When you think of Johnny Depp, you might think of the great and wonderfully strange movie performances he’s given, such as the title character in Edward Scissorhands, the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland, Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the murderous barber in Sweeney Todd, and, of course, his most famous role as Captain Jack Sparrow in the five Pirates of the Caribbean movies. But did you know that he collects Barbie dolls?
Now it seems that some people might think it sounds a little unusual. But he doesn’t just collect dolls. He likes to collect props from movies he’s been in, which Depp says he hopes to give to his grandchildren, if he ever has any, someday (okay, that sounds reasonable). I’m sure a lot of actors do that. He also owns an impressive collection of CDs and lots of items owned by Jack Kerouac. Plus he collects insects, and … uh, well … animal skeletons. So, if you’re willing to admit to collecting animal skeletons, collecting Barbie dolls is nothing.
If you hear him talk about how his collection started, it doesn’t seem so strange. Turns out he used to play Barbie dolls with his daughter. It’s how he developed some of the roles he played, by using different voices for each of the Barbies. This continued until his daughter finally asked him to use a normal Barbie voice, and he complied. She got older, of course, and stopped playing with Barbies. But instead of giving them away, the actor just kept them for himself.
Depp has never said just how many dolls he has in his collection, but sources have reported that the actor possesses dozens of limited edition Barbie dolls. And his collection goes beyond just Barbies, as he has also amassed some celebrity dolls. These include Donny and Marie Osmond, Beyonce and other members of Destiny’s Child, Elvis Pressley, New Kids on the Block, and the entire cast of High School Musical. In addition, he likes to accessorize the dolls to match the showbiz news of the time. This explains why, a few years ago, he added a house arrest ankle bracelet to his Lindsay Lohan doll during the time she was under house arrest.
Okay, yes, that last bit does sound a little strange. But Johnny Depp has never been afraid to be different, in his professional or personal life. And it’s not like other collectors haven’t compiled a lot of bizarre and wacky things. If people can collect back scratchers, soap bars, toenail clippings, umbrella cover sleeves, celebrity hair locks, and belly button fluff (All real, authentic collections. Hey, you don’t believe me, look it up!) then, as far I’m concerned, Johnny Depp can collect as many dolls as he wants. Barbies or otherwise.
