Johnny Depp is looking like the real gangster James ‘Whitey’ Bulger in Black Mass
MUCH has been made of Johnny Depp’s portrayal as James ‘Whitey’ Bulger in Black Mass, but the proof is in the box office. Given how the leader of South Boston’s Winter Hill Gang in the 1970s is ingrained in the American psyche, and to an extent how the ever-transforming Depp is as well, US audiences have turned up to see the R-rated film in sufficient numbers to at least stem the haemorrhaging of the star’s once brilliant career, after his string of box office flops: The Lone Ranger, Transcendence and Mortedcai.
Was it more difficult for the 52-year-old to transform into a real life man after embodying such fanciful characters?
“You mean the Mad Hatter never existed? Or Willy Wonka?” the actor teases. “Are you going to tell me there’s no Santa Clause? What about the Easter Bunny?” Depp takes a gulp of air emitting a wide Mad Hatter grin.
“Seriously, when you’re playing a fictional character you can stretch it out into all kinds of strange places which I’ve taken a lot of heat for,” he chuckles. “But when you’re playing someone who either existed or exists there’s a tremendous amount of responsibility to that person, whether they’re deemed good or bad, because it’s their life. You have a responsibility to history and to be as close to the truth as you possibly can.”
Depp had gone the real route before. Interestingly, in another ’70s gangster tale, 1997’s Donnie Brasco, the pre-Pirates star played Joe Pistone, an undercover detective who had assumed the Donnie Brasco persona in order to infiltrate the mob.
“I was fortunate to spend time with Joe Pistone and I was able to make a lot of changes in the screenplay that weren’t remotely true,” Depp explains.
Then in Public Enemies (2009) he also portrayed John Dillinger, the Depression-era gangster who had been shot dead at the age of 31. “I spoke to his last living relative, his sister, and she said he was the sweetest, funniest guy in the world. I actually thought so,” Depp says.
Even if Bulger, now 86, was very much alive when Depp came to prepare for Black Mass, the jailed crook, who had evaded the law until his 2011 arrest, wasn’t about to talk to any movie star. He hadn’t lost any of his smarts. He was not a fan of Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill’s 2001 book on which the film is based, nor of any of the other books that have been published about him. In creating the character, Depp relied on Bulger’s high-profile defence lawyer and friend Jay Carney to keep him on track.
The film sticks to the basic facts, following Bulger’s rise up the criminal ranks with the help of the FBI, most notably his old neighbourhood friend John Connolly (Joel Edgerton). Connolly benefited from the arrangement when he took credit for bringing down the local Italian mafia with information Bulger provided.
Johnny Depp's #BLACKMASS is out tomorrow! We asked his co-stars what it was like working with the Hollywood legend..https://t.co/oq3m8Sirue
— Warner Bros. UK (@WarnerBrosUK) November 24, 2015
Looking like the Irish-American gangster was also paramount for Depp.
“The look was extremely important to me, it’s really everything in terms of finding Jimmy Bulger, so I wanted to capture it as much as is humanly possible,” admits Depp who wears blue contacts in the film. “My regular makeup artist Joel Harlow [Oscar winner for 2010’s Star Trek] did brilliant work. He sculpted Bulger’s face on top of a cast of mine and we did about five or six tests until we got to that place where it felt like Jimmy Bulger — much to the chagrin of the producers and money people. It was a couple of hours of makeup every day.”
Bulger had a receding hairline, which helped emphasize his terrorising glassy blue-eyed gaze. This, as well as his fixation on cleanliness, are cleverly captured in a scene where seated at a table at the bar Triple O’s he takes his muscle man, Johnny Martorano, to task over licking his fingers after scoffing peanuts from a bowl and going back for more.
“It’s such a nice detail, especially for a guy who lives in a world of extreme violence,” says Depp. “I really love the dichotomy of that obsessive-compulsive behaviour. If the guy with the peanuts had continued he’d probably have blown his brains out right there. So would I do that? Never eat peanuts at a bar. Just tellin’ ya! There have been studies. It’s definitely a major peeve.”
In the film Bulger attempts to instil a sense of empowerment into his son, telling him it’s ok to hit other kids if nobody is watching. Would Depp offer that advice to his own kids?
“I don’t find that advice at all strange,” he replies with a mischievous twinkle in the eye. “You know, it’s kind of like that. I remember when I was a kid — this probably says a lot — I was maybe six years old and there was some kind of horror at the school who was needling me. I told my mum and my mum comes from nothing but hillbillies, and my mum said to me, ‘Alright, here’s the deal. The next time anybody puts their hands on you, pick up a brick and lay them out’. And I’ve taken that advice ever since. So it worked for me and if somebody tried to bully my kid, if they didn’t destroy the little booger, I would.”
Perhaps a little bit of his character has rubbed off on the real Depp.
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