15 Roles You Had NO Idea Johnny Depp Played

We all know he played Captain Jack Sparrow and the Mad Hatter, but there are a few roles Johnny Depp has played that seem to have slipped right under the radar! Sure, they might not be as popular as Captain Jack, but Johnny still did a great job performing them. A lot of them were way before his Pirates of the Caribbean years, which explains why younger fans might never have heard of them until now. Some of these were voice parts, so you probably had no idea it was Johnny behind the character, and some of them were so eccentric with such heavy makeup that no one could blame you for not realizing which actor you were staring at! What we do know from the following characters is that Johnny is definitely a man of immense talent with an almost unrivaled ability to be versatile! Read on to find out 15 roles that you had NO idea that Johnny Depp played.

15 The Big Bad Wolf

This role was fairly recent, but it's totally possible that you didn't pick up it was Johnny Depp if you didn't pay attention to the credits! Into the Woods is every fairy tale lover's fantasy and features a whole bunch of top-notch actors and actresses playing various beloved fable characters in one big intertwined plot. Johnny appears as the Big Bad Wolf, but he's only on-screen for a very short amount of time. Plus, he's wearing a costume, so it's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it kind of situation! As we all know, the Big Bad Wolf isn't the nicest character in Little Red Riding Hood, and Johnny's performance is so on-point that it actually gives your spine a chill. How many actors can manage to sing a song while wearing a metallic suit, eyeliner, a fake furry tail and fake ears, and still end up being creepy and charismatic at the same time?! That's a big job indeed!

14 Jack Kahuna Laguna

You're totally forgiven for not knowing that this character is played by Johnny Depp because he is a cartoon! Jack Kahuna Laguna appears in an episode from the sixth season of SpongeBob SquarePants entitled SpongeBob SquarePants vs. The Big One, and again if you didn't watch the credits, you probably had no idea he is voiced by Johnny! In this episode, SpongeBob, Patrick, and Squidward need to surf back to Bikini Bottom and seek out ultimate surfer Jack Kahuna Laguna to teach them how. He makes sure that they are prepared to ride a gigantic wave called "The Big One" which is so brutal that it demands a sacrifice. Jack acts as the sacrifice for them and they get home. Bless! Johnny's surfer accent and laid-back demeanor for this character are definitely worth listening to, and it's been said that Johnny accepted the role in the first place because his kids loved the show.

13 Victor Van Dort

Johnny can pull off voicing cartoons and animations all right! In 2005's Corpse Bride, Johnny plays Victor Van Dort, a shy groom who has some major anxiety about marrying a woman he does not really know. In a moment of fear, he runs into the woods and practices his vows when he thinks he's alone, but his doing this leads a dead woman buried in the ground to believe that he has actually married her instead. So he has quite a bit to deal with! This character is so nervous and quiet that you almost want to eat him. There's nothing we love more than a timid and bumbling Johnny Depp-it just reminds us of Edward Scissorhands! This film is also a Tim Burton production, and we know that Johnny and Tim usually come up with amazing things together. We'd recommend seeing this one, even if you're not a child!

12 Sheldon Sands

This is one crazy character! Johnny plays the role of Sheldon Sands in Once Upon a Time in Mexico, a C.I.A. agent who's trying to stop the assassination of the President of Mexico, basically by hiring and tracking hit men. SPOILER ALERT: during the film, one of his plans goes awry and he is captured by the enemy and blinded in a pretty horrible way. This is a brutal role and definitely not something that achieved as much publicity as some of Johnny's other more family-friendly roles, although Sands does share some of the quirky idiosyncrasies that can be noticed in Johnny's other characters! Based on a man Johnny knew in Hollywood, Sands wears cheesy tourist shirts, is secretly obsessed with Broadway, and has a thing for wearing obvious disguises. JD said that the man “on the outside was very charming”, although it was clear he couldn't be trusted. Yay for character complexities!

11 Raoul Duke

Raoul Duke is another one of Johnny's lesser-known characters who isn't so family friendly! Raoul appears in the 1998 film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which is about an outlandish journalist and his psychopathic lawyer who travel to Las Vegas so that Raoul can write about the Mint 400 motorcycle race. But while they're there, the men experience a series of episodes as a result of taking certain substances. Raoul has kind of a hard time navigating the real world as he hallucinates and sees the people around him as eels and lizards. During his psychedelic escapades, he also gets into some heated conversations with housekeeping, trashes the hotel room, and tries to buy an orangutan. The word 'weird' doesn't even begin to cover this film, and Johnny Depp is also nearly unrecognizable! He spends the whole film mumbling (not in a cute way) and sweating, and is just about bald. Not our favorite role!

10 Ed Wood

Johnny plays the role of Ed Wood in another Tim Burton film of the same name. This came out in 1994, so you might have missed it! Totally in black-and-white, this film follows the true story of director Ed Wood as he tries to break into the film industry. Sarah Jessica Parker plays Ed's girlfriend Dolores but isn't okay when Ed dresses in women's clothes in order to calm himself down from the stress of his work. It all works out fine for Ed, though, because he meets Kathy, played by Patricia Arquette, who's a little more understanding, and the two end up getting married in the end! Johnny shines in this one and has said that doing it “rejuvenated” his love for acting during a time when he was growing to despise it. Maybe if he hadn't done it, he would have given up altogether, which is a scary thought!

9 Raphael

Raphael in 1997's The Brave was one of Johnny's saddest roles, but as usual, he nailed it! This is the story of a Native American man who is just released from jail and has no idea how he's going to provide for his wife and children. They live in a remote community and he sells things to just get by. He then gets the opportunity to star in a snuff film, for which he will receive a life-changing amount of money. Ultimately, he makes the decision to give his life in the film in exchange for enough money for his family to survive. In other words, Raphael is a walking example of what it means to be brave and enjoys his final week with his family before sacrificing himself for their well-being. Johnny not only stars in this but also directs it and co-wrote the screenplay with his brother. Talk about talent!

8 Donnie Brasco

Donnie Brasco was a box-office success and nominated for an Academy Award, but it's still possible you missed it since it came out in 1997! Here Johnny plays Joe Pistone, an FBI agent who infiltrates the mafia undercover as jewelry thief Donnie Brasco. This is another true story, and although Joe is actually working to bring members of the mafia to justice, he faces a moral crisis as he finds that he identifies with their lifestyle and adopts the behavior of a criminal while neglecting his old self. Things get pretty intense when Joe hits his wife and realizes he is basically one of the men he's supposed to be catching, and then his true identity is revealed to the mobsters, which will eventually result in the death of his new mobster friend, Lefty, who brought him into the gang. Not a happy movie, but we think it's one of Johnny's best!

7 Ichabod Crane

Here Johnny stars in another gothic horror film by Tim Burton! Originally coming out in 1999, Sleepy Hollow features New York City police constable Ichabod Crane, played by Johnny, who is sent to Sleepy Hollow at the end of the eighteenth century to investigate the murders of three people. The strong theme in this one is, uh, missing heads. The victims are all decapitated and locals believe the murders were committed by a headless horseman who's really the ghost of a soldier from the American Revolutionary War searching for his own head. It's a bit of a sticky subject, but at least there's a happy ending in this one! We personally prefer to see Johnny as the good guy, although he does make a very convincing villain too. He also stars opposite Christina Ricci, and the two have some serious chemistry. So if you haven't seen Sleepy Hollow yet, we recommend doing it ASAP!

6 Don Juan DeMarco

Released in 1994, Don Juan DeMarco is about a 21-year-old psychiatric patient who believes that he is Don Juan, the most famous lover in the world. Even though he's playing a man who is delusional, Johnny totally suits the Zorro-like attire and accent, and we secretly wouldn't mind being swept off our feet with his antics! Don Juan DeMarco, whose real name is John Arnold DeMarco, baffles the team of psychiatrists, makes a few of them laugh and even brings a few of the female nurses under his spell, but most importantly, he teaches his personal psychiatrist, Dr. Jack Mickler (played by Marlon Brando) how to really love. The doctor's relationship with his wife is rejuvenated after his sessions with DeMarco, and his newfound outlook on life and love makes it hard for him to put DeMarco in indefinite confinement. This is a must-see, even if it's just to see Johnny as a Mexican lover. Swoooooon.

5 Gilbert Grape

The year before Don Juan DeMarco came out, Johnny starred in What's Eating Gilbert Grape. Gilbert Grape is just a regular guy who has to deal with some pretty irregular circumstances-his father has passed away and left him as the man of the family, he has to be responsible for his mentally disabled brother, Arnie, and he also has to look after his mother, who is morbidly obese and pretty much immobile. This is all set in a small town where people gossip and judge, and Gilbert has to deal with that all while having a married woman trying to maintain an affair with him, and at the same time trying to nurture his growing love with a young out-of-towner! Gilbert definitely has a lot on his plate, and he is the sweetest guy ever, so his story is worth watching. And pre-Titanic Leonardo DiCaprio is also amazing as Arnie Grape!

4 Himself

Okay, so this is less exciting than some of his other characters, but you probably didn't know that Johnny Depp has played himself on a whole bunch of occasions! One of the movies in which Johnny makes a cameo appearance as himself is Adam Sandler's Jack and Jill, where he attends a basketball game with his friend Al Pacino and is pretty chilled the whole time. He also guest stars in comedian Ricky Gervais's Life's Too Short, where he's a lot less chilled and a lot more diva-like. In his short time on-screen, Johnny enters a meeting with Ricky wearing glasses and a hat and blowing smoke in his face. He then empties his cigarette into Ricky's water, brags that his films make more money and tells him that Helena Bonham Carter thinks he's an idiot. It turns out Johnny is totally offended by what Ricky said about him at the Golden Globes!

3 Officer Tom Hanson

One of JD's earliest roles was as Officer Tom Hanson on the TV series 21 Jump Street, but interestingly enough, Johnny actually comes back to reprise his character (albeit in a much more comedic way) in the 2012 movie version of the series about cops, which stars Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. Johnny's only in the film for a brief cameo appearance, but this was majorly exciting to fans of the original show! In Johnny's scene, he is at first acting undercover trying to infiltrate a gang, and then reveals his true identity and talks about how he used to be in the Jump Street division. Classic! There are a few decades between Johnny starring in the original TV series and appearing in this movie, but we have to say, save a few tattoos he doesn't look that different! He's a little jaded and more confident now, but those cheekbones are still high AF.

2 Donald Trump

Johnny Depp's impersonation of Donald Trump on Funny or Die's biopic spoof of the President is not only hilarious, but it's freakishly accurate. Johnny is totally made up with a bodysuit, wig, and a whole ton of makeup, and when you consider his talent for bringing characters to life, it's easy to see how some people probably thought this was actually Donald Trump on first glance! The 51-minute parody focuses on Trump's book, Art of the Deal, and features a couple of famous faces alongside Johnny. JD completely pulls off the President's mannerisms and way of speaking, so if you're looking for a few laughs, this is definitely something you should check out! Before being released, the spoof was planned and kept secret for months, so it was quite a surprise when images of Johnny dressed like Trump started appearing all over social media. Apparently, the whole thing only took four days to film!

1 Glen Lantz

Our top Johnny Depp role that you probably didn't even know about happens to be the very first character he ever played when he was barely an adult. In the 1984 slasher film A Nightmare on Elm Street, Johnny plays Glen Lantz, the boyfriend of Nancy Thompson. Nancy is trying to save herself and her friends from the wrath of Freddy Krueger, who tries to kill people in their dreams. This is quite an iconic film, but a lot of people don't know that Johnny is one of the stars because they either haven't seen it or didn't recognize him. And to be honest, other people have just forgotten that he played the innocent teenager, seeing as they now associate him with drunken pirates and artificial men with scissors for hands. JD has certainly had an impressive and extensive career, and we can't wait to see what roles he takes on in the future!