Johnny Depp Knows How To Deal With Bullies: ‘Pick Up A Brick And Lay Them Out’

Johnny Depp has his own ideas about how best to deal with bullies, and he’s not at all shy about sharing his philosophy, even if it does leave Johnny sounding a little too much like his Black Mass character. In one scene, Whitey Bulger, as played by Depp, tells his son, “It’s not what you do, it’s when and where you do it.”

Johnny told audiences at the TIFF premiere of Black Mass that he doesn’t feel Bulger’s advice is “at all strange,” according to E! News.

“I remember when I was a kid and I was little, like maybe 6 years old or something like that, there was a little horror at the school who was needling me or whatever, and I think I told my mom or something.”

“I come from nothing but hillbillies, and my mom said to me, ‘Alright, here’s the deal, next time anybody puts their hands on you, pick up a brick and lay them out.'”

Depp then revealed that he has always followed that advice, because it has always worked for him in his life. Johnny revealed that he would not hesitate to step up to bullies threatening his own children.

“If somebody tried to bully my kid, if they didn’t destroy the little booger, I would,” Johnny said of Lily-Rose and Jack Depp.

Mr. Depp also responded to questions concerning the responsibility he feels to bringing success to the projects on which he works.

“As long as you’ve arrived at that place where you believe is the right place you need to be for the character. If you feel that you’ve done service to the director, to yourself, to the author, then to me that’s a success. Box office is something else and it’s certainly not my business.”

Speaking specifically of portraying Whitey Bulger, Depp spoke of the dedication of everyone in making sure the character was as authentic as possible, reports The Hollywood Reporter.

“When you play someone who either existed or exists, there’s a tremendous amount of responsibility, at least for me,” Depp said at the Black Mass press conference at the Toronto International Film Festival. “We did five or six tests until we got to the place that’s Jimmy Bulger. That’s much to the chagrin of the producers and money people, but that’s a couple hours in makeup.”

Johnny also addressed the nature of the character, expressing his own belief that no one is entirely good or evil.

“I don’t think any of us wake up every morning and say, ‘I’m so evil. I’m so horrible.’ I approached James Bulger as a human being, who’s multi-faceted and did have a side to him that was human and loving.”

[Featured image: Johnny Depp courtesy of Jason Merritt/Getty Images]