"People label you": When Johnny Depp spoke about teen fame

The 1980s was the time when Johnny Depp rose to superstardom as the actor kept delivering stellar performances one after the other.

Johnny Depp's claim to fame was his performance in the hit TV series 21 Jump Street which aired from 1987 to 1991. Given how the teen actor became increasingly popular overnight, Depp was constantly placed under media scrutiny.

In a 1988 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Johnny Depp spoke candidly about the pressure of expectations that he faces from the fans, movie critics, and media outlets as well.

Talking about how easily people forget to separate the actor from his character, Johnny Depp said:

"The only thing wrong with the teen idol thing is that people label you and they stick you in a spot and they won't let you out of it and I would feel very very ripped off it that would happen to me if I was just stuck in that mold and I couldn't get out of it."

Johnny Depp in TV series 21 Jump Street (Image via IMDb)

The teen actor went on to say that the "important" thing for him is to "act" and to do the "best job" possible. For Johnny Depp, his dedication to his acting is the ultimate purpose of being an actor, fame is something that is secondary and the actor is not interested in hankering after fame.

Speaking of his ambitions for his acting career, Depp said in the interview:

"The least important thing to me is becoming famous and being well known and you know trying to be everybody's hero. That's not what I'm about."

Johnny Depp just wanted to do the "best thing" he could possibly do and be accepted and celebrated for it, rather than just being known for superficial things like looking "okay".

From the interview, it becomes clear that Johnny Depp takes his acting seriously and he wants to be remembered for his phenomenal performances.

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"I do miss privacy": Johnny Depp speaks about the lack of privacy since he became famous

With astronomical fame comes lack of privacy. Johnny Depp, beginning to be well-known and loved by fans, found it difficult to go anywhere without being recognized.

Johnny Depp had the following take on the stark lack of privacy in public places:

"I do miss privacy. It's a little strange...to go out to a restaurant or something and have people sort of, you know, gawking at you like you're some sort of, I don't know, animal on display or some sort of, you know, freak."

It seems that Johnny Depp was still getting used to his newly acquired fame. He kept addressing the entire matter of absent privacy as something "strange", and said that it requires some getting used to.

Johnny Depp says he misses his privacy in his interview with ET (Image via Associated Press)

At the same time, Depp is grateful for his success. In same the interview, Johnny Depp is seen saying that if things continue well for him he will "get used" to this aspect of fame.

Despite being warned by people around him to watch what he does now that he is in the spotlight, the Pirates of the Caribbean actor plans to stay true to himself rather than being "dishonest" about his ways, and he hopes that people will "accept" him for who he is what he chooses to do with his life.

Johnny Depp mingling with fans signing autographs (Image via Getty)

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Johnny Depp on the "public eye"

Talking about the irony of fame, Depp said in the interview:

"There's a weird thing you know that people work their whole lives and they say oh I'm gonna do everything I can to be famous and then once you get famous you do everything you can so you can stay out of the public eye."

It has been many years since the interview and Johnny Depp has worn many faces in the many years of his acting, all equally breathtaking, showing the actor's ever-increasing range of versatility, showing that he is not afraid to break the mold.

Johnny Depp has portrayed a diverse range of characters over the years (Image via IMDb)

Depp has never been out of the limelight since. It is only last year that the actor won the defamation lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard who claimed Depp had physically abused her throughout the marriage.

Recently, Depp donated the one million settlement money from winning the infamous trial to charities.