Johnny Depp at 48 is still in great shape. However, it turns out that even he had to take some measures to lose weight earlier this year. In all of Depp’s roles, from Edward Scissorhands, to Ed Wood and of course the now legendary Captain Jack Sparrow, he has always been a lean, agile and almost too scrawny character. This year he was involved in the filming of Dark Shadows, a new Tim Burton vampire movie. What came as a big surprise to me was that Johnny Depp had to lose weight. So, how did he do it?
Well, according the The Sun (the UK tabloid) Johnny Depp drank “gallons of green tea” to help lose weight. This is certainly an interesting revelation as green tea is one of those weight loss “products” that is often talked about and marketed online, but there really is scant evidence to support it as a reliable and safe way to lose weight. You can read our research into green tea here – Wuyi Green Tea Diet For Weight Loss? Although there has been some evidence to support the idea that it can aid weight loss, scientific trials have not been conclusive.
So was Johnny Depp being serious? Well, for the role of Barnabas Collins, Johnny Depp had to lose around 20 pounds to get down to 140 pounds – did you ever see a porky vampire? As well as claiming to drink tea by the gallon he also says he was eating low fructose fruits such as pineapple and strawberries. Fructose is the natural sugar that is present in most fruits, and why a diet that consists of a lot of fruit juice is not always a healthy one.
Of course, if all you consume is green tea and a little fruit you will lose weight. Maybe Johnny Depp was actually starving himself, just like many celebrities before him have done. Christian Bale’s weight loss methods for the Machinist was certainly effective, although needless to say (actually, I probably do need to say it) it is very, very unhealthy to starve yourself to the point that you turn to skin and bones.
It has also been reported that Johnny Depp eats a lot of eggs and chicken, so it is certainly not all low GI fruits.
Johnny Depp Exercises Like the Rest of Us!
You would be foolish to think that Johnny Depp only drinks green tea to stay get in shape though. He also exercises. Johnny admitted once that to cope with the demands of the Pirates movies he had to get fit. He soon found that sword fighting was extremely hard work and the only way to cope with endless hours of fight training was to get in shape.
When he was filming Public Enemies in 2009 he had an assortment of fitness equipment delivered to his rooms, including a treadmill, some free weights and a stability ball. He would do daily workouts consisting of long cardio sessions on the treadmill combined with core workouts and muscle toning.
Dark Shadows looks set to be a fun Vampire flick. Michelle Pfeiffer (who is now 53) plays Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, the matriarch of the Collins family. Michelle Pfeiffer’s most famous supernatural character is of course Sukie Ridgemont from The Witches of Eastwick, a role she played in 1987. Dark Shadows is due for release in Spring 2012.
References
- Fitness: How birthday boy Johnny Depp stays golden (June 9, 2010)
- Depp’s got diet down to a tea (28 Jan 2011)