The best character actor of our century is 45 today.
The man that brought to life characters such as Captain Jack Sparrow, Sweeney Todd, and Edward Scissorhands just to name a few, is also one of the most humble celebrities on the planet.

Recently, while filming Public Enemies in the Midwest he took time to shake hands, hug fans, sign autographs, and take photographs with the locals. This isn’t a rarity for Depp, he does this each time his fans, to whom he has referred as “his boss” gather to greet him. Huge turnouts are present when he’s on location for a film, premiere, or awards ceremony, no matter what country he is in.

He gives time, energy, and personal attention to many charitable groups. In October 2006, Johnny received the Courage to Care award in recognition of his contributions to the Los Angeles Children’s Hospital. The list of his benevolent actions is long, and there are many stories of his generosity on the internet. I don’t know if all those accounts are accurate but I do know that his kindness transcends to people of all ages and conditions. He is not the type of celebrity that calls a press conference, or makes sure photographers are around when he does a good deed. Johnny Depp does most of these things without the mainstream media knowing about them, the buzz comes from the people themselves saying thank you and it’s carried around the globe by his fans on internet forums, blogs, and word of mouth.

Depp is proof that a person can stay true to their ideals while playing the game in Hollywood. He has chosen every character, even helped create many of them, without wavering his creative principles. Many of his devoted fans loved his work even before the world wide phenomena of Captain Jack Sparrow in 2003. They have followed his career since his 21 Jump Street Days, or that first glimpse of Edward Scissorhands on screen. Many of them were able to meet with him in person, shake his hand, take a photo, get an autograph, or just chat awhile after a long days work on the set. Stories of his sincerity with these people are evident whenever they are being told.

I have my own story of being behind the barricades on Hollywood & Highland hoping for a glimpse of Johnny or better yet a few words in my direction, maybe the desired hug photo. It was the premiere of Charlie & the Chocolate Factory in 2005. I brought my old book from 1978 for Johnny Depp to sign. I was one of the lucky fans that day getting his autograph, a smile, and a WOW when I told him how old my book was. That was my golden ticket day.

Seeing him get out of his car, dodging the press, and traffic, running across the street to his fans was amazing to watch. I really do think he gets the idea that without us, he’d be out of a job.

So to help celebrate the birthday of an amazing person I’ll be watching one of my favorite Depp movie’s tonight, Edward Scissorhands. Or maybe, Dead Man, of course Ed Wood might be best, well for now I’ll sing along with Amy Anne to her cool tune named after the man of the day. You can listen to it here at cdbaby.com