Johnny Depp has branded Hollywood a “racket” and said he detests the competitiveness he thinks fuels showbiz.
Johnny Depp has branded Hollywood a ‘racket’ and said he detests the competitiveness he thinks fuels showbiz
The ‘Ed Wood’ actor, 60, added because his fame means he can’t do normal things like visiting a book store the only place he feels comfortable is his hideaway in the Bahamas.
He told the South China Morning Post when asked where feels most “himself” in the world: “Well, that is an interesting question for me because obviously my life is a little bit different than other people’s, in the sense that I long to be able to go out into the world and experience stuff, see stuff, go to a store, bookstores. “But it does not work that way for me anymore.
“Where I feel the most myself in this world, and where I go to feel absolutely normal, I suppose, is my place in the Bahamas, because it’s an island and nobody’s looking at me.
“You’ve got to have some sanctuary, a safe place where you can escape the scrutiny and the interest of others, a place where you can just sit on a beach, read, paint, meditate or whatever, that’s freedom to me. That’s the only real freedom.”
He added about the cleansing power of the ocean at his island home: “The idea of being under, just free in the ocean, with the wind pounding against you, the sun pounding down on you, and the shimmery ripples across the water, sparkles everywhere… it cleanses your mind.”
Despite tales he was spending fortunes on wine and still into wild living, Johnny insisted: “The thing that intrigues me most is the most basic, the simplest way of living. I don’t have a decadent lifestyle.
“Yes, everything boils down to real simplicity for me. When you’re on the island, you’re not at some swanky hotel.
“It doesn’t look like the Four Seasons or anything. It should look like what it is. It should look like a simple island house. Nothing grand, nothing. Just simplicity.”
Johnny appeared to be referring to a new pad he has in the Bahamas as he sold his private 60-acre Little Halls Pond Cay island to ‘Harry Potter’ writer JK Rowling, 58, for $75 million in 2016.
The actor added about considering the entertainment business a “racket”: “The racket that I’ve been in for all these years is quite a competitive racket, and I’ve never felt the need to be competitive with anyone.
“I hate the idea. It’s about who wins what, who gets what, who’s better and who’s worse, and who makes more, and all that… I don’t care about any of that stuff.
“If you care about any of that stuff, man, I just think it’s counterproductive to the actual work that you’re doing as an actor.”
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