Johnny Depp Landed His First Role Thanks To His Looks After Blowing The Audition

Director Wes Craven put his stamp on the teen horror scene of the 1980s with "A Nightmare on Elm Street," which also led to a major career moment for one of the film's cast members. When Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) realizes that a deceased child murderer is killing teens in their sleep, she tries to get her friends to help her. That includes her boyfriend Glen Lantz (Johnny Depp), who does his best to support her even though his shaky efforts take a wrong turn. "A Nightmare on Elm Street" was Depp's first film, and only his good looks saved his awful audition. 

Casting director Annette Benson told The Ringer that his agent, Ilene Feldman, was gushing about the young musician, but Wes' wife, Mimi Craven, admitted that they didn't see his potential at first. "He comes, he reads. He sucks. He wasn't an actor," Mimi recalled. "Annette and I are looking at Wes, and he scratches Johnny's name off. He said, 'Well, he was terrible.'" It seemed like Depp's movie dreams had been dashed, but a meeting with Wes' preteen daughter and her best friend changed everything because they were swooning over his appearance. 

"They were squealing [over him]," said Mimi. "They were that high-pitched. Only dogs can hear the thing that young girls do. And Annette looks at Wes." Of course, the rest is history. Depp's acting career was born, and he has his own fond memories about the audition that felt like a nightmare on its own.

Nowadays, "A Nightmare on Elm Street" holds a special place in film history. But since it was produced by New Line Cinema, which was an independent studio at the time, the film wasn't budgeted for big names, meaning that Craven and his team were searching for promising newcomers. Depp didn't really seem like an up-and-coming actor, but he fondly recalled his memories of his lousy audition.

Following Craven's death in 2015, Depp paid tribute to the filmmaker at the Toronto International Film Festival (via Variety). "I read scenes with [Craven's] daughter when I auditioned for the part," he recounted. "At the time, I was a musician. I wasn't really acting." He added that Craven's daughter pushed for Depp to have the role after meeting other actors. Depp said he's still not sure what Craven saw in him: "I always think of her for putting me in this mess, and certainly Wes Craven for being very brave to give me this gig."

In the film, Depp's Glen Lantz offers a lot of support and trust to Nancy Thompson, despite his own doubts, as people ignore her warnings about Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund). That trust is found in the sincerity with which Depp delivers each line, while giving Nancy swoon-worthy glances that help the teen romance bring a layer of humanity to the film. Of course, Depp has gone on to have an A-list career, but it seems like he'll always remember the movie that started it all and how Wes Craven took a chance on him.