Why does Johnny Depp keep making Pirates films? ‘Pay me stupid money, I’m going to take it’

Why does Johnny Depp continue to make Pirates of the Caribbean movies? Is it for love of the character, or the desire to tell more stories in that world? Well … “Basically, if they're going to pay me the stupid money right now, I'm going to take it,” Depp admits in the new issue of Vanity Fair. “I have to. I mean, it's not for me. Do you know what I mean? At this point, it's for my kids. It's ridiculous, yeah, yeah. But ultimately is it for me? No. No. It's for the kids.”

Depp is ever mum on the size of his Pirates ransom, but a report this summer cited his total take in the $300 million range, due to a gross-profit-sharing deal brokered with Disney. The four-film franchise has tallied $3.7 billion to date in worldwide receipts.

Nick Tosches, Depp friend of a decade and writer of this month's cover profile, says he's “the same old Johnny” who pumped gas to make ends meet and for a period attended Scientology study groups because they paid $3 per meeting. “I went to a bunch, man. It was so great, it was so fantastic,” Depp says.

Photo: the Vanity Fair spread, with photography by Terry Richardson

Gramilano( Editor )

Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.

His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times magazine.