Johnny Depp: ‘I Prefer To Stay As Ignorant As Possible About My Work’

Johnny Depp may be one of Hollywood’s most beloved film stars, but the actor admits he doesn’t find it easy to watch himself on the big screen.

“I prefer to stay as ignorant as possible about my work and anybody else’s work in movies,” the “Public Enemies” star told Parade.com. “Like, for example, as much as I want to see what Michael Mann did with this film and what Christian [Bale] and Marion [Cotillard] put on the screen in their performances, it’ll probably be a while before I can bring myself to take a look at it because then I would start having regrets.”

While it takes a while to view his performances, Depp, whose new film opened in theaters earlier this week, said he certainly enjoys the thrill of his job.

“Twenty something years ago, somebody handed me the ball and said, ‘OK, kid, here’s your chance. Run with it.’ And you go as far as you go until somebody tells you, ‘You’re done. Get out.’ And that’s what I did,” he said. “I realize that part of that process is a certain amount of attention, if you’re lucky. There’s a loss of anonymity, which can be a bit of a drag at times. But it’s not a bad gig.”