Cinematic Crush: Johnny Depp

Crush object: Johnny Depp, actor/demon talent.
- Why we like him: While bypassing teen idol status, he turned the art of the character actor into super stardom, continually surprising us with his quirky yet expertly crafted performances.
- When did we first notice him: Getting sucked into a bed in the original A Nightmare on Elm Street (his film debut); a baby-faced cop undercover as a high school student in the early Fox TV hit 21 Jump Street.
- Awards on his mantel: Won the Screen Actors Guild Award for his one-of-a-kind Captain Jack Sparrow in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, which also nabbed him his first Oscar nom. Also Oscar nominated as Peter Pan author James M. Barrie in Finding Neverland.
- Other choice roles: Cry-Baby Walker, Edward Scissorhands, Gilbert Grape, Ed Wood, Don Juan, Donnie Brasco, Ichabod Crane, Willy Wonka ...
- Gay for pay: As Bon Bon, the talented smuggler in Before Night Falls.
- Bet you didn't know: He dropped out of school at age 15 in the hopes of becoming a rock musician; once supported himself as a ballpoint pen salesman.
- Yes, it's true: Nicolas Cage turned him onto acting; has had four celebrity fiancées: Sherilyn Fenn, Jennifer Grey, Winona Ryder and Kate Moss.
- Constant collaborator: Has teamed with director Tim Burton six times, including the animated Corpse Bride and this week's Sweeney Todd.
- Can we quote you on that: "The term 'serious actor' is kind of an oxymoron, isn't it? Like 'Republican party' or 'airplane food'."
- And another thing: "I'm an old-fashioned guy ... I want to be an old man with a beer belly sitting on a porch, looking at a lake or something."
- Nickname: Mr. Stench.
- Where we can see him next: As the title character in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (which just netted him his eighth Golden Globe nomination); as John Dillinger in Public Enemies; possibly more Pirate adventures and a visit or two to Sin City.
- Where you can see more of him right now: In this fan video, to the tune of, appropriately, the song "Johnny Depp" by Amy Anne.

Links via Imdb.com, MTV.com and YouTube.com.