Depp’s Irish Factory

By Debbie McGoldrick

Johnny Depp is a long-time fan of Ireland and all things Irish — the crazy frontman for the Pogues rock group, Shane MacGowan, is one of his pals, and Depp spent time in Ireland in the mid-1990s with the late Marlon Brando working on the aborted film Divine Rapture.

Speaking to the Irish Independent last week to promote his new hit Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Depp said he’d love to spend more time in the Emerald Isle to trace his Irish lineage — the superstar says he’s a mix of Cherokee, German and Irish. The latter comes from his mother, Betty Sue Palmer.

“I’d really like to (trace Irish roots), because there’s a part of me that says, hey, I might be related to Phil Lynott or someone great like that,” Depp says. Lynott, of course, was the front man for the iconic ‘70s rock band Thin Lizzy.

“I want to meet up with J.P. Donleavy too, see if I’m related to him,” Depp added. “I’m hoping to get over to Ireland again soon.”

Even though the Divine Rapture project never took off because of a lack of funding, Depp enjoyed the three weeks he spent in Co. Clare in pre-production.

“That was a shame,” Depp recalled. “I turned up there purely because Marlon asked me to. Didn’t have a script, and I didn’t find out until 24 hours before cameras started rolling that I was supposed to have an Irish accent.”

Charlie opens in Ireland this week, and will undoubtedly do as well over there as it’s already done here.