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Johnny Depp Salutes The Late Wes Craven

Just over two weeks on from the death of legendary horror director Wes Craven, Johnny Depp has at last spoken out on the passing of the man who gave him his big break.

1984′s ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ is notable for many reasons, as the birthplace of one of the enduring horror icons in Robert Englund’s Freddy Krueger, a major launchpad for fledgling mini-studio New Line Cinema, and almost certainly the best film overall of director Craven’s career.

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However, it also features one rather notable casting credit in the opening titles - ‘introducing Johnny Depp.’

The surreal, cerebral slasher gave the future superstar his first role, and Depp himself has not forgotten this.

Speaking at Toronto International Film Festival in promotion of his new movie ‘Black Mass,’ Depp gave a Q&A (covered by Variety) in which the question of Wes Craven came up, and the actor did not waste the opportunity to heap praise on the late director.

“Wes Craven was the guy who gave me my start, from my perspective, for almost no reason in particular. I read scenes with his daughter when I auditioned for the part.”

Depp starred as Glen, boyfriend of Heather Langenkamp’s heroine Nancy and - as hard as this might be to believe now - a bit of a nerd. (Just look at that hair, and that crop top…)

He was also granted one of the most memorable deaths in the film, and ultimately the entire ‘Nightmare’ series - being sucked into his bed, and spewed onto the ceiling in a geyser of gore.

Depp continues, “At the time, I was a musician. I wasn’t really acting. It was not anything very near to my brain or my heart, which is pretty much how it remains to this day [laugh].

“But Wes Craven was brave enough to give me the gig based on his daughter’s opinion. I guess she had read with a bunch of actors, and after the casting sessions, she said, ‘No, that’s the guy.’

“I always think of her for putting me in this mess, and certainly Wes Craven for being very brave to give me this gig.

“But he was a good man — so rest in peace, old Wes.”

Craven reassembled most of the cast of ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ for his meta-sequel ‘New Nightmare’ in 1994, but did not invite Depp, suspecting the by-then big name actor would be too busy, though Depp subsequently said he would have been happy to do it.

In any case, Depp did have a brief cameo in the sixth film in the series, ‘Freddy’s Dead: the Final Nightmare’ (although the less said about that the better).

Craven passed away at the end of August from brain cancer, aged 76.

Picture Credit: WENN, New Line Cinema