Actor Johnny Depp and director Scott Cooper are not your typical Hollywood heavyweights. Depp, though one of the world’s most recognized stars, rarely plays typical leading man roles and Cooper is a former actor (“The X-Files,” “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me) turned instantly acclaimed director for “Crazy Heart” and “Out of the Furnace.”
The pair came together for this year’s “Black Mass,” a film about real life Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger that won strong reviews -- especially for Depp’s menacing performance -- when it opened this year.
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Depp and Cooper headlined a conversation moderated by Variety’s Jenelle Riley at the Dolby Theater Sunday as part of the ongoing AFI Fest. The duo fielded questions about their film, about meeting for the first time and bringing out the human elements of criminals. Below are some of the highlights from the discussion:
How Johnny Depp signed on for “Black Mass”:
Depp: “‘Crazy Heart’ was the inspiration [for me] to track him down. I wanted to do anything with him. It just kind of coincided with ‘Black Mass.’ I would’ve shot a telephone book for Scott, but ‘Black Mass’ was such a wonderful piece, a wonderful character study, not just for myself but a number of actors.”
On Depp and Cooper’s first time meeting, which lasted seven hours:
Cooper: “It was very clear to me that we share sensibilities in film and music, literature. When you’re sitting across from a guy that you believe is one of the great American artists and really a national treasure, you say, ‘How can I work with Johnny in a way that [lives up to that].’”
On Depp not reading screen directions:
Depp: “I stopped reading screen directions a long time ago. The first time I read a script, I read the whole thing. After that, I kind of block out all the screen directions. Why should I know what’s supposed to happen? I think it should be much more organic than that.”
Cooper: “That’s why he’s a genius.”
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Actor Christian Bale takes pictures and signs autographs with fans lining Hollywood Boulevard before walking the red carpet for the premiere of “The Big Short” on the closing night of AFI.
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Actors Lily Rabe, left, and Hamish Linklater giggle on the red carpet for the premiere of “The Big Short.”
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Ryan Gosling, Christian Bale and other cast members leave the theater after director Adam McKay introduced the premiere of “The Big Short” on closing night of the AFI festival.
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Actor Steve Carell joins Melissa Leo on the red carpet for the premiere of “The Big Short” on closing night of the AFI Fest.
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Actress Karen Gillan does her thing on the red carpet for the premiere of “The Big Short” on the closing night of the festival.
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Actor Ryan Gosling is captured on the red carpet for the premiere of “The Big Short” on the closing night of the festival.
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From left, actors Ryan Gosling, Marisa Tomei and Steve Carell get chatty on the red carpet for the premiere of “The Big Short” on the closing night of the AFI festival.
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Actor Finn Wittrock is captured on the red carpet for the premiere of “The Big Short” on the closing night of the festival.
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Will Smith poses with fans near the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, where he’d arrived Tuesday for the AFI Fest premiere of his film “Concussion.”
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Will Smith, with producer Giannina Facio and her partner, writer/producer/director Ridley Scott, have a laugh before the premiere of “Concussion” at AFI FEST 2015.
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Actor Will Smith poses for photos and signs autographs for fans lined up along Hollywood Boulevard on Tuesday.
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Dr. Julian Bailes, former team physician for the Pittsburgh Steelers, greets former NFL lineman Leonard Marshall, right, before the premiere of “Concussion.”
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Actor Will Smith, right, with director Peter Landesman on the red carpet.
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Musician Leon Bridges, left, and actor Will Smith before the premiere of “Concussion.”
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Actress Sara Lindsey on the red carpet for the premiere of “Concussion” at AFI Fest on Tuesday.
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Actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw in Hollywood for the premiere of “Concussion.”
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Actors Mike O’Malley, left, and Will Smith on the red carpet for their film “Concussion.”
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Actors Mike O’Malley, from left, David Morse, Sara Lindsey, Will Smith, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Albert Brooks pose before the premiere of their film “Concussion.”
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Sports broadcaster Bob Costas, second from left, greets actor Will Smith, right, on the red carpet.
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Actresses Gugu Mbatha-Raw, left and Sara Lindsey attend the Sony after-party following the premiere of “Concussion” at AFI Fest 2015.
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Actor Will Smith and Dr. Bennet Omalu, whom Smith portrays in “Concussion,” attend the Sony after-party at the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel.
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Producer and director Ridley Scott borrows a camera to take a group photo at the “Concussion” after-party.
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Actor Ewan McGregor speaks to reporters before the film “Last Days in the Desert” at AFI Fest 2015 on Wednesday.
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Actor Ewan McGregor, left, and director Rodrigo Garcia pose for photos before showing their film “Last Days in the Desert” on Wednesday at AFI Fest.
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The cast and four of the Chilean miners whose stories are told in the “The 33” pose on the red carpet before the film’s premiere at AFI Fest.
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Mario Gomez, from left, Luis Urzua, Edison”’Elvis” Peña and Juan Carlos Aguilar at the Hollywood premiere of “The 33,” the film that tells their story of being trapped in a Chilean mine.
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Actress Juliette Binoche before the premiere of “The 33” at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
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Actor Jacob Vargas, right, poses with Edison “Elvis” Peña, the Chilean miner he portrayed in “The 33.”
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A model of the rescue capsule used to save the Chilean miners is displayed at the premiere of “The 33.”
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Actor Antonio Banderas, who stars in “The 33,” and Nicole Kimpel on the red carpet at AFI Fest in Hollywood.
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Juliette Binoche and Antonio Banderas before the premiere of “The 33.”
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“The 33” actresses Kate Del Castillo, from left, Cote de Pablo and Juliette Binoche on the red carpet.
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Author and former Los Angeles Times reporter Hector Tobar on the red carpet for “The 33.” The film was adapted from Tobar’s book “Deep Down Dark: The Untold Stories of 33 Men Buried in a Chilean Mine, and the Miracle That Set Them Free.”
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Oscar De La Hoya poses for photos before the premiere of “The 33” at AFI Fest.
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Sylvester Stallone and his wife, Jennifer Flavin, at “The 33” oremiere.
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Sylvester Stallone, right, gets a hug from Chilean miner Luis Urzua as actor Lou Diamond Phillips watches.
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Actress Cote de Pablo, center, poses with Chilean miners Luis Urzua, from left, Juan Carlos Aguilar, Mario Gomez and Edison “Elvis” Peña and producer Mike Medavoy before the premiere of “The 33.”
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The cast of the film “Mustang” and director Deniz Gamze Ergüven, far right, arrive to be photographed at AFI Fest.
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Sony Pictures Classics’s copresidents and cofounders, Michael Barker, left and Tom Bernard, pose with Hungarian director László Nemes, center, before the showing of his film “Son of Saul” on Monday.
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Hungarian director László Nemes, left, and his lead actor Geza Ršhrig before the showing of their film, “Son of Saul,” at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.
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Director Michael Moore arrives Nov. 7 for the showing of his new film, “Where to Invade Next,” at AFI Fest 2015 at Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.
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Director Michael Moore walks the red carpet before showing his new film, “Where to Invade Next,” on Nov. 7 at Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.
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Actress Sally Kirkland poses on the red carpet before the showing of director Michael Moore’s “Where to Invade Next” on Nov. 7.
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Actor Richard Chamberlain poses for photographers on the red carpet before a showing of Michael Moore’s “Where to Invade Next” on Nov. 7.
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Actor Sam Waterston walks the red carpet before the showing of director Michael Moore’s “Where to Invade Next” on Nov. 7 in Hollywood.
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Director Michael Moore introduces “Where to Invade Next” at AFI Fest 2015.
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Producer Carl Dean, left, director Michael Moore and producer Tia Lessin introduce their new film, “Where to Invade Next,” at AFI Fest 2015 in Hollywood on Nov. 7.
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Movie fans line up along North McCadden Place in Hollywood for a showing of Michael Moore’s “Where to Invade Next” at AFI Fest 2015.
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Gr’mur Hakonarson, director of the Icelandic film “Rams,” is photographed before heading into the theatre to introduce his film at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres on the second night of AFI Fest 2015. There are 127 films from 45 countries showing in this year’s festival.
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Grimur Hakonarson, director of the Icelandic film “Rams,” does a brief interview with AFI Fest staff before introducing his film at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres on the second night of the AFI Fest 2015 in Hollywood.
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Rafaella Biscayn, left, Sarah Bigle and Andrew Godoski have fun in a photobooth at an AFI alumni party at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on the second night of the AFI Fest 2015.
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Director Nicholas Hytner, left, and actor Alex Jennings arrive to introduce “The Lady in the Van.”
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Movie fans wait -- some seemingly a little longer than others -- for director Nicholas Hytner and actor Alex Jennings to arrive and introduce their film, “The Lady in the Van.”
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Director Nicholas Hytner, left, and actor Alex Jennings introduce “The Lady in the Van.”
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The room was full for an AFI alumni party at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on the second night of AFI Fest 2015 in Hollywood.
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Attendees of the AFI alumni reception at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel mix and mingle.
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A couple of attendees of the filmmaker AFI alumni reception share a moment away from the crowd.
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A person checks her phone outside the penthouse suite of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel during a filmmaker welcome party that also previewed virtual-reality technologies.
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The scene outside the penthouse suite of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel during a filmmaker welcome party.
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Volunteer Cecilia Martin watches virtual-reality content, including content created by Google, during a filmmaker welcome party in the penthouse suite of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.
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People watch virtual-reality content during a filmmaker welcome party.
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People watch virtual-reality content produced by Vrse.Works.
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HOLLYWOOD, CA--NOVEMBER 05, 2015--Actress, writer, producer and director Angelina Jolie Pitt and her husband, actor Brad Pitt, pose on the red carpet for the opening night premiere of their new film, “By The Sea,” at AFI FEST 2015, presented by Audi, at TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, in Hollywood, CA, November 05, 2015. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Actors Melvil Poupaud and Melanie Laurent, left, pose alongside actress-writer-producer and director Angelina Jolie Pitt and her husband, actor Brad Pitt, on the red carpet for the premiere of “By the Sea” in Hollywood.
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Angelina Jolie Pitt and Brad Pitt walk the red carpet.
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Angelina Jolie Pitt answers questions.
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Festival director Jacqueline Lyanga poses on the red carpet before the premiere of “By the Sea.”
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Angelina Jolie Pitt and Brad Pitt draw a crowd, as usual.
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Actress Melanie Laurent of “By the Sea.”
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Melanie Laurent, left, and Angelina Jolie Pitt talk backstage at the premiere of “By the Sea.”
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An iPhone shows director Angelina Jolie Pitt speaking on the red carpet.
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Brad Pitt greets Donna Langley, chairman of Universal Pictures, on the red carpet for the premiere of “By the Sea.”
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Brad Pitt greets fans at the AFI Fest.
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Fans hope to get autographs from Angelina Jolie Pitt and Brad Pitt.
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Angelina Jolie Pitt greets fans.
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Jacqueline Lyanga, AFI Fest director, introduces Angelina Jolie Pitt, right.
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Angelina Jolie Pitt waits alongside Brad Pitt, before introducing her film, “By the Sea,” at AFI Fest.
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Angelina Jolie Pitt walks up to introduce “By the Sea.”
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) Depp: “I just don’t think I should know what’s going to happen. That’s why I don’t see movies.”
On pulling off James “Whitey” Bulger:
Depp: “I felt very confident that I could pull it off under the right circumstances. My responsibility and my goal is to make [audiences] forget it’s me in the first three to five or seven minutes. That’s really important to me. So, I knew, as far as the look, that I needed to look as close to Bulger as possible. And I needed to be able to zone out and tap into this guy because there’s very little footage of this guy.
You can’t approach him as a bad man. You can’t approach him as a criminal. You can’t approach him as whatever you want to call him. You have to approach him as a human being who absolutely was as loyal as he could be to his people, his mother, his community. His business just happened to be what it was, and his business entailed quite a lot of crimes.
To be able to put all those things together and step out of my trailer on the first day of shooting, one of the most satisfying things was walking out of the trailer completely done up as Bulger and walking to set [and having people who knew Bulger] with grim faces. I was like, ‘This is fantastic. I wonder if I’m going to get shot.’”
On playing someone real, versus a fictional character:
Depp: “There’s a boatload of responsibility that comes along with it. No matter what they’ve done, it’s my responsibility to deliver that character with the utmost degree of truth.”
On deciding to make “Black Mass”:
Cooper: “I told [executives] that I don’t want to make a film about criminals who happen to be humans. I want to make a film about humans who happen to be criminals.”
Get your life! Follow me on Twitter: @TrevellAnderson.
