Music producer Tom Zutaut signed Guns N’ Roses and Mötley Crüe in the 80s. In an interview, the manager talked about his job and the artists he has discovered over the years. Johnny Depp came to him twice for an audition before his acting career, he said Podcast X5 . Tom Zutaut listened to the young Depp on the guitar and then told Depp’s manager that, according to his prediction, he would not become a musician.
He would be the “worst guitarist he’s ever seen,” but his charisma would be extraordinary. Zutaut recommended that the manager hire an agent and make Depp known in the film and television industry. The boy is a star and has what it takes, just not as part of a rock band, he added.
The auditions at all other well-known record labels were also unsuccessful, as manager Zutaut said in a call at the time.
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Zutaut gave the crucial tip
A few months later, the music producer received another call telling him about Depp’s role in the television series “21 Jump Street.” Johnny Depp became famous in Hollywood as “Tom Hansen” in the series at the end of the 80s. He became a global star with his leading role as Captain Jack Sparrow in “Pirates of the Caribbean”.
In 2015 he founded the band Hollywood Vampires together with Alice Cooper, which also includes Joe Perry and Tommy Henriksen, Alice Cooper’s long-time friend. Depp is the singer and guitarist for Hollywood Vampires. On their world tour in 2023, the band played in the Citadel in Berlin, among other places.
The 60-year-old was recently in the headlines because of the inglorious court case with Amber Heard – and as Saudi Arabia’s Prince MBS’s new buddy.