For a fragrance whose reputation has been built on it being that little bit untamed, Johnny Depp has proven to be the perfect fit. And though he’s nearly a decade into his role as the face of Dior’s Sauvage, the collaboration shows no signs of losing its edge. Now, with the launch of Sauvage Eau Forte — a water-based scent from the master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian — Depp reflects on the journey with that characteristic offbeat charm of his. Whether he’s breaking down the minutiae of fragrance creation or explaining why he listens to the same song for five days straight on set, it’s safe to say that Depp’s way of seeing the world remains uniquely his own. Between directing his upcoming film Modi: Three Days on the Wing of Madness (with a little nudge from Al Pacino), crafting characters and adopting an Australian bat named Jackie Sparrow, he’s lost none of the quirky intensity that has made him such an enduring cultural figure.
In this conversation, Depp opens up about his creative process, his long-standing collaboration with the visionary director Jean-Baptiste Mondino and why he’s never quite felt at home in his own era.
HUNGER: What was your reaction when you smelt Sauvage Eau Forte for the first time?
Johnny Depp: My first impression was that it felt like a slice of Sauvage, but hitting other notes. The smell made me think of very early morning — the sun about to rise and the smell of a forest nearby.
H: This is obviously a new chapter in the Sauvage story. What did you like about it?
JD: What was amazing was the notion of creating a fragrance without the aid of a stronger base, like an alcohol. The fact that Francis Kurkdjian had to approach it literally powered by water had to have been a real obstacle. The way he explained it to me was brilliant — that the water, as opposed to the alcohol, sticks around longer.
H: What special touch do you think Francis Kurkdjian has brought to Sauvage?
JD: Francis has a very large palette to work with and he’s very much an artist. He truly approaches the work in a more artistic than scientific way. Of course, the science is very important. If there’s one tiny little microscopic droplet too much, it changes the whole balance, and you have to start from scratch again. It’s really the same thing as Lucian Freud or Picasso choosing the paints and the precise colours for their work — they wouldn’t use cadmium red if they wanted vermilion.
H: Give us three words that sum up Sauvage Eau Forte for you?
JD: Fresh — like a feeling of mist from a waterfall. There’s something warm about it too. And it’s so precise. It smells like a good day.
H: You’ve been the face of Sauvage for nearly a decade now — how’s that journey been?
JD: I try not to look at myself too much. All I can walk away with is my experience of creating something. There’s an incredible amount of trust with Jean-Baptiste Mondino [the director of the Sauvage campaigns] and that’s a thing that has to be earned. His work is not unlike silent cinema — his vision and his visual vernacular, his language. He doesn’t want to spew out a bunch of dialogue. Here is what he sees, here is what I see, then bam!
H: What’s your secret when it comes to nailing a character?
JD: Something has to grab you first. When I read a screenplay, if I don’t feel intrigued by the first 20 pages, it’s over for me. The most important thing is to decide whether there is something that I, personally, can add to this. When I read Edward Scissorhands, I bawled like a baby.
H: Do you see any parallels between how a perfumer crafts a scent and how you build a character?
JD: The beauty of creating a character is that I don’t know what the result is going to be. I only try to stay focused on the journey — the result is a mystery. I’m sure Francis has something in his mind that he’s aiming for, which leads him to the next level. It’s very similar to music, painting or writing. A blank piece of paper or a blank canvas is one of the most intimidating things ever.
H: How excited were you to have directed Modi?
JD: Here’s what was exciting — I didn’t have to be in it. I would not have cast myself in it, so I didn’t. Al Pacino called me up — “Hey John, you remember that Modigliani thing I was gonna do, that I was gonna direct? I think you should direct it.” Al was instrumental.
H: Music plays a huge part in your process — how does that work?
JD: For years I wore a little earpiece, so I turned it into a portable radio station and my pal in the trailer will play the music I feel might aid me on my journey. If it takes four or five days to shoot a scene, I’ll listen to that one song on loop for four or five days. It helps me stay in my own world and it helps me to feel the essence of the character. Music is the quickest and most simple way to travel to our deepest emotions. One well-chosen song from your childhood will send you back there when you hear it. It’s the same for smell.
H: Your style has always been pretty unique — where does that come from?
JD: When I was first starting out, I would go into an audition in a Bad Brains T-shirt and a fedora. That wasn’t a usual look back then. I always liked photographs of film sets in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, where the crew were wearing suits and ties. I never really felt comfortable in the era I grew up in… or in the era that I’m getting old in!
H: Dior is involved in a lot of wild-space regeneration — what are your thoughts on that?
JD: I’m inspired by that commitment and by any attempt to repair what generations and generations — and even our own selves — have done to the planet. We can continue to be a cancer on the Earth, or we can get smart and really look at the facts and at what’s most important. I adopted a bat when I was over in Australia — they’ve named him Jackie Sparrow!
