Photo by nicogenin
Did you realise you probably know Johnny Depp’s films better than he does?
That’s if we can take this interview at face value, where he claims not to have seen his latest movie
Public Enemies.
Incredulous, the interviewer asks him why not. Here’s Johnny’s answer:
I’ve always kind of tried to avoid them as much as
possible… I just prefer the experience. I like the experience, I like
the process, I like doing the work. But then, you know if I’ve got to
see myself – I don’t like to see the thing become the product, I
suppose. Once they say “You’re wrapped” on the film, it really is none
of your business. The director is going to take that performance or
whatever options you gave him and the editor, and they’re going to do
with it what they want.
From the outside, this might sound hard to believe. After all, for
anyone who has dreamt of being a film star, surely watching the end
product of your labours, seeing yourself up there on the big screen, is
central to the fantasy?
Not for Johnny.
According to him, the exciting part is doing the work, immersing
himself in the character and putting everything into his performance.
After that, the film is “none of his business” – it belongs to the
director.
Johnny is interested in the
process, not the
product.
Those of us who are actively involved in creative work will know in
our hearts what he’s talking about. The minute you take your eye off the
ball, forget the work in front of you and start daydreaming about
money, fame and other rewards, you’re risking mediocrity.
And as we saw in my e-book about motivation and creativity, there’s a lot of research evidence to back up Johnny’s position. Harvard Business School Professor Theresa Amabile has demonstrated through her research that intrinsic motivation is strongly linked to creative excellence:
Extrinsic motivations
such as money, fame and critical acclaim constitute rewards for
creative work. While it’s nice to enjoy these things after the fact,
Amabile’s research shows that focusing on them too much is a creativity
killer.
Does Johnny Take It Too Far?
Johnny’s solution to the problem of creative motivation is brutally
simple – he focuses exclusively on intrinsic motivation, and does his
best to ignore the external rewards. I’m sure he remembers to collect
his pay cheque, but by avoiding watching the movie, he minimises his
investment in his screen persona and the finished artefact.
Now, many people might say this is a bit extreme, and it wouldn’t do
Johnny any harm to watch his films at the cinema, and have the DVDs on
heavy rotation at home. But then many people haven’t achieved a fraction
of what Johnny has, creatively. So it sounds like his approach works
just fine for him.
You could also argue that Johnny is in the fortunate position of
having someone else to worry about marketing and shipping the ‘product’.
I’m sure there are plenty of people reading this who would love to be
able to focus on their creative process all day long, and hand over the
messy business of business to someone else.
But listening to Johnny’s interview, and watching mesmerising performances such as Joe Pistone in
Donnie Brascoe and the debauched Earl of Rochester in
The Libertine, it’s hard to escape the thought that his uncompromising attitude has been critical to his success.
While millions dream of
being a famous actor, Johnny Depp concentrates on
acting.
Is it a coincidence that he’s the one who made it?
What Do You Think?
What do you make of Johnny Depp’s claim that he avoids watching his own films?
When working on a creative project, do you find the potential rewards motivating or a distraction?
Do you think it’s a good idea for an artist to focus on the creative work, to the exclusion of everything else?
