Top 5 Best Johnny Depp Performances

Walter: Greetings. I'm Walter Banasiak, and this is Top 5. Here, we count down the best and worst performances of our most beloved actors. Today, we take a look at the best of Johnny Depp. Savvy?

(The Top 5 logo is shown, before showing the title and cover of this Top 5 list)

Walter: Johnny Depp is, without a doubt, one of the best actors of this generation. From the beginning, he's pushed the envelope in ways that other actors wouldn't dare. His range from playing lovably goofy characters to stone cold killers and everything in between is well documented. The guy can pretty much do anything. He's created icons while crafting a career that spanned 32 years. When Depp is on his game, he's one of the best screen presences maybe ever. And these are the best of the best, his Top 5 Best Performances.

#5
Walter (vo): Number 5: Agent Sheldon Jeffrey Sands in Once Upon a Time in Mexico.

#4
Walter (vo): Number 4: James Whitey Bulger in Black Mass.

Walter: This one just came out last year and proves Depp can still give us fresh and unsettling performances.

(Images and footage of Black Mass are shown)

Walter (vo): Based on a true story, Whitey Bulger was a small-time Boston gangster, when he's approached by his friend John Connolly to become an FBI informant. Over the following years, Bulger abuses his status and corrupts his FBI friends to the point where he became one of the biggest crime bosses in US history. The rise and fall of Bulger's empire are chronicled in this tale.

Walter: From the beginning, Depp is a heavy, intimidating presence. He's unhinged and creepy, but he can also be somewhat sympathetic. Those different sides to Bulger's personality make this one of Depp's best.

Walter (vo): The element of not knowing when Bulger will snap makes you keep an eye on him at all times. One second, he's your friend, the next, he's strangling you to death. Those scenes are terrifying. It makes you think how a man who seemed to love his mother, wife and son so much can be so angry and cold in brutally murdering people.

Walter: By far, the creepiest scene is where he confronts John Connolly's wife. It made my skin crawl.

(The scene is shown, showing Bulger slowly grabbing Marrianne Connolly's neck)

Bulger: Are you sure it's there? Do you feel it? Feel something? 'Cause I don't feel any swollen glands there.

Walter (vo): The only thing I'd say against this performance is that the makeup on Depp doesn't quite work. He looks like an alien with blue eye contacts. They never look good on people with naturally dark eyes. It's weird because the age progression on everyone else in the movie is great. Depp is the only one who doesn't look right. I think they should've just blended Depp's natural features with a few elements of Bulger's look.

Walter: Other than that, this is one of Depp's best and shows us just how dark he can go.

#3
Walter (vo): Number 3: Edward Scissorhands in Edward Scissorhands.

#2
Walter (vo): Number 2...

(Suddenly, a Jack Sparrow lookalike pirate (Jim Jaroez) appears next to Walter)

Jim: Let's get on with it already, mate. There's no need for the foreplay. We all know what #1 is. You can skip two through five.

Walter: Let me guess, you're, uh...Jim Sparrow?

Jim: Captain Jim Sparrow.

Walter: Number 2: Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

Jim: That's right. Wait, what?

Honorable Mentions
Walter: Johnny Depp has some amazing work that I can't fit in to just five roles. So, before we get to #1, here are some honorable mentions.

(The honorable mentions are: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Donnie Brasco, Finding Neverland, and What's Eating Gilbert Grape)

#1
Walter (vo): And the number 1 Best Johnny Depp Performance is...Edward D. Wood Jr. in Ed Wood.