We all know Johnny Depp loves his outlandish roles -- the sympathetic scissor-handed humanoid, the antisocial chocolatier, the murderous barber, the eyeliner-loving pirate (just to name a few) -- but wouldn’t we all agree, considering his character choices over nearly two decades, that he might be getting just a tad bit, well, predictable? Look, put Edward Scissorhands, Willy Wonka, Sweeney Todd and Jack Sparrow in a lineup, and identifying one from another becomes almost as difficult as distinguishing between La Toya and Janet Jackson.
So what’s a bad boy and three-time Oscar nominee to do if he wants to up the ante and keep us on our toes? He announces that his “dream role” would be to play Carol Channing -- the wide-mouthed Broadway and screen legend (most famous for “Hello Dolly”) -- in a story about her life. And how did the now-88-year-old Channing react to Depp’s announcement? She gushed. “I think he is a gifted performer and I would be very proud, as well as interested in seeing what his vision of me would be.”
Depp is no stranger to gender bending (remember his turn as cross-dressing C-list director in “Ed Wood” and his scene-stealing role as prison tranny Bon-Bon in “Before Night Falls”), and we recognize his partiality to wigs and makeup. But we’re not talking about a guy doing drag here. We ain’t talkin’ “Tootsie” (or “Victor Victoria” or “Mrs. Doubtfire”). We’re talking about an undeniably hyper-talented actor who’s saying he's open to a role where he has to shift genders completely and capture the persona of one of our most celebrated personalities.
This kind of role isn’t entirely new to Hollywood. As recently as 2007, Cate Blanchett played Bob Dylan in “I’m Not There,” to critical acclaim. Could Johnny and Cate be setting a trend that Hollywood is willing to follow? You can almost imagine the light bulbs going off in the heads of all those studio execs: Who’s next? Jake Gyllenhaal as Cher? Adam Lambert as Liza Minnelli? How about Robert Pattinson as Lauren Bacall or Sean Penn as Barbara Streisand? Wouldn't Rihanna be great in a Prince biopic, and why not Lea DeLaria as Jackie Gleason?
Why don’t you tell us? Which young celebrity could successfully play the part of an entertainment legend of the opposite sex? We’ll consider all your suggestions and put the best into a poll so everyone can vote!
Lea DeLaria as Jackie Gleason would be a SCREAM!!! I would love to see that! I saw her play Mama Morton in Chicago once, and she was incredible.
Posted by: Jackson | July 23, 2009 at 05:09 PM
'Tobacco Rope Jack' was an institution to me. Nobody believed that this thing was acceptable - which disturbed me. However no one really had the ingenuity to know cinema like I have in my past 25 years. So "either you break out or stay away!" And of course, I mean 'like ["jack s___" I am]!' Okay, calm.
Posted by: Jimmy Smith | July 23, 2009 at 05:13 PM
Umm....not new...Linda Hunt, a woman, won an Oscar for playing a guy in "The Year of Living Dangerously." Just FYI.
Posted by: Keithinland | July 23, 2009 at 06:28 PM
Let's see: How about Alec Baldwin as Lanie Kazan! I heard years ago that Drew Barrymore was going to play Ginger Rogers. Would LOVE that! Personally, I think Adam Lambert looks more like Brenda Vaccaro.
Posted by: Jeff | July 23, 2009 at 08:41 PM
This is so like the updated version of that book "Separated At Birth?" by the Editors of Spy for a new generation. Remember Geraldine Ferraro & David Bowie, Mick Jagger & Don Knotts, Janis Joplin & Facts of Life star Mindy Cohn, David Lee Roth & Ann Margaret, etc. Not sure if Ru Paul could pull off Beyonce, but there are some incredible resemblances.
Posted by: farmboyWI | July 24, 2009 at 03:03 AM
How about Toby Maguire as k.d. lang? I'm convinced they are the same person. Also, Joe Jonas as Joan Crawford would be an eyebrow lover's dream.
Posted by: coolcoolboy | July 24, 2009 at 05:08 AM
John Goodman as Mae West!
Posted by: Mash | July 24, 2009 at 03:07 PM
How about Arnold S. as Marjorie Main?
Posted by: Laredo | July 24, 2009 at 04:22 PM
I'm thinking Miley Cyrus as Mickey Rooney.
Posted by: Wayne | July 25, 2009 at 10:28 AM
I always wanted to see Lyndon B. Johnson as Golda Meir. Too late for that now. Come to think of it, did you ever see a photo of the two of them together?
Posted by: John Schmacker | July 25, 2009 at 10:52 AM
Zac Efron as Jean Seberg. If he could pull that off in a well-done indie production, could he ever earn some real acting cred.
Posted by: Jeff | July 26, 2009 at 04:24 PM
Well years ago I always thought (when they were younger) Olivia Newton John would have played a good part as Johnny Farnham and certainly Lisa Presley could have doshed up and made a convincing Elvis - she certainly would have been more convincing than most of the impersonators I've ever seen. But just before anyone tries... Ophra W could never be a P Obama...nah you'd have a better chance of representing an American cheese cake with an Aussie pavlova than that I reckon. But don't be disheartened cuz they still haven't figured out how to turn all gays straight or viser verser yet even though they have put a man on the moon - n ow wouldn't that be something if they had the secret to doing both - wonder who would win??? Guess thats a topic for the future... :o) But just remember - anything's possible these days...
Posted by: timtam | July 30, 2009 at 01:44 PM
Hey,
I just was curious what American Gay Agenda is. I went to the gayest neighbourhood of New York City to ask gay guys what does the gay agenda mean. Does America have Gay Agenda? Find out: http://www.youtube.com/CuriousSergey
Posted by: Sergey | August 01, 2009 at 03:10 PM