Johnny Depp Once Revealed That Scientology Helped Him Survive in His Younger Years
Before Johnny Depp achieved Hollywood success, there was a time when the Edward Scissorhands actor was just trying to make ends meet. The Oscar-nominee once shared that Scientology helped him during this period in a surprising way.
Johnny Depp’s views on religion
Johnny Depp has often shared that he isn’t particularly a religious person. However, he doesn’t have a negative opinion of the idea of religion itself.
“I don’t look negatively upon organized religion or anything – people believe whatever they want and I think that’s wonderful,” he once said according to The Straits Times.
Depp may be skeptical about some aspects of religion, but he does have his own beliefs. It’s just that the Pirates of the Caribbean star didn’t believe in being tied down to one religious belief.
“I’m saying that everyone has their own kind of thing. And it’s not that I don’t have what might be construed as spirituality. I have a great many beliefs, but I don’t hang my hat on one particular thing,” he said.
Depp had even shared these beliefs with his children.
“When they were little and asked me, ‘What is God?’, I told them to look at the grass, take a deep breath, look up at the sky and clouds, and that all that was God. And to look in the mirror and that was god too. And I don’t think that’s very far off the mark,” Depp added.
Scientology helped Johnny Depp through tough times
In a December 2001 print edition of Vibe, Depp opened up once again on his opinion of religion. In the interview, he discussed what initially turned him away from organized religion in the first place.
“When I was a little kid, my uncle was a preacher in Kentucky. Full-on—Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! That kind of thing,” he explained. “I knew the guy off the podium. And I’d go and see this persona, and all these adults were screaming, crying, being saved, and kissing his shoes. I remember thinking, This ain’t what it’s about. If you have a god, you don’t have to do this. It’s got to be a little more personal. That turned me off to organized religion.”
But when it came to Scientology, he actually found that religion useful in his earlier years before he hit it big.
“A while ago, I took over this little apartment on Hollywood Boulevard from a friend of mine. I was dead broke, scrounging. He’d go to Mexico all the time and leave all these pesos lying around. I’d change them at the corner check-cashing place so I could get a meal and some cigarettes,” Depp said. “I did that until I found this Scientology place down the street. They’d give you $3 to take this weird f****** test. I’d answer all kinds of strange questions under different names. I survived that way for a little while.”
However, Depp had his theory as to why other celebrities were into Scientology.
“I guess it makes you feel good,” he wondered.
Johnny Depp once shared that he only had faith in his kids
In a 2011 interview with Larry King, Depp shared that although he does have faith, it’s not necessarily towards any religious deity.
“I have faith in my kids,” he once told the late talkshow host. “And I have — I have faith, you know, that as long as you keep moving forward, just keep walking forward, things will be all right, I suppose, you know. Faith in terms of religion, I don’t — religion is not my specialty, you know.”
