10 Actors Who Made Insane Sacrifices For Movies (And Why)
5. Johnny Depp Lived With Hunter S. Thompson For Four Months...To "Steal His Soul" - Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas
The Sacrifice
Johnny Depp of course played Raoul Duke, the protagonist of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, based not-so-loosely on the novel's author himself, Hunter S. Thompson.
And while many actors spend time with the real life subjects they're playing - or in this case, approximating - in order to get a better idea of their personalities and physical tics, Depp went one step further, by moving into the basement of Thompson's house and living with him for four whole months.
If that wasn't enough, he also drove Thompson's own car around California during that time, and borrowed many of Thompson's own clothes and possessions, some of which he ended up wearing in the movie itself.
Why They Did It
In Depp's own words, he wasn't merely content to give audiences an approximate imitation of the man - he spent four months studying him without respite in order to go much, much deeper.
Depp said, "I was so freaked out by the idea of disappointing Hunter. So I did my best to absorb him. My goal was to steal his soul. That's what I wanted to do, to try and take as much of him as possible and put it into my body."
Despite the heavily mixed critical reception, by all accounts Thompson was happy with Depp's portrayal, and the film remains a cult fave over 20 years later. Four months was probably a bit excessive, though - after a while you're basically just hanging out with the guy rather than studying him.