by Glenn Whipp  |  March 10, 2004

Okay, so Johnny Depp didn't get the Oscar. He never expected to win the damn thing anyway. When interviewed two days before the ceremony, he still hadn't quite recovered from the shock of being nominated for playing a pirate--one modeled after a degenerate rock star and a cartoon skunk, no less.

Now, though, he's channeling a Beach Boy in Secret Window, a thriller about a successful writer whom a psychotic hillbilly accuses of plagiarism. For Depp, it's another left turn in a career of interesting choices. Next up, he plays Willy Wonka in Tim Burton's adaptation of the Roald Dahl classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Here, the 40-year-old dishes on his inspirations, favorite things about France and a certain, er, homage to one of his films.