earth's atmosphere. it's not known if any debris has struck land. scientists say europe, africa and australia right now are safe but not sure where 2 did hit. i'm deb feyerick in for don lemon at the cnn world headquarters in atlanta. thank you for spending part of your saturday here with us. i will see you right back here tomorrow night, 6:00, 7:00, and 10:00 eastern. have a great night. trying to look normal. >> he's one of the biggest stars in the world. one of the most acclaimed actors of our time. tonight, johnny depp. the man who rarely grants interviews sits down with me and opens up about his fame. >> it's the card i drew. so i'll deal with it. that's fine. it doesn't mean every single moment you have to be sort of okay with it. >> his family. >> i don't want my kids to experience me as a novelty. i want my kids to know me as

dad. >> and his famous friends. brando had that big an effect on you? >> he was a wonderful man. he'd give you anything. >> plus a tour of his private office full of personal memorabilia and his paintings. it's all ahead on this larry king special, "johnny depp." we're sitting here in johnny depp's office. an office like none i have ever seen. later, we'll get a chance to explore it is a little. he, of course, one of the most celebrated and versatile actors of his generation. he's also director, producer, accomplished musician. his new movie "rum diary" will open october 28th. the only novel ever written by hunter s. thompson. we'll talk about that a little later. you don't do many things like this. do you not like to be interviewed or? >> no. i'm just not very good at it, you know. never have been very good at it. >> why not? >> i don't know. there's a -- you know, there's a strange thing, you know. i'm okay when i'm a character. if i'm playing a character, i can do, you know, virtually

anything in front of a camera. but if i'm just me, i feel, you know, exposed and sort of, you know, it feels awkward. >> we won't expose you. >> okay. good. >> do you like being other people? >> yeah, i do. i do because i'm fascinated with people. i mean, i'm fascinated -- i like to watch people. and that's the one sort of thing, you know, as an actor in terms of job necessity is the ability to be able to watch people, to observe, to be the observer. as a journalist, you know, to observe. and it's one of my favorite things, to sort of pick apart, you know, various traits. >> marlon brando told me one of the problems when you get very well known is they're observing you. >> that becomes a problem. >> so you're not observing them really. >> exactly.

that becomes the problem. you become the focus of others. so, therefore, your -- your ability to observe is tainted. it's a little bit -- yeah. it changes quite radically. >> how did you go from guitar to acting? >> accident. >> how did it -- how -- >> i'd moved to los angeles in 1983 and was living here playing -- you know, playing music. we did a couple of good gigs. you know, the band and stuff. we went on the road for a little bit. that was all fine. but, i mean, in terms of making a living, it was pretty straight -- pretty close to the bone there. so i was filling out job applications for various video stores or anywhere, you know. i happened to be with an old buddy of mine, nicolas cage. who was -- who was then coming up the ranks. he said, you know, why don't you just -- i think you should meet my agent. you should investigate acting. >> you hadn't thought of it?

>> no, not really, no. so i met his agent. she sent me to read for a part. and got a call back and then they hired me for the gig. that was the first "nightmare on elm street." that was 1984, '3 or '4. >> did you like it right away? >> no. >> it was a job? >> it was just a gig. i just thought, well, this will get me through until, you know, the music picks up or whatever. so i just -- you know, the first two or three, four films to me were just, you know, a lark. you know, just -- to make some doug. dgh. >> in retrospect, no, you know. in retrospect, no. because it's -- i suppose had that become my bread and butter, as they say, the main gig, i would have probably fallen out of love with it on some level. and i still to this day, you know, have the -- the same love,

you know, first love feeling for music as i did when i was 12. >> do you play? >> all the time, yeah. constantly. still, yeah. >> how did you react to getting famous? >> i'm still reacting, you know. i'm still sort of dealing with it. i don't think it's anything you ever get used to, you know. i could never -- for many years i could never sort of put my name in the same sort of category as the word "famous" or anything like that. i just found it very uncomfortable. so it's weird. it's something like if you -- i find if you get used to it, then something must be wrong, you know. if you get used to that constant kind of thing, it's -- something's got to be wrong. there's got to be still a part of you that -- somewhere in there that pines for anonymity. >> alan alda told me one time he doesn't like giving autographs

because he feels it demeans the person asking for the autograph. by putting them on a lower level. brando didn't like much being photographed. is it true you don't like being photographed? >> i suppose, like, for example when you're doing something organized like a photo shoot, essentially amid the faux pas, there was a piece in "vanity fair" where i should have used the word "violated." however, in my lack of vocabulary in the moment i used another word which i've, you know, apologized for radically. but the thing -- the thing with doing a photo shoot, that's sort of an organized thing. you feel dumb. okay. but you just get through it. but what i find still to this day, kind of, like an attack on the senses, is really just being bombarded by paparazzis. i'll take photographs with kids.

people who want to take photographs with me. people who like the movies. people who have supported me. i'll do that all day, all night, that's fine. but the bombardment, you know, of the paparazzi is just -- it's like a -- it's just -- >> what do they get out of it? i mean, they take your picture. >> yeah. >> then they take it a minute later. it's not any different than a minute before. >> and it's not any different than the year before, or the year before that. >> what is the -- what do you think it is? >> i truly don't understand. i think it must be just this kind of -- i don't know. it just feels like this kind of gluttonous, horrific sport. it's like sport. it's like hunting or something. >> do you therefore go out of your way to try to avoid them? >> yeah. i try to avoid any and all, you know, press or -- especially that nature. you know, just to -- yeah. >> so do you -- >> i don't want my kids to experience me as a novelty.

i want my kids to know me as dad, you know. already, you know, if they have access to the internet or whatever, they understand what the deal is. but i don't want them to have to live through and experience that kind of attack, you know. >> so what do you do when you go out to eat? >> i don't go out very much, you know. i stay at home a lot. or when you go out to eat, you know, you've got to -- it becomes a strategic sort of plan. we're going in the back. we're going to walk through the slippery kitchen and we're going to go into the private room or, you know, that kind of thing. >> it's a tough way to live. >> it's -- you know, i suppose it's what i -- it's the card i drew. so i'll deal with it. that's fine. but you know, it doesn't mean that every single moment you have to be sort of okay with it. i certainly am not one of those guys and would, you know, can't stand the idea of, you know, one of those guys who whines about, you know, how horrible success

is. i do realize and understand very well on a profound level how lucky i am and what a privileged position it is and what it's done ultimately for me, my family and my kids. but at the same time, you know, there are moments in a man's life when you just kind of want to feel somewhat normal, you know. he's one of the biggest stars in the world. but it wasn't always that way. >> i had been essentially known within the confines of hollywood as the -- you know, as box office poison. basically i'd built a career on 20 years of failures. plus, later, johnny shows me the inside of his private office. it's an up close and personal look at a johnny depp you will not want to miss. when this larry king special: johnny depp" returns. hey, i'm troy polamalu, and i owe my great hair to head & shoulders. it gives me a healthy scalp and great looking hair. you making fun of me? no. you making fun of me?

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but they also go beyond banking. we installed a ge fleet monitoring system. it tracks every vehicle in their fleet. it cuts fuel use. koch: it enhances customer service. it's pretty amazing when people who loan you money also show you how to save it. not just money, knowledge. it's so much information, it's like i'm right there in every van in the entire fleet. good day overall. yeah, i'm good. come on in. let's go. wow, this is fantastic. ge capital. they're not just bankers. we're builders. they helped build our business. paul newman told me that any successful person in any field who in discussing their career doesn't use the word "luck" is a liar. >> oh, yeah, he's absolutely

right, yeah. >> so you consider yourself lucky? >> very lucky, yeah. >> you have to have talent to meet the luck, right? >> somebody hands you the ball and you run, you know. if you get hit, you get hit. maybe you make it through. you never know. but, i mean, i -- i just know that somebody handed me the ball at a certain point. and i was hungry enough to keep running. and i'm still running. so -- >> what do you think makes you good at what you do? you have to think you're good. >> i'm okay. >> you don't watch yourself, right? >> i don't, no. i don't. i don't like to watch myself. i think, you know, i maintain a hunger, but not an ambition. you know, i -- i'm very happy to explore all possibilities of a character and really, you know, dive into the role. to the point where disney wanted

to -- wanted to fire me. >> they wanted to fire you from "pirates"? >> yeah. >> because? >> they couldn't understand what i was doing. they didn't understand the character. they were actually contemplating subtitling the film, you know. >> you will always remember this as the day that you almost caught captain jack. sparrow. ♪ >> what are you doing? you burned all the food, the rum. >> yes, the rum is gone. >> why is the rum gone? >> ever turned down something you regretted? >> no. >> no? >> don't regret any of it, no. no. everything that i turned down was -- it was -- weirdly, it was more important what i turned down than what i accepted in terms of films. >> for your own happiness? >> mm-hmm. >> so even if it became a hit? >> yeah. "pirates" was a complete accident, you know.

>> what do you mean? >> prior to "pirates of the caribbean," the first one in 2003, that was -- i had been essentially known within the confines of hollywood as the -- you know, as box office poison, you know what i'm saying? basically had built a career on 20 years of failures. >> did it surprise you, its success? >> hugely. yeah. oh, i had no idea. >> are you going to do more? >> you know, it depends. >> does it ever become maybe too much? >> not yet, you know. not yet for me. i mean, maybe -- maybe to the masses. i don't know. maybe. i don't know. i still feel like in terms of character, captain jack is one that i'd like to explore. >> he's still evolving? >> yeah. because he's -- because he's fun, you know. it's his fun. it's a license to be totally and utterly irreverent and get away with it. >> he's going to age, then?

>> i suppose he'll have to. >> discuss some others. some incredible roles you've played. "edward scissorhands." >> probably the most important film that i've ever done, just in terms of the -- the transition for me, you know, from basically at the time, you know, being known as having come up the ranks as a tv actor, essentially, in the minds of hollywood. "scissorhands" was the one that put me on the road that i wanted to be on. so for me that one's -- yeah, that's probably the most important of all. >> "mad hatter." >> a gas. you know, i mean, just a gas. again, one of those things where you get a call from tim. he says what do you think about this? you just -- you just start to travel, you know. >> you just did "dark shadows," right? >> just finished. >> that was a soap opera about a vampire. >> yep. >> what attracted you to that? >> i had watched it as a kid, you know. religiously. i remember sprinting home from school.

to see it, you know. didn't want to miss like a minute of it. ironically, tim had gone through the same experience. running home from school. back when we were doing sweeney, we were doing "sweeney todd" a couple years ago, and it -- one day we're sitting there talking. i said, you know, we should do a vampire movie sometime. let's do a vampire movie. it was before all the "twilights" and all that stuff. he said, yeah, that's a good idea. i said, oh, "dark shadows," man. we got on the "dark shadows" tangent. one thing led to another. >> was willy wonka fun? >> absolutely. yeah. really fun. >> do you have to enjoy it to do it? >> i think you have to. i think it's got to be fun. the process itself must be fun. you have to enjoy what you're doing. and as we all know, as you know as well as i do, it's a collaborative process, you know.

it's not just let's put the actor in front of the camera. there are many people behind the scenes that make it all go. so i would -- i would find it really a drag if they stick me out in front of the camera and the guys behind the camera weren't having a good time, too. all i do is try to make them laugh. still ahead, johnny talks about his famous co-stars and friends. al pacino. >> he says, i'm nuts. but he's really, like, he's like certifiably nuts. >> marlon brando. >> we got along like a house on fire. instantly. there's a dangerous element. you never know what to expect from him. >> and hunter thompson. >> i realized that this was the voice of truth. he was without question i think the most important nonfiction writer of the 20th century. plus, get a tour of his private office. wait until you see what's in there. first, after supporting them for years, johnny opens up on the release of the west memphis three.

>> did you have anybody say to you, johnny, you go out on a limb on a thing like this? >> oh, yeah. find out why when this "larry king special: johnny depp" continues. my doctor told me calcium is best absorbed in small continuous amounts. only one calcium supplement does that in one daily dose. citracal slow release... continuously releases calcium plus d for the efficient absorption my body needs. citracal. for th i've tried it.orption my body needs. but nothing's helped me beat my back pain. then i tried this. it's salonpas. this is the relief i've been looking for. salonpas has 2 powerful pain fighting ingredients that work for up to 12 hours. and my pharmacist told me it's the only otc pain patch approved for sale using the same rigorous clinical testing that's required for prescription pain medications. proven. powerful. safe. salonpas. our neighbors putting their lives on the line.

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what do you make of finally the release of the memphis three? you got involved in that battle. we did a whole show on it. >> yeah. >> we had them on. and they -- they're guilty. they're out. but it's crazy. >> it's a very strange thing the state of arkansas presented to them.

essentially, you know, to say, okay. all you have to do is say that we have the evidence to convict you again, and -- but we'll do time served and you're out. admitting guilt, maintaining your innocence. so it's a very -- you know, it's a really floppy piece of ground to stand on. >> why did you get involved? >> because i -- i knew immediately, you know, when i -- when i first started to get kind of -- familiarize myself with the case, i knew instantly that they were innocent. i knew instantly that they were wrongfully accused. and the more research i did and the more people i spoke to, it was absolutely apparent. >> did you have anybody say to you, you know, johnny, you go out on a limb on a thing like this. >> oh, yeah, yeah. a lot of people. >> like what if they did it? you're going to look bad. >> there was that kind of thing. yeah, but i just new. i just knew, you know.

it was just -- it was ugly and -- and a raw deal from the get-go. back in '93. you're thinking of these three kids. one, damien echols on death row for 18 years. ten years in isolation. you know, for a crime that he did not commit. >> you think obama should pardon them? >> i mean, it would be wonderful. i think he's probably got a few other things on his mind at the moment. but, yeah, yes. what i'm hoping is that the investigation will continue outside the courthouse right now and that we will be able to prove the real killers. >> back to some roles. one i want to play a little clip for you here. because you did one of my all-time favorite movies with one of my dear friends, al pacino. and that was of course, "donnie brasco." so let's hear, let's watch all talking about you. working with johnny depp.

>> i love him. i love johnny depp. >> what makes him special? you did "donnie brasco." >> yeah. he's done so many things. he's gone from "a" to "z." it's his gifts. it's really his gifts and as a personality and as a person, i just loved lim. i loved being with him. he made me laugh every day i was there. he's funny and nuts, too. >> he's nuts? >> oh, yeah. he'll say i'm nuts, but he's really nuts. he's nuts in that way that he's just fun to be with. >> you the same way toward him? >> yeah. although when you're working with pacino, you know he's great. in that moment, of course you lock in -- as he said, you lock in and you're in the scene and stuff like that. as soon as cut comes, you go, jesus christ, man. wow. he's monumental. >> he said you're nuts. >> he might be right. but he's -- i mean, he says i'm nuts but he's really -- he's like certifiably nuts. and one of the funniest human beings i've ever known in my

life. >> pacino to brando. there's a puzzling aspect of your life that puzzles me. you directed and appeared with brando in a movie that we have never seen. >> yeah. "the brave," yeah. >> why have we never seen it? >> i was sort of rushed to take it to the cannes film festival. took it there. and then -- >> and it was praised there, was it not? >> it was kind of praised. the first night was really wonderful, you know. you had bertolucci and all these filmmakers that i really admired, i have admired for years saying bravo, bravo. then the next day the american press just absolutely lambasted, you know, me and the film saying it's the -- we haven't seen a weirder group of people and all these kind of strange things. i just -- >> shelved it? >> i didn't shelve it. i owned the north american rights. i just thought, you know what? i mean, what's the point. >> might you release it?

>> yeah. maybe. i tell you why. for one reason only. it's certainly not a perfect film. what i will say about that film and what i will say about marlon in particular, it's one of the best performances he's given since "last tango." it's one of the performances where he -- he dug down deep and -- and gave of himself so monumentally. >> was he a little ticked that you didn't release it? >> no. he didn't care. no, he was fine. >> that's marlon. >> yeah. he was fine with it. >> now, you did do a movie with him. did you enjoy doing that? >> "don juan"? >> yes. "don juan." >> yes, very much. that was when we met. and we got long like a house on fire instantly. and that's where we got close doing "don juan." >> what did he do that others in

the -- what did he do that the rest of you didn't do? >> well, marlon early on, i mean, marlon reinvented -- marlon reinvented acting. he revolutionized acting. he made it -- it was not about behavior in a sense as it was just about being in a moment. and he was a dangerous element. i mean, he was a dangerous element. he remained a dangerous element. >> risk taker. >> oh, yeah. all the way through, man. until, you know, his last -- his last breath. you know, he was -- he was a dangerous element. you never knew what to expect from him. coming up, johnny explains how he made hunter s. thompson's final wish come true. shooting his ashes out of a cannon. >> he came down over all of us. we were covered in hunter's ashes. it was something that i knew that had to be done and -- and we got it done, yeah. and get an inside look at his office. it's all next on this "larry

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johnny depp's personal office. as interesting and unique as the man himself. inside the walls are lined with personal mementos and photos from his life and work. here, a cabinet of curiosities from his movie "sweeney todd." willy wonka's throne from "charlie and the chocolate factory." his walking stick and that golden ticket. one of his guitars.

awards and accolades. perhaps one of the most interesting things to see, johnny's self-made portrait from his friend and mine, the legendary marlon brando. i said, oh, here, i made this painting of you. you paint? >> another amazing man in johnny's life, hunter s. thompson. he shows us a letter and a check. something he received after thompson lost a bet over the 1998 world cup. johnny became friends with thompson before he filmed "fear and loathing" in las vegas. it was a friendship that endured for years and one that led to his latest movie "the rum diary." let's talk about hunter thompson. and your friendship with him. you led to this movie, "rum diary" based on him. you found this novel, right? we never knew he wrote a novel. >> no, no. i happened upon it. hunter and i -- it was when i was researching "fear and loathing" in las vegas. i was living in his basement. i happened upon this box. as we were looking through the

manuscript of "fear and loathing." i see this folder. "rum diary" across it in his hand. i thought, wow, what's that? so we started to read it, sitting, you know, cross-legged on the floor reading this amazing thing. he was like, my god, that's pretty good, isn't it? that's very good, hunter. what are you doing? then he brought up the idea. he used to call me colonel. colonel depp, we must produce this. we'll produce this together. it'll be our -- you know, so that was the plan. >> did he know you were going to do it? >> it took a little while. you know, years, years happened. and then hunter made his exit, you know. so he never got to. >> did you kind of make a promise that you'd make it? >> yeah. absolutely. yeah. >> so this is a commitment? >> for sure. no, this was fulfilling a commitment to hunter. this was absolutely a major

promise, we are going to produce this thing together. even so far as to have -- hunter had his chair on set every day with his name on it. he had his script there with his name on it. he had -- there was a bottle of chivas there every day. a highball glass filled with rocks. we'd bang in the chivas. his dunnhills, his cigarette filters. >> it's a very unusual film. you'll agree with that. >> it is, yeah. >> people will react different ways to it. >> i think so, yeah. >> explain to the uninitiated who hunter thompson was. >> he was without question, i mean, i think the most important nonfiction writer of the -- of the 20th century. >> when he died, you -- you blew his ashes? >> yeah. >> how did you come to do that? from a cannon? >> yeah. built a cannon. he -- it was his last request,

you know. and it was something that we'd talked about here and there. but i knew that that's what he wanted. and i knew that that had to be done at whatever, you know -- at whatever cost. so i -- i met with some, you know, some kind of architectural wizards and stuff. we built -- we devised a cannon of 153 feet in the shape of the gonzo fist that would shoot hunter into the stratosphere. >> did it make a big sound? >> oh, boy. it was huge. he came down all over all of us. we were covered in hunter's ashes. the idea also to take hunter -- you know, his ashes and then mix that in with gun powder, there was something so poetic about that. something so kind of symmetrical about hunter becoming basically large bullets that he would have loved. again, it was something that i -- i knew that had to be done

and we got it done, yeah. he's gone from pumping gas to being one of the highest-paid actors in the world. >> i haven't changed. i'm still exactly the guy that used to pump gas, you know. i'm still the guy that was a mechanic for a minute, you know. i'm still exactly. i just happen to have a weird -- weirder job at the moment. and johnny tells us the latest on the lone ranger. finally back on? it's going to happen? >> yeah. we got the budget down. >> that's good to hear. >> yeah. that's coming up on this "larry king special: johnny depp." the employee of the month isss... the new spark card from capital one. spark miles gives me the most rewards of any small business credit card. the spark card earns double miles... so we really had to up our game. with spark, the boss earns double miles on every purchase, every day. that's setting the bar pretty high. owning my own business has never been more rewarding. coming through! [ male announcer ] introducing spark the small business credit cards from capital one. get more by choosing unlimited double miles or 2% cash back on every purchase, every day.

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ever want to do theater? >> yeah. there is a part of me. there is a part of me that wants to do it, you know. >> to have the audience and get the reaction. >> yeah, yeah. there is a part of me that wants to do it. but at the same time, you know, i -- i suppose the reason to do it is because it just scares the absolute, you know -- >> it does scare you? >> oh, yeah. >> you don't have the protection of "cut." >> yeah. you don't have the protection of "cut." also you just walk out there and suddenly just go -- line. you know, i'm up. what's the line, you know? that would be a real drag. >> is there a play you've liked that you've said to yourself, if i do do it, i would do that play?

>> there was one, one conversation with marlon where he said -- he asked me how many movies i did a year. at the time i said, i don't know, maybe three or something. he says, too much kid. that's too much. we only have so many faces in our pockets, you know. i said, okay, i get it. he said, why don't you play hamlet. you should play hamlet. i said, i don't know, hamlet's the kind of cliche thing. he said, no, man. do it before you're too old. he said, i never got the chance. i never did it. you should do it. go do it. that still sticks in my head is the possibility of before i'm too long in the tooth to play hamlet. >> have you -- >> have i? >> yeah. >> yeah. >> what got you down? >> throughout life, many things. but certainly losing marlon took me down.

losing hunter took me down. because, you know that these -- these friends, these mentors, these teachers, these father figures, you know, these -- someone who -- who you really -- it was amazing to be accepted by them and to -- and to be loved by them. and suddenly they're gone, you know. yeah. those are pretty down times. >> do you have faith? >> i have faith in my kids. >> me, too. >> yeah. i have faith in my kids. and i have -- i have faith, you know, that as long as you keep moving forward, just keep walking forward, things will be all right, i suppose, you know. faith in terms of religion, i don't -- religion is not my specialty. >> do you enjoy success? now, you know you're successful. are you -- do you enjoy it? do you enjoy the fruits of it? >> sure. i mean, i've been very -- like i

said, very, very lucky, you know, in a sense that, you know, i mean, how -- how ironic is it that, you know, as i said -- >> you were pumping gas. >> i was pumping gas, most definitely. printing t-shirts and selling ink pens, anything and everything. yeah. and then the fact that you have a 20-year career of failures and then you do a pirate movie and that buys you an island is pretty -- the irony of that is pretty good. >> do you think about the times when things weren't so good a lot? >> yeah, yeah. oh, yeah. you know, there was a guy who i worked with many years ago. we were talking about success and money and all that stuff. and he told me this one thing. he said, you know, money doesn't change anybody. money reveals them, you know. same thing with success. i believe that, you know, wholeheartedly. i think i've been revealed. i don't think -- i haven't

changed -- i'm still exactly the guy that used to pump gas, you know. i'm still the guy that was a mechanic for a minute, you know. i'm still exactly. i just happen to have a weird -- weirder job at the moment, you know? >> it is a weird profession. >> as marlon said, marlon had the best definition of acting that exists, you know. it's a strange job for a grown man. and that's it. >> you do that good. >> it's a strange job for a grown man. right? >> but he called something else that people in the business got mad at. he said it on our show. he called it lying for a living. >> right. >> and most actors say they're not lying. >> mmm. >> did you think that was an unfair expression? >> i think it's totally -- i think it's totally right, yeah. it's lying. it is lying. why wouldn't it be? you can make it lying. you can make it not lying. you can find your own truth. but it's still a lie. you know what i mean? you're going to go to the craft service table.

you're not henry the viii, man. you're going to have some fritos or whatever, man. you know? >> have a doughnut and go like yeah. >> he's not going to eat a giant chicken leg and chuck it somewhere and start screaming "wench". >> do you like the camera? burt reynolds used to say every day he'd go up to the camera and say love me today. please love me. >> oh, really? >> you don't look at your films, right? >> i don't. i don't look at my films. i'll tell you the strange thing, what happens at a certain point. it's kind of like that thing marlon said about being observed and having been the observer. you get to a place at a certain point where you're more comfortable in front of a camera doing, behaving, living in front of a camera than you are in normal life. that is to say, like, out at a restaurant or something like that. you know, the camera becomes sort of just part of the -- >> same thing in my profession.

i don't want to discuss myself. >> you know what i mean? it's just there and that's part of it and that's it. >> it's your comfort zone. >> yeah, yeah. up next, johnny talks about being a family man. >> kids are great. so fun. as you know, they just grow up so fast. it's just shocking. explains those tattoos. >> do the kids like it? >> yeah, they're okay with it, you know. yeah. they're sort of used to it by now, you know. when i come home with a new one they're like oh, yeah, that's good. nice one, dad. and announces details on his next projects. are you doing a film about dr. seuss? >> find out all about his future coming up on this "larry king special:johnny depp." but nothing's helped me beat my back pain. then i tried this. it's salonpas. this is the relief i've been looking for. salonpas has 2 powerful pain fighting ingredients that work for up to 12 hours. and my pharmacist told me it's the only otc pain patch approved for sale

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the kids are great. you know, jack -- they're just -- as you know, i mean,

they just grow up so fast. it's just shocking. >> larry: you and your sister are very close. >> christie's my best friend in the world. she's always -- well, she's kept me alive since i was a little kid. >> larry: so you were family-oriented early? >> i guess so. >> or did you change? >> unfortunately, i have a tendency -- these days now, the way the work is coming, i work a lot, and i probably work too much. if i could change that a little -- >> larry: you can change that. >> -- i'd love to be able to spend more time -- yeah, you can. but once you've committed to certain things -- >> larry: you need that camera. >> well, i need to have the brain occupied for sure. the brain canopy at all times otherwise, i will go sideways. >> larry: why tattoos? >> like a journal.

>> larry: you keep a journal of your life on your body? >> basically. when i was 17 i got my first tattoo. and every single one means something. >> larry: do the kids like it? >> they're okay with it. they're sort of used to it by now. when i come home with a new one, they're like, oh, yeah, that's good. nice one, dad. >> larry: what happened to the lone ranger? >> it's still up and running. >> larry: the budget was too high and you weren't going to do it. you were going to play tonto, right? >> yeah. >> larry: you have indian blood, right? >> yeah. >> larry: what tribe? >> i was always told was cherokee growing up. maybe cherokee. maybe creek. >> larry: is there a script? >> there is a script. it's a very funny, good script. >> larry: is it a takeoff of the lone ranger? >> yeah. >> larry: it's funny? >> there's humor. yeah. there's a boatload of humor in there. >> larry: does tonto get to say kemosabe? >> oh, yeah. >> larry: who's the lone ranger if it's made? >> it's going to be a guy named

army hammer. it looks like it's going to all come together in january. >> larry: oh, it's going to happen? >> yeah, we got the budget down, yeah. >> larry: oh, that's good to hear. >> yeah. >> larry: so you play him tongue in cheek? how are you going to approach tonto? >> i think -- what i like about tonto is the idea that it's -- this character who's thought of as the sidekick. it was the thing that bugged me always about the lone ranger, is why is the indian the sidekick, why does he have to get you that thing? >> larry: he's a slave. >> right. and i couldn't stand that always. and my approach to tonto is that he's this sort of -- there's this sort of crazy like a fox stoicism to tonto, you know, that tonto probably believes that the lone ranger is his slave, you know, his sidekick. go get me the thing. no, no, no. >> larry: he's going to say no?

>> you go get it. you go. you're the one dressed in the funny outfit. you do it. >> larry: are they going to do the beginning where all these bunch of rangers are killed and tonto saves the lone ranger's life? that's the -- >> yeah, there's certainly elements of that, yeah, for sure. you remember it well. >> larry: oh. is there a love interest? >> not for tonto. >> larry: see, he doesn't get -- >> not for tonto, no. >> larry: will you do your own tonto makeup? >> will i do my own tonto makeup? >> larry: have you figured out how tonto -- will he have a headdress? one little feather? >> i think it's a little more than that. i tell you what. i'll send you a picture of it. >> larry: please. >> i've done some tests. i'll send you a picture. because it's a little -- it's a little different than that. but what i like about tonto. what i feel good about in terms of tonto is that i feel like he's, you know, when i came up

with captain jack, i thought, okay, i've really arrived at something, you know, different here. and tonto feels right on par with captain jack. it feels like another captain jack to me. >> larry: are you doing a film about dr. seuss? >> it's something, yeah, something we're developing, with seuss's widow. you know, geisel's widow. and it's a very exciting possibility because it's a sort of a combination of live action and -- >> larry: cat in the hat? >> not cat in the hat so much, but just the characters. the characters will certainly have a role. >> larry: thank you, johnny. >> thank you. what a pleasure. what an honor. >> larry: it's your honor? the honor's mine. the honor's mine. johnny depp. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

i'm deborah feyerick. here are the headlines. a dramatic turn in the case of baby lisa irwin. reported missing 19 days ago in missouri. court documents show cadaver dogs picked up the scent of a body in the bedroom of lisa's parents. the 11-month-old disappeared october 4th from her kansas city home. lisa's mother has admitted she was drunk the night the child disappeared. deborah bradley insists she

would not have harmed her daughter while under the influence. and race car driver dan wheldon has been laid to rest in st. peterspetersburg, florida. he died last saturday in a fiery 15-car crash in the the las vegas indy 300. the two-time indy 500 was remembered as a driver with the heart of a lion. nascar is giving teams at talladega a decal this weekend featuring a decal way knight and the word "lionheart" in his honor. country star loretta lynn is being treated for a pneumonia. the illness forced the 76-year-old singer to cancel contracts in ashland, kentucky and durham, north carolina. her representative says doctors insist she needs rest. this is the third time lynn has canceled concerts this year. she was also forced to postpone because of heat exhaustion and knee surgery. coming up next, it's the return of 24/7. last month a popular hbo series also aired on cnn, and now it's back with another big fight on the way.