilbert who has to take care of his obese mother and his brother Arnie.

This movie is an insightful looks into the ups and downs of what it means to be a family, and is driven forward by the performances from Depp and DiCaprio; they have a great chemistry together.

Depp gives a very sincere performance in this film that you can't help but like this character from the very start.

5. Donnie Brasco

In 1997 Depp starred alongside Al Pacino in the crime drama Donnie Brasco, which was directed by Mike Newell.

The movie was based on the true story of Joseph D. Pistone, an FBI undercover agent who infiltrated the Bonanno crime family in New York in the seventies.

This is a tense and sharp movie that is very much a character study about a man trying to remember who he is and the job he has to do as he gets sucked into the Mafia world.

There is a gritty and real feel to the film from start to finish and it is a movie that will totally engross you.