Johnny Depp is risk-taker, Hollywood's last dandy

Just call him Teflon John: Johnny Depp can do no wrong.

At last month's Golden Globe awards, the 47-year-old actor was a double nominee for performances in "Alice in Wonderland" and "The Tourist." Both films were panned by critics, and "The Tourist" was a huge flop.

But who cares? The simple fact is this: Johnny Depp is one of the few movie stars adored by suburban moms, mischievous third-graders and tattooed hipsters alike. And the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, like the rest of us, just wanted to see our beloved Johnny on the red carpet. Is that too much to ask?

Although he's not nominated for an Academy Award, we're hoping to see how he links his red-carpet look Sunday with his next role, as the voice of a chameleon in the animated Western "Rango."

Depp's award-show looks through the years suggest someone willing to appear comfortable rather than styled.

Though he has progressed from looking like a parking attendant at an after-party beach house to a star familiar with a shawl collar and vest (no tie, of course), Depp remains a man who doesn't wait for the designer-du-jour to send over a selection of dinner jackets.

Some actors just know how to rock a red carpet. But what accounts for the universal appeal of an actor who has a tattoo that reads "Wino Forever"?

(Getty; Reuters; AFP)

For one thing, Depp is one of Hollywood's last dandies. This might seem like an odd way to describe someone who, in December, appeared on "Late Show With David Letterman" looking like a scarecrow — complete with a holey hat, long straw-like hair and a bandanna dangling from his waistband.

Depp may prefer frayed denim to French cuffs and bespoke suits, but he's still a fop. The actor has long opted for a vintage-inspired rebellious look — even back in the '80s, he was sporting a rockabilly pompadour and leather jackets.

Over the years, he has slowly ratcheted up the sartorial flourishes — adding a string of beads here, a scarf there. This has bought him a tremendous amount of goodwill from fashion critics, making him one of the few male stars in Hollywood who has carte blanche when it comes to style.

Of course he looks like a hobo; he's Johnny Depp. You might as well attack Bjork for being quirky.

Another aspect of Depp's appeal is that, for all his bohemian affectations, he's also something of an old-fashioned movie star. George Clooney is considered the modern heir to Cary Grant — a handsome, charming actor who more or less seems to play himself on-screen. But in some ways, this is an apt way of describing Depp. For two decades, he has played some incarnation of the same role: the elaborately costumed weirdo.

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