Birthday's to share this week : 29th January - 4th February 2017.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Isla Fisher does on 3rd February - check out my tribute to this Birthday Girl turning 41, at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 29th January

• Katherine Ross - Born 1940, turns 77 - Actress
• Oprah Winfrey - Born 1954, turns 63 - Television Personality | Actress | Producer
• Heather Graham - Born 1970, turns 47 - Actress | Producer | Writer | Director | Singer
• Isabel Lucas - Born 1985, turns 32 - Actress
• Tom Selleck - Born 1945, turns 72 - Actor | Producer | Writer
• Edward Burns - Born 1968, turns 49 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer

Monday 30th January

• Gene Hackman - Born 1930, turns 87 - Actor
• Christian Bale - Born 1974, turns 43 - Actor
• Vanessa Redgrave - Born 1937, turns 80 - Actress | Producer | Singer  

Tuesday 31st January

• Minnie Driver - Born 1970, turns 47 - Actress | Producer | Singer  
• Portia de Rossi - Born 1973, turns 44 - Actress
• Philip Glass - Born 1937, turns 80 - Composer | Musician | Songwriter
• Anthony LaPaglia - Born 1959, turns 58 - Actor | Producer
• Dexter Fletcher - Born 1966, turns 51 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer
• Justin Timberlake - Born 1981, turns 36 - Actor | Producer | Singer | Songwriter | Composer

Wednesday 1st February

• Terry Jones - Born 1942, turns 75 - Actor | Writer | Producer | Director | Singer | Songwriter
• Linus Roache - Born 1964, turns 53 - Actor
• Michael C. Hall - Born 1971, turns 46 - Actor | Producer | Singer  

Thursday 2nd February

• David Jason - Born 1940, turns 77 - Actor | Producer | Director
• Gemma Arterton - Born 1986, turns 31 - Actress | Singer  

Friday 3rd February

• Morgan Fairchild - Born 1950, turns 67 - Actress | Singer
• Isla Fisher - Born 1976, turns 41 - Actress
• Nathan Lane - Born 1956, turns 61 - Actor | Producer | Singer  

Saturday 4th February

• George A. Romero - Born 1940, turns 77 - Director | Producer | Writer | Actor | Editor
• Patrick Bergin - Born 1951, turns 66 - Actor | Singer | Songwriter
• Gabrielle Anwar - Born 1970, turns 47 - Actress
• Natalie Imbruglia - Bron 1975, turns 42 - Actress | Singer | Songwriter

Isla Lang Fisher was born in Muscat, Oman to Scottish parents - mother Elspeth Reid, a romance novelist and father Brian Fisher, a banker who worked in Oman for the United Nations at the time of her birth. The family moved back to their hometown of Bathgate, in Scotland when Isla was young and then to Perth in Western Australia at age six. There she attended Swanbourne Primary School and then the independent Methodist Ladies College. Whilst at school she appeared in several school productions including 'Little Shop of Horrors'. Her acting career kicked off at just nine years of age appearing in kids television shows 'Bay City' and 'Paradise Beach' as Robyn Devereaux which ran for two series over 260 episodes from 1993 through 1994, and was syndicated across eleven countries including the USA, UK and France. This in turn led to her being cast in the role of Shannon Reed in the hugely popular long running Australian soap opera 'Home and Away' in which she starred in 376 episodes from 1994 through to 1997. In the meantime, she published two best selling novels at age eighteen aimed at the teenage market - 'Bewitched' and 'Seduced by Fame' with the help of her mother. Had her acting career not taken off, she would happily have become a writer.

After exiting the cast of 'Home and Away', she enrolled at L'Ecole Internationale de Theatre Jacques Lecoq - a school in Paris where the physical art of theatre is studied emphasising the body, movement and space as the entry point in theatrical performance. Armed with these skills she appeared in a number of UK pantomimes and in a number of stage plays travelling the country. She went on to roles in the ITV mini-series 'Oliver Twist' in 1999, then an episode on the BBC series 'Sunburn' and then in 2001 in the mini-series 'Attila' with Gerard Butler, Powers Booth, Steven Berkoff, Liam Cunningham and Tim Curry. In 2001 she gained her first major role in the German slasher horror film 'Swimming Pool' (aka 'The Pool') alongside James McAvoy. She followed this with her role as Shaggy's love interest as Mary Jane in 2002's live action adaptation of 'Scooby Doo'. The film received generally lacklustre Reviews but it grossed US$276M from its US$84M budget outlay.

The Australian comedy 'The Wannabes' followed in 2003 with a bit part in Scott Caan's Directing debut 'Dallas 362' alongside Scott Caan, Jeff Goldblum and Selma Blair. 'I Heart Huckabees' came next with an all star cast as Directed by David O. Russell, and then 'Wedding Crashers' with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson winning the Actress a Breakthrough Performance Award. 'London' followed with Chris Evans, Jason Statham and Jessica Biel, and then RomCom 'Wedding Daze' with Jason Biggs in 2006. Crime film 'Lookout' came next with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Jeff Daniels, then comedy offering 'Hot Rod' and then the romantic dramedy 'Definitely, Maybe' with Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Kline, Rachel Weisz, and Abigail Breslin. 'Confessions of a Shopaholic', another RomCom, closed out the decade with Fisher in the starring role alongside John Lithgow, John Goodman, Hugh Dancy, Kristin Scott Thomas and Lynn Redgrave.

2010 brought 'Burke and Hare' - the black comedy Directed by John Landis and starring Simon Pegg and Andy Serkis in the title roles respectively. This was followed up by the RomCom 'Bachelorette' with Kirsten Dunst, Rebel Wilson and Lizzy Caplan, before Baz Luhrmann's epic retelling of 'The Great Gatsby' with Fisher starring as Myrtle Wilson beside Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton, Carey Mulligan and Jason Clarke. The film made US$351M at the Box Office from its US$105M investment and won 46 awards (including two Oscar's and two BAFTA's) and another 74 nominations. That same year, Fisher starred in 'Now You See Me' as Henley Reeves with Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine. The film was a critical and commercial success, although Fisher was unable to reprise her role in the 2016 follow-up and was replaced by Lizzie Caplan.

The crime comedy 'Life of Crime' with Jennifer Aniston, Tim Robbins and Will Forte came along in 2013, and was followed up in 2015 by supernatural horror straight to video offering 'Visions'. A cameo role as herself in 'Klown Forever' in 2015 led to action comedy 'Grimsby' with Sacha Baron Cohen, Mark Strong, Rebel Wilson and Penelope Cruz. Tom Ford's acclaimed 'Nocturnal Animals' in late 2016 with Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon and Aaron Taylor-Johnson and the critical and commercial failure 'Keeping Up with the Joneses' saw out 2016 and brings us up to date.

In the meantime, Fisher lent her voice talents to the animated features 'Horton Hears a Who!' in 2008, to 'Rango' in 2011, and to 'Rise of the Guardians' in 2012. She also has had appearances in several television series including 'Pilot Season', the animated 'Neighbors from Hell', 'Bored to Death', 'Arrested Development' and animated series 'Sofia the First' most recently.

All up, Fisher has 44 acting credits to her name, and she has thus far accumulated four award wins and ten nominations. She married to English Actor, Producer, Comedian and Screenwriter Sacha Baron Cohen having met at a party in Sydney, Australia in 2002. They were married in a Jewish ceremony in 2010 after Fisher converted to Judaism after three years of study in 2007. They have three children together - daughters Olive (born in 2008) and Elula (born in 2011) and son Montgomery (born in 2015). Fisher published her first solo written children's book 'Marge in Charge' in 2016.

Isla Fisher - voted on numerous 'Top' lists, often mistaken for friend Amy Adams; wanted to marry Elvis Presley when she was young even though he died in 1977 and she was born in 1976; often plays in RomCom's and comedies, but is also playing it straight in horrors, in crime dramas, in animated productions leaving only Sci-Fi on her list to tick off. Committed to her husband and her children, committed to her new religious beliefs, loves acting saying it is the greatest fun in the world and considers herself 'very Australian'. A child actress who has blossomed into a children's author, a leading lady, and an in demand supporting Actress, Happy Birthday to you Isla, from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthday's to share this week : 6th - 12th December 2015.

Do you celebrate your Birthday this week?

Bill Nighy does on 12th December - check out my tribute to this Birthday Boy, turning 66, at the end of this feature.

Do you also share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer, Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Sunday 6th December

• Judd Apatow - Born 1967, turns 48 - Director | Producer | Writer
• Nick Park - Born 1958, turns 57 - Director | Producer | Writer | Animator
• JoBeth Williams - Born 1948, turns 67 - Actress | Producer

Monday 7th December

• Ellen Burstyn - Born 1932, turns 83 - Actress
• Nicholas Hoult - Born 1989, turns 26 - Actor
• Jeffrey Wright - Born 1965, turns 50 - Actor

Tuesday 8th December

• Dominic Monaghan - Born 1976, turns 39 - Actor | Producer
• Rick Baker - Born 1950, turns 65 - Make-up Artist | Special Effects Designer | Actor
• Kim Basinger - Born 1953, turns 62 - Actress
• Teri Hatcher - Born 1964, turns 51 - Actress

Wednesday 9th December

• Judi Dench - Born 1934, turns 81 - Actress
• Kirk Douglas - Born 1916, turns 99 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer
• John Malkovich - Born 1953, turns 62 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer
• Beau Bridges - Born 1941, turns 74 - Actor | Producer | Director

Thursday 10th December

• Kenneth Branagh - Born 1960, turns 55 - Actor | Producer | Director | Writer
• Xavier Samuel - Born 1983, turns 32 - Actor

Friday 11th December

• Hailee Steinfeld - Born 1996, turns 19 - Actress
• Mo'Nique - Born 1967, turns 48 - Actress | Producer | Writer

Saturday 12th December

• Jennifer Connolly - Born 1970, turns 45 - Actress
• Paula Wagner - Born 1946, turns 69 - Producer
• Bill Nighy - Born 1949, turns 66 - Actor

William Francis Nighy was born in Caterham, Surrey, England to mother Catherine Josephine Whittaker, a psychiatric nurse, and father Alfred Martin Nighy, the manager of a car garage and former family chimney sweeping business owner. He was raised a Roman Catholic, and served as an alter boy. He attended the John Fischer School in Purley where he first took part in the school theatre group, and from where he graduated with two O'Levels in English Language and English Literature. Working as a messenger boy for The Croydon Advertiser, he later trained at the Guildford School of Acting.

Nighy made his stage debut in London at the National Theatre in 'Illuminatus' which first opened in 1977. His first small screen appearance came with the weekly television police force drama series 'Softly, Softly : Taskforce' in 1976 with three episodes on 'Play for Today' from 1978 to 1982. From that point on there has been regular television work throughout the years up until the present day with the likes of appearances on 'Minder', the acclaimed 'The Men's Room' in 1991, 'Bergerac', 'Peak Practice', 'Wycliffe', 'Kavanagh QC', 'State of Play', 'The Girl in the Cafe', 'Gideon's Daughter' and more recently the Worricker trilogy with Nighy playing the lead role of Johnny Worricker in 'Page Eight', 'Turks & Caicos', and 'Salting the Battlefield'.

His radio career is also worthy of mention. In 1981 he played Samwise Gamgee in 'The Lord of the Rings' BBC Radio dramatisation, and then there was the BBC Radio versions of the successful 80's television political satire series 'Yes, Minister' and the acclaimed 'Kerton's Story' and for BBC 4 'Baldi'.

In between television, radio and an increasingly busy film schedule there has also been notable stage appearances with The National Theatre again, including Tom Stoppard's 'Arcadia' and then Joe Penhall's 'Blue/Orange' for which he picked up an Olivier Award nomination for his performance.

Nighy's big screen debut came with an uncredited bit part in Joan Collin's 'The Bitch' in 1979, and another uncredited role in 'Death Watch' a year later, and the television movie 'Little Lord Fauntleroy', also uncredited that same year. His first credited film role came alongside Donald Sutherland in 1981's war time spy drama 'Eye of the Needle'. 'The Curse of the Pink Panther' followed in 1983 as Directed by Blake Edwards and with an all star line up including Moore, Niven, Wagner, Lom, Loggia and Lumley. The 80's saw out with 'Mack The Knife' and 'Phantom of the Opera'.

A bunch of television series and made for TV movies occupied Nighy in the early part of the 90's with the Robin Williams vehicle 'Being Human' being his first big screen role that decade in 1994. After some lesser fare he gained recognition for 1998's 'Still Crazy' as ageing Rock Star Ray Simms. 'Guest House Paradiso' followed in 1999 with Adrian Edmonson and Rik Mayall to see out the decade.

'Blow Dry' saw in the 2000's in 2001 with Alan Rickman and that same year the award winning 'Lawless Heart' and then 'Lucky Break'. But, it was playing an ageing Rock Star again that really helped establish his film career in 2003 with 'Love Actually', as Directed by Richard Curtis, and again featuring an all star cast. 

This was followed by vampire offering 'Underworld' in which Nighy world play Viktor alongside Kate Beckinsale - a role he would reprise in 2006 in 'Underworld : Evolution' and again in 2009 in 'Underworld : Rise of the Lycans'. After this came 'Shaun of the Dead', 'The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy', 'The Constant Gardner' and then in 2006 his first appearance (albeit almost unrecognisably) as Davy Jones in 'Pirates of the Caribbean : Dead Man's Chest' with a further reprisal of his character a year later in 'Pirates of the Caribbean : At World's End'.

'Notes on a Scandal' came next in 2006 with Blanchett and Dench, 'Hot Fuzz' with Pegg and Frost again, 'Valkyrie' with Cruise and Branagh, 'The Boat That Rocked' with Seymour Hoffman and Frost once more, and 'Glorious 39' with Redmayne and Lee seeing out another decade.

2010 delivered 'Wild Target' and a role in the first concluding film in the 'Harry Potter' series, and then in 2011 the popular 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' which he would reprise in 2015's 'The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'. This was followed up by 'Wrath of the Titans', the reboot of 'Total Recall', then 'Jack the Giant Slayer', another outing for Richard Curtis in 'About Time', then 'I, Frankenstein' and 'Pride'.

Next up there is 'Dad's Army' due in early 2016, 'Okja' in pre-production for 2017, 'Payne & Redemption' and 'Their Finest Hour and a Half' both currently filming for later on in 2016, and 'Norm of the North' in post-production. Nighty has lent his voice talents also to numerous other films including 'Flushed Away', 'Astro Boy', 'Rango', 'Arthur Christmas', and for numerous video games. All up Nighy has 129 Acting credits and he has won one Golden Globe for 'Gideon's Daughter' in 2007 and has been nominated twice more. He has two BAFTA wins for 'State of Play' and 'Love Actually' both in 2003 and another nomination. Plus, there are another twelve award wins and a further 18 nominations.

For 27 years Nighy shared a relationship with English Actress Diana Quick with whom they have a daughter Mary, born in 1984, and also an Actress. The couple split on good terms in 2008.

Bill Nighy - Actor of stage, television, cinema, radio, video and audio; has played the dead, the living dead, comedy, drama, romance and rockers and often does so with a palid gaze, deadpan one liners, a menacing stare and perfect timing. Clearly busy beyond belief Bill, but why let up now when you're so far ahead and still so sought after, and when your audience keep buying tickets. Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

RANGO : archive from 20th March 2011.

With my young lad I saw 'RANGO' this afternoon as Directed and Produced by Gore Verbinski at a cost of US$135M. This animated action comedy Western feature went on to gross worldwide US$246M and along the way picked up the Academy Award and BAFTA for Best Animated Feature Film together with another 44 award wins and 22 nominations.






With an all star line up lending their considerable voice talents there is lots to like about this film. Johnny Depp is Rango, a pet chameleon who lives a life of action and adventure, in his own mind, but when confronted with real life action & adventure when his owner loses him in the Mojave Desert and he winds up in the isolated town of Dirt, he must learn quickly to stand out from the crowd rather than blend in as a chameleon does. He meets up with armadillo Roadkill (Alfred Molina)  - who is searching for the mythical 'Spirit of the West', and iguana Beans (Isla Fisher) who join Rango en route to Dirt.

When he arrives at Dirt, Rango presents himself as a tough drifter and promptly has a run in with a Gila monster Bad Bill (Ray Winstone) but avoids a shoot out confrontation when Bad Bill is scared off by a sweeping vicious red tailed hawk. The resulting fracas sees the hawk dispensed with, which in turn leads to the town Mayor - a desert tortoise named Tortoise John (Ned Beatty) - electing Rango as the new Sheriff. There is however, anxiety amongst the townsfolk now that the red tailed hawk has been thwarted, believing that local gunslinger Rattlesnake Jake (Bill Nighy) will return to do no good!

Dirt it is believed is a dusty dry desert dirt bowl of a town low on water reserves that one night gets robbed, to which Rango is an unwitting accomplice at the hands of a mole named Balthazar (Harry Dean Stanton). The next day with their precious little water supply gone Rango mounts a posse to go in search of the robbers and reclaim their water. After a chase through a canyon the robbers are caught but the water is gone!

Returning to Dirt the robbers are set to stand trial, but Rango has discovered that the Mayor has been buying up large tracts of land nearby, but the Mayor denies any wrong doing, instead claiming his intentions to build a new city to give them all hope, and a future. The Mayor though has a hidden agenda and so enlists Rattlesnake Jake to run Rango out of town. In the process Rango is humiliated and must confess that his high plains drifter image was a front to win favour. Turning his back on Dirt and its townsfolk he meets up with the mythical Spirit of the West (Timothy Olyphant) whom Rango pegs as The Man with No Name. The Spirit inspires Rango to return and finish what he started.

Teaming up with Roadkill again, Rango heads back into town but learns along the way that the towns water supply is being controlled by the Mayor by way of an emergency shut-off valve in the pipeline between Dirt and Las Vegas. Rango calls to Rattlesnake Jake for a shootout creating a diversion so that his assembled buddies can turn on the water supply, flood the town and free the wrongly accused robbers yet to stand trial.

Things though don't go quite according to plan and Rango and Beans are captured and thrown in the banks vault which when flooded will result in their demise. The Mayor turns on Rattlesnake Jake because he represents the Old West and he has plans for a New West that doesn't involve the low down snake. Luckily though the gun that the Mayor took from Rango is empty - the only bullet taken by Rango as a means of escape from the bank vault. As the flood comes so the Mayor and his men are washed away, Rattlesnake Jake is saved, Rango and Beans escape, Dirt is saved and refreshed with a new water supply, and Rango is hailed a hero.

This is a very entertaining and engaging film that features top notch animation that just gets better with every such creature feature. Watch out for the nods to others classics - 'A Fistful of Dollars', 'Mad Max', 'Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas' etc . . . see how many you can spot! Catch it now on DVD, Bluray or download - you won't be disappointed, and, it's a film for kids of all ages - young & old!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

Birthdays to share this week : 8th - 14th June.

Do you share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer or Singer/Songwriter/Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming week? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with over the coming week. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!

Check out too the spotlight on this weeks Birthday Boy on 9th June, Johnny Depp, at the end of this feature.

Sunday 8th June

• Jerry Stiller - Born 1927, turns 87 - Actor | Producer
• Kanye West - Born 1977, turns 37 - Singer | Songwriter | Producer | Actor
• Joan Rivers - Born 1933, turns 81 - Actress | Writer | Producer

Monday 9th June

• Johnny Depp - Born 1963, turns 51 - Actor | Producer | Singer
• Natalie Portman - Born 1981, turns 33 - Actress | Producer
• Michael J. Fox - Born 1961, turns 53 - Actor | Producer
• David Koepp - Born 1963, turns 51 - Writer | Director
• James Newton Howard - Born 1951, turns 63 - Composer | Songwriter

Tuesday 10th June

• Elizabeth Hurley - Born 1965, turns 49 - Actress
• Jeanne Tripplehorn - Born 1963, turns 51 - Actress
• Leelee Sobieski - Born 1983, turns 31 - Actress
• Gina Gershon - Born 1962, turns 52 - Actress
• Jurgen Prochnow - Born 1941, turns 73 - Actor

Wednesday 11th June

• Peter Dinklage - Born 1969, turns 45 - Actor
• Shia LaBeouf - Born 1986, turns 28 - Actor
• Hugh Laurie - Born 1959, turns 55 - Actor | Writer
• Gene Wilder - Born 1933, turns 81 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Director | Singer | Songwriter

Thursday 12th June

• Frances O'Connor - Born 1967, turns 47 - Actress
• Dave Franco - Born 1985, turns 29 - Actor | Writer

Friday 13th June

• Chris Evans - Born 1981, turns 33 - Actor
• Stellan Skarsgard - Born 1951, turns 63 - Actor | Producer
• Ally Sheedy - Born 1962, turns 52 - Actress
• Malcolm McDowell - Born 1943, turns 71 - Actor | Producer
• Tim Allen - Born 1953, turns 61 - Actor | Producer
• Joe Roth - Born 1948, turns 66 - Producer
• Kodi Smit-McPhee - Born 1996, turns 18 - Actor

Saturday 14th June

• Will Patton - Born 1954, turns 60 - Actor
• Jay Roach - Born 1957, turns 57 - Director | Producer
• Boy George - Born 1961, turns 53 - Singer | Songwriter | DJ
• Diablo Cody - Born 1978, turns 36 - Writer | Producer

John Christopher Depp II was born in Owensboro, Kentucky and raised in Florida from age seven. The youngest of four children he dropped out of school at age fifteen with dreams of becoming a rock musician, and his (first) fifteen minutes of fame came when he once opened for Iggy Pop in concert. 

His first movie break came courtesy of Nic Cage whom he met on a trip to Los Angeles, and that meeting led to the young Depp being cast in Wes Craven's 'A Nightmare on Elm Street' in 1984. It was few years after that however, in 1987 that real prominence raised its head when Depp was cast to play Tommy Hanson in TV's '21 Jump Street'. In 1990 after playing a number of teen based roles, he first collaborated with Tim Burton on 'Edward Scissorhands' which led to a beautiful friendship that still flourishes to this day with subsequent joint ventures on 'Ed Wood', 'Sleepy Hollow', 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', 'Sweeney Todd', 'Alice in Wonderland' and more recently 'Dark Shadows'. 

Depp is usually seen playing the flamboyant, the eccentric, the weird, whacky and wonderful. He is not afraid in dressing the part in often boisterous fashion, donning the greasepaint, and camping it up with all sorts of mannerism and idiosyncrasies to create colourful characters - and often this will be at the hands of Tim Burton's film collaborations (refer previously mentioned film titles). Throughout the last 20 years he has played often diverse characters from real life or fictional works and has easily made the transition across genres and character types. Examples have been with such outings as 'Platoon', 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape', ' Donnie Brasco', 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas', ' Chocolat', 'Blow', 'Finding Neverland', 'Public Enemies', 'The Tourist', 'The Lone Ranger' and earlier this year 'Transcendence' . . . whilst not forgetting four hugely successful 'Pirates of the Caribbean' instalments with a fifth announced for release in 2016 - 'Dead Men Tell No Tales'. He has also lent his voice skills to 'Rango' and 'Corpse Bride'.

Over the years and in various publications Depp has been named 'most talented 

actor', ' sexist man alive' and is an entrant on the Hollywood 'power list'. He has had relationships with Winona Ryder, Kate Moss, Vanessa Paradis (for fourteen years and with whom he has two children), and since 2012 to model, Amber Heard. He owned 'The Viper Room' with River Phoenix and was accused of selling drugs at his own club, and it was outside this club that Phoenix died so tragically and so prematurely. He has been arrested for trashing a New York hotel suite, and for fighting with paparazzi in London. He owns a restaurant/club in Paris with business partners Sean Penn and John Malkovich, and also a vineyard in France. A few years ago he set up his own production company - 'Infinitum Nihil Productions' with 'The Rum Diary' being their first production, with the screen adaptation of 'Shantaram' slated. 

To his credit he has 51 award wins and a further 74 nominations. He has garnered three Academy Award nominations; three BAFTA nominations; nine Golden Globe nominations and a win for 'Sweeney Todd'. He has five films currently in post-production, and 'Black Mass' currently filming.

Johnny Depp - playboy, playful, charitable, charismatic, charming and character driven - Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-