Done To Death: The off-colour Jack Sparrow types of Depp's recent films. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl definitely signaled a turning point in Depp's acting career - he went from appearing in one or two films a year to four or more, and nearly all of those films saw him leaping around in larger-than-life costumes and an unhealthy amount of eyeliner. He kept making Pirates movies, each of which was worse than the last, and his roles in the Tim Burton films Alice and Wonderland, Sweeney Todd and Dark Shadows seemed more focused on pale cheeks and funny accents than actual acting. A fifth Pirates film is coming soon, so clearly Depp hasn't tired of playing over-the-top just yet, though hopefully it can't be that far away thanks to his continually diminishing returns. He needs to seek out more reserved, grounded roles from films like Donnie Brasco and Blow. Sure, Depp is great in zany flicks like Edward Scissorhands, but it's easy to forget that he doesn't need to cover himself in makeup and act drunk to make a great character.
