Johnny Depp Calls It ‘Terrifying in a Liberating Way’—The Movie Experience He’ll Never Forget

For an actor known for his dazzling array of eccentric characters—from the mischievous Captain Jack Sparrow to the gentle, scissor-handed Edward—Johnny Depp’s filmography is overflowing with iconic, playful roles. But when asked which movie gave him the “most fun” on set, Depp’s answer consistently takes fans by surprise: it’s not Pirates of the Caribbean or Edward Scissorhands, but the subversive 1990 musical comedy Cry-Baby.

In the early days of his career, Depp became a household name through the teen TV drama 21 Jump Street—an experience he often described as monotonous and creatively stifling. Desperate to shed his teen idol image, Depp leapt at the chance to star in John Waters’ campy, genre-bending Cry-Baby. In interviews from the 1990s, Depp described the project as “the funniest script” he’d read, relishing the film’s tongue-in-cheek send-up of his own celebrity status and the “hilarious” way it lampooned screaming fan culture.

Working with the infamous Waters—a director known for celebrating misfits and outcasts—was liberating for Depp. “It was the best script, the funniest. It made fun of all the things I’d been pigeonholed for, and it was true in a silly way,” Depp reflected. The film’s wild atmosphere was buoyed by a cast as offbeat as its director, including punk legend Iggy Pop and actress Traci Lords, making every day on set a riot of music, mayhem, and laughter.

Though other films brought him joy (Ed Wood stands out as a personal favorite and Pirates provided blockbuster adventure), nothing quite matched the sense of creative freedom and anarchic fun of Cry-Baby. The movie’s 1950s Baltimore setting, rollicking musical numbers, and tongue-in-cheek humor became, in Depp’s own words, the antidote to the “daily grind” of formulaic TV. As he once told an interviewer, the experience was “hilarious and terrifying” in equal measure—liberating him as both an actor and a person.

While Depp has enjoyed making films throughout his career, the playful spirit of Cry-Baby holds a unique place in his memory—a reminder that sometimes, the most fun comes from breaking the rules and laughing at yourself. For fans, it’s a revealing look at the heart behind one of Hollywood’s most unpredictable stars.