Johnny Depp is no doubt hugely appreciative of the constant support and unwavering loyalty being shown by his army of fans, but social media campaigns don’t pay the bills. The actor may have been given an eight-figure payoff for agreeing to resign from the Fantastic Beasts franchise, but with more hefty legal costs incoming after he was denied the right to appeal the recent verdict against him, the former Pirates of the Caribbean star needs to keep working.
Of course, that’s much easier said than done after many industry insiders and analysts claimed that his career might never recover from the constant negative publicity and courtroom drama that’s engulfed his personal life and tainted his brand, with low budget biographical drama Minamata the only upcoming project that he’s officially attached to.
However, the 57 year-old has now scored another role it seems, albeit one that isn’t exactly going to return him to the top of the Hollywood A-list. Bizarrely, Depp has lent his vocal talents to an animated puffin in an Italian/Serbian co-production set to be comprised of 250 five-minute episodes, combining child-friendly humor with important societal messages surrounding gender, race and the environment.
The three-time Academy Award nominee plays a character loosely based on himself called Johnny Puff, and while it might sound like we’re making this up, you can check out the first look at the project below.
Puffins follows five of the titular birds who dwell in an advanced ornithological society called Tana, and are in the employ of a walrus named Otto. According to the production company, Johnny Puff will present unique merchandising opportunities, so Johnny Depp‘s fans might want to pre-order a plush version of their hero as soon as possible before they inevitably sell out.