At 50, Depp's 'happy to still be around'



"The films that I did before 'Pirates,' ... not everything but a lot of it, was sort of by industry standards, not blockbuster stuff. So I wasn't ever blockbuster material," Depp said.


"I've been lucky enough to be involved in some small and different independent films throughout my career, and I've been able to be involved in, you know, a couple of films that shocked everybody, especially me," he said.


At age 50, he is still one the hottest names in Hollywood and this week is launching another big-budget summer flick, "The Lone Ranger."

"The only thing I can equate it with is luck. There's no other reason," he said of his career longevity. "The fact that I was able to survive through that 15 years of just bouncing around doing independent movies and now still to end up here is amazing."

The Golden Globe-winning actor plays the Native American character Tonto in the Disney reboot of "The Lone Ranger." He said his children, Lily-Rose, 14, and Jack, 11, can't wait to see it.

"They're pretty excited about this one," Depp said. "You know, of course, they thought it was insane when they watched me play Tonto, but now they're looking forward to this one."


"I certainly wouldn't expect that it is one of those things that is going to stick around forever and ever," he said. "The clock ticks, the time's up, and the next guy steps in, and that's how it goes."



Depp said in the past couple of years, he's had "sort of a rebirth of my relationship with music. So I've been playing more and writing more, and it's led to invitations to play with people."

