Johnny Depp‘s portrayal of James “Whitey” Bulger in “Black Mass” is giving the actor some Oscar buzz, but he doesn’t want it.
“I don’t want to win one of those things ever, you know,” Depp the BBC.
Why? For starters, he doesn’t “want to talk” on a podium after he wins. But mostly, the 52-year-old actor doesn’t care for turning the art of a performance into a competition.
“The idea of winning means that you’re in competition with someone, and I’m not in competition with anybody,” Depp continued. “I just stick to my guns and do what I want to do. Sometimes people don’t like it, but that’s alright.”
Depp had been previously nominated for an Oscar for his role in 2003’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Peal,” as well as his role in 2004’s “Finding Neverland” and 2007’s “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.” And that’s enough for the actor, he said.
“They gave me one of those things, like a nomination, two or three times,” he said. “A nomination is plenty.”
Johnny Depp vs. Whitey Bulger: 11 'Black Mass' Characters and Their Real-Life Counterparts (Photos)
Johnny Depp plays Whitey Bulger, one of the most notorious mobsters in U.S. history who terrorized South Boston in the '70s and '80s.
Warner Bros./FBI
Joel Edgerton plays John Connolly, a former FBI agent who fed Bulger and his mob information about the FBI's plans to catch them.
Warner Bros./WGBH News
Benedict Cumberbatch stars as William "Bill" Bulger, Whitey's brother. He was President of the Massachusetts Senate and the president of the UMass.
Warner Bros./CBS
Rory Cochrane plays Stephen Flemmi, a close associate of Bulger's and his Winter Hill Gang.
Getty Images/FBI
Juno Temple plays Deborah Hussey, Stephen Flemmi's stepdaughter.
Getty Images/WVCB
Adam Scott stars as Robert Fitzpatrick, who was arrested for lying under oath during the 2013 Bulger trial.
Warner Bros. /CNN Films
Peter Sarsgaard plays Brian Halloran, who was an associate of the Winter Hill Gang.
Warner Bros./FBI
Dakota Johnson stars as Lindsey Cyr, Bulger's girlfriend who fell pregnant just a few months after she started dating the crime lord.
Warner Bros./WGBH News
Jesse Plemons plays Kevin Weeks, former mobster and longtime friend of Bulger's.
Warner Bros./WGBH News
W. Earl Brown plays Johnny Martorano, Bulger's hitman.
Warner Bros./FBI
Corey Stoll plays Fred Wyshak, a U.S. Attorney in the Bulger trial.
Warner Bros./Boston Herald
Kevin Bacon's character, Charles McGuire, is a composite of several different FBI agents and investigators on the case, so no real-life photo was available.
Warner Bros.
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Meet the people behind the fact-based crime drama, as portrayed by Depp, Joel Edgerton, Dakota Johnson and Peter Sarsgaard