Editing Johnny Depp (section)

=== 1980s: Television and early film roles ===

[[File:President Ronald Reagan greets Johnny Depp while Nancy Reagan looks on.jpg|thumb|Depp greeting President [[Ronald Reagan]] at a [[White House]]&nbsp;benefit for [[Just Say No|The Nancy Reagan Drug Abuse Fund]] in 1988]]

Depp moved to Los Angeles with his band when he was 20. After the band split up, Depp's then-wife Lori Ann Allison introduced him to actor [[Nicolas Cage]].<ref name=tca /> After they became drinking buddies, Cage advised him to pursue acting.{{sfn|Blitz|Krasniewicz|2007|pp=16–17}} Depp had been interested in acting since reading a biography of [[James Dean]] and watching ''[[Rebel Without a Cause]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title= Hooked on Dean, says Johnny Depp |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2005/09_september/26/depp.shtml |website= bbc.co.uk |language= en |access-date= June 22, 2021 |archive-date= June 3, 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220603073420/https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2005/9_september/26/depp.shtml |url-status= live }}</ref> Cage helped Depp get an audition with [[Wes Craven]] for ''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street]]''; Depp, who had no acting experience, said he "ended up acting by accident".{{sfn|Blitz|Krasniewicz|2007|p=17}}<ref name=Testimony>{{cite news |title=Johnny Depp reveals the legendary thespian who encouraged him to pursue acting |url=https://www.marca.com/en/lifestyle/celebrities/2022/04/20/62607073ca4741c46e8b45d3.html |access-date=May 1, 2022 |work=[[Marca (newspaper)|Marca]] |date=April 20, 2022 |language=en |archive-date=May 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220517190126/https://www.marca.com/en/lifestyle/celebrities/2022/04/20/62607073ca4741c46e8b45d3.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Thanks in part to his catching the eye of Craven's daughter,{{sfn|Blitz|Krasniewicz|2007|p=17}} Depp landed the role of the main character's boyfriend, one of [[Freddy Krueger]]'s victims.<ref name="tca" />

Although Depp said he "didn't have any desire to be an actor", he continued to be cast in films,<ref name=Testimony /> making enough to cover some bills that his musical career left unpaid.{{sfn|Blitz|Krasniewicz|2007|p=17}} After a starring role in the 1985 comedy ''[[Private Resort]]'', Depp was cast in the lead role of the 1986 skating drama ''[[Thrashin' (film)|Thrashin']]'' by the film's director, but its producer overrode the decision.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite AV media |title= [[Thrashin' (film)|Thrashin']] |orig-date= 1986 |last=Winters |first=David |author-link=David Winters (choreographer) |type=Commentary track |publisher=MGM Home Video |year= 2003}}</ref><ref name="Adam Tyner">{{cite web| url = https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/7178/thrashin/#supplements| title = Thrashin'| access-date = September 29, 2008| first = Adam| last = Tyner| date = August 5, 1993| quote = something that (the) cast found so astonishing that they apparently called Depp's girlfriend in the middle of the commentary to find out if it is actually true.| archive-date = June 6, 2011| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110606105624/http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/7178/thrashin/#supplements| url-status = live}}</ref> Instead, Depp appeared in a minor supporting role as a Vietnamese-speaking private in [[Oliver Stone]]'s 1986 [[Vietnam War]] drama ''[[Platoon (film)|Platoon]]''. He became a [[teen idol]] during the late 1980s, when he starred as an undercover police officer in a high school operation in the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] television series ''[[21 Jump Street]]'', which premiered in 1987.<ref name="tca" /> He accepted this role to work with actor [[Frederic Forrest]], who inspired him. Despite his success, Depp felt that the series "forced [him] into the role of product".<ref name="reuters">{{cite news |agency=Reuters |title=It's a pirates life for Johnny Depp |url=http://www.sify.com/movies/it-s-a-pirates-life-for-johnny-depp-news-hollywood-kkfvj7chfdisi.html |website=[[Sify]] |date=July 4, 2006 |access-date=March 23, 2017 |archive-date=March 24, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170324000855/http://www.sify.com/movies/it-s-a-pirates-life-for-johnny-depp-news-hollywood-kkfvj7chfdisi.html  }}</ref>