Depp has been an idiosyncratic presence since his career started in the late '80s, when he pulled stunts on the ''21 Jump Street'' set (wearing a George Washington powdered wig, wrapping rubber bands around his tongue) in an attempt to get out of his contract and the teen idol reputation he was eager to shed. And even now, at 40, Depp still carries the same merry prankster attitude of a young punk. His jeans are ripped at the knee, his boots so scuffed it's hard to discern what color they might have once been, and he's covered in silver rings, charm necklaces, and conversation-piece tattoos. He has a dozen of them. He got the first at 17 (an Indian chief on his right bicep) and the 12th just recently (his son's name, Jack, on his right forearm). When he laughs, which is often, you can still make out the pair of shiny gold-capped teeth he flashed in ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' -- the biggest hit of his odd 20-year career.

Depp still seems a bit dazed by ''Pirates''' success and all the attention he's gotten for his swishing, sozzled performance. So it's strange to hear him explain how his mascara-clad riff on Keith Richards almost got him fired. ''There were a couple of high-end Disney executives who were fine with what I was doing,'' he says. ''But there were a couple who were very worried.... You know, like, 'He's ruining the movie! Why is he acting like that? What's he doing with his hand? Is the character a complete homosexual?' There was a lot of that going on for a solid month and a half. And I understood their worries, but I felt so in tune with this character and so confident that what I was doing was right that I had to say, 'Look, I understand your fear. But you've hired me to do a job. You know what I've done before, so you know it's going to be something along these lines. So please trust me. And if you can't trust me then you probably should replace me.'''

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