Johnny Depp's Co-Star Was Once Desperate to Kiss Him But Backed Out Due to Health Risks

Johnny Depp's immense stardom is a result of his remarkable portfolio of projects, making him a Hollywood heartthrob and showcasing his mastery to the world. Among his many talents, his exceptional kissing skills have often been talked about in the larger discourse. But despite being extremely desperate, there was one lady who missed the chance to make out with the Hollywood hunk.

In the animated feature Rango, he was associated with Isla Fisher, who also lent her voice to the film. Depp voiced the titular character, while Fisher portrayed Beans, Rango's love interest, a kind-hearted desert iguana. In the movie, director Gore Verbinski took an unconventional approach, urging the actors, including Fisher, to act out their real-life scenes to enhance the animation process. Fisher herself shared this intriguing insight during an interview with JustJared, revealing that despite only voicing the characters, they were encouraged to act out the scenes physically.

During one scene, where Fisher's character was meant to kiss Depp's character, she faced an unfortunate obstacle. She had to back out due to a bad cold, preventing them from proceeding with the on-screen kiss. Reflecting on her decision later, Fisher expressed regret, saying, "Afterwards I was like, 'What was I thinking? It's Johnny Depp.' Maybe I should have just gotten the kiss and given him the germs," per FandomWire. Still, despite the missed opportunity, her professionalism and consideration for her co-star deserve applause.

Interestingly, Depp has previously admitted to feeling uncomfortable with on-screen kisses with fellow stars. In the 2006 film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Keira Knightley played Elizabeth Swann alongside Depp as Jack Sparrow. However, as Knightley was a minor during filming, Depp was uncomfortable sharing a steamy scene with his co-star. At the time, Depp shared, "Any kind of scene like that, whenever you're doing that sort of thing, it's always unbelievably awkward, especially having met Keira when she was 17 years old."

Despite feeling uncomfortable during the scene, Depp praised his young co-star, Knightley, for being a good sport. He acknowledged that such situations can be awkward, but they handled it professionally as part of their job. He said, "It’s always awkward so you kind of just make light of it; she was a good sport and we just kind of did what we had to do, that’s the gig.” 

Similarly, as per CheatSheet, Depp's kiss with co-star Carey Mulligan in Public Enemies was so uneasy that it was eventually axed from the movie altogether. She explained at the time, "I had to kiss him several times. It was 16 times, but it was cut out of the film because I looked so uncomfortable." On the other hand, Marion Cotillard, who also features in the film, said about Depp, "I was very nervous but he was very protective of me and if you really want to know, he is a very, very good kisser."

This article was originally published on 07.20.23.