The power of the odd
I am counting the days ‘til we don our 3-D glasses to see Johnny Depp as the deliriously Mad Hatter in the new “Alice in Wonderland”. Who’s even playing Alice? Don’t know, don’t care—she’s simply the conduit to Depp. Yes, I’m a fan.
I was discussing the casting of this film with my daughter Molly, the future theater maven. We concur on Depp. We also concur on the brilliant casting of Helen Bonham Carter as the Red Queen—“Off with her head!”. But too-pretty Anne Hathaway as the White Queen just seems so bland. So predictable. So tame. So safe.
Our vote for who should’ve gotten the White Queen role: Lady Gaga. Because she’s odd. Quirky. Peculiar. She probably got picked on a lot in school, while Anne was probably popular. Not only is Lady Gaga weirdly wonderful—she could have sung the soundtrack.
As for Mr. Depp. I believe it’s his oddness that makes people of all sorts go crazy for him. It’s his authenticity that gets people. He’s a great actor, and has fabulous cheekbones. But Hollywood is chockablock-full of talent and pretty faces—Depp has more. He’s got that original oddness. Consider the wild cult status which is now exploding around a local LA leathersmith, Brennan Byers (www.gbbleather.com) , who makes all the fabulous leather stuff for The Pirates of the Caribbean movies. He recently replicated a leather wristband for Johnny Depp, and now the wristband has spawned a crazed, viral following, especially in Japan. Brennan’s leather cuff is an instant icon, an emblem of cool, a feverish, frothing object of desire, because in wearing one, we connect with our own deep weirdness as epitomized by Depp, who makes it OK to be odd. In fact, I may have to have one as my birthday gift to myself….
The lesson for all of us: take a chance. If we must err (and we must), err on the side of something risky and interesting. The truth is that playing it so-called “safe” isn’t really safe. You may die of boredom. Push the edge…and remember the words of T.S.Eliot: “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”