What Kind Of Accent Does Johnny Depp Have?
During the infamous Johnny Depp vs Amber Heard trial that kept the entire nation glued to their screens, it was a shock to many Depp fans to hear him speak in his natural accent.Shocking, that is to say, considering he's something of a master at switching in between accents for his roles in films.Fans were also confused about exactly why he sounded the way that he did. It wasn't something that many were used to hearing, and some even accused him of faking his natural way of speaking. Why does his accent sound so strange?
Despite Being Born In Kentucky, Johnny Depp Does Not Have A Traditional Kentucky Accent
Johnny Depp was born John Christopher Depp II in Owensboro, Kentucky on June 9th, 1963. He was the youngest of four kids and his parents were of mostly English with some German, Irish, and French ancestry.
In an interview with Rolling Stones Magazine, Depp claimed that he'd moved more than 40 times in his childhood, but eventually they settled in Miramar, Florida, when he was 7 years old. Between the ages of 17 and 18, he moved to Los Angeles, California, with his band to try and score a record deal. He's also claimed that he might be some Native American, however he's never inquired to either the Cherokee Nation or the Creek Nation, which is something he said his great-grandmother might've been.
This in and of itself clearly does not make any one person Indigenous with no clear way of knowing for sure, and because of this, he'd found criticism from the Native American and Indigenous communities. It also doesn't help that he was the face of Dior's Savauge cologne for a time. As fans have pointed out, it's highly unlikely that these are the sure-fire indicators of where his strange accent could have stemmed from.
Some Fans Have Theorized That Johnny Depp Could Suffer From A Speaking Medical Condition
Another theory that has been passed around is that Depp could be one of the mere less than 100 people who suffer from FAS (Foreign Accent Syndrome). This is defined in The Journal Of Neurology Neurosurgery, And Psychiatry as an "unusual consequence of structural neurological damage," adding that it "may sometimes represent a functional neurological disorder."
In layman's terms, it's a medical condition that causes speech disorder, making the afflicted person sound like they're from another country. However, this theory doesn't hold much value, considering there's been no reported medical trauma to Depp's head or neck area that could cause such a disorder to occur. So, it's a nice theory, but we can do better. Next.
Johnny Depp Has Been Doing Different Accents For Most Of His Career
The final theory, and the one that most people seem to agree on, is the fact that Johnny Depp is such a chameleon when he's in front of the camera that he just delves into the accent needed for a role, and it might just sorta… stick?
He was so great at his role as Captain Jack Sparrow for the Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean franchise that many fans believed he was actually British. He's also perfected Scottish accent for his role as Sir James Matthew Barrie in the film Finding Neverland.
The actor also spoke and sang in the Cockney accent for Tim Burton's rendition of the Stephen Sondheim musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street. His Boston accent was superb in his role as the infamous gangster Whitey Bulger in the film Black Mass. And who could forget his iconic Scottish Glaswegian accent for his role as The Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland?
Needless to say, he's been perfecting many different accents for a great number of years. It is entirely possible that he simply collects bits and pieces of different accents and combine them to create something as unique as he is.
Despite what some critics might have to say, he's probably not overacting when he speaks in his natural accent. Whatever it is, and wherever it came from, it's clear that it's just another one of his trademarks, and it's something that younger fans have come to know him by.
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