In the 1990s, Depp portrayed lead roles in Arizona Dream (1993), What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), Benny & Joon (1993), Dead Man (1995) and title characters Ed Wood (1994), Don Juan DeMarco (1995) and Donnie Brasco (1997).

Depp became known for his collaborations with director Tim Burton, including in Edward Scissorhands (1990), Ed Wood (1994), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Corpse Bride (2005), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, and Alice in Wonderland (2010).

[47] Although most of the reviews focused on DiCaprio, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance, Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote that "Depp manages to command center screen with a greatly affable, appealing characterization".

[53] Variety called it "a turgid and unbelievable neo-western",[54] and Time Out wrote that "besides the implausibilities, the direction has two fatal flaws: it's both tediously slow and hugely narcissistic as the camera focuses repeatedly on Depp's bandana'd head and rippling torso".

For his performance, Depp took inspiration from Angela Lansbury, Roddy McDowall and Basil Rathbone, saying he "always thought of Ichabod as a very delicate, fragile person who was maybe a little too in touch with his feminine side, like a frightened little girl".

Depp's first film release of the new millennium was British-French drama The Man Who Cried (2000), directed by Sally Potter and starring him as a Roma horseman opposite Christina Ricci, Cate Blanchett, and John Turturro.

[93] Depp began the 2010s with another collaboration with Tim Burton, Alice in Wonderland (2010), in which he played the Mad Hatter opposite Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway and Alan Rickman.

[112][113][114][115] Following a brief cameo in the independent film Lucky Them (2013), Depp starred as an AI-studying scientist in the sci-fi thriller Transcendence (2014), which was yet another commercial failure,[116][117] and earned mainly negative reviews.

[112][118][119] His other roles in 2014 were a minor supporting part as The Wolf in the film adaptation of Into the Woods, and a more substantial appearance as eccentric French-Canadian ex-detective in Kevin Smith's horror-comedy Tusk, in which he was credited by the character's name, Guy LaPointe.

[128][129] In addition to his work in films in 2015, French luxury fashion house Dior signed Depp as the face of their men's fragrance, Sauvage,[130] and he was inducted as a Disney Legend.

[154] In November 2020, Depp resigned from his role as Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise at the request of its production company, Warner Bros., after he lost his UK libel case against The Sun, which had accused him of being a domestic abuser.

[181][182] The organizers of the ceremonies released statements defending their decision to award Depp,[183][184][185] with the San Sebastian Film Festival stating that "he has not been charged by any authority in any jurisdiction, nor convicted of any form of violence against women".

[214] Prior to his acting career, Depp was a guitarist, and has later featured on songs by Oasis, Shane MacGowan, Iggy Pop, Vanessa Paradis, Aerosmith, Marilyn Manson, and The New Basement Tapes, among others.

[215] Depp played guitar on the soundtrack of his films Chocolat and Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and has appeared in music videos for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Lemonheads, Avril Lavigne and Paul McCartney.

In the 1990s, he was also a member of P, a musical group featuring Butthole Surfers singer Gibby Haynes, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea and Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones.

[227] In May 2023, Depp performed at the Jeff Beck tribute concerts held at the Royal Albert Hall in London, sharing the stage with Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood and Kirk Hammett among others.

Prints of public figures Heath Ledger, Bob Marley, River Phoenix and Hunter S. Thompson were made available for sale, as a four-piece, and signed by Depp, or sold individually.

On September 30, 2024, a special preview event took place, with Depp and some of his friends and family members present, including Jim Jarmusch, Jerry Bruckheimer and Justin Bartha.

From reports of his repeated confrontations with the police, trashing of a hotel room, chain smoking, drinking, and drug use, to his multiple engagements to such glamorous women as supermodel Kate Moss and Hollywood starlet Winona Ryder and others, we clearly see a perfect fit between his non-conformist star image and his repertoire of outsider characters".

[239] After a decade of appearing mainly in independent films with varying commercial success, Depp became one of the biggest box-office draws in the 2000s with his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in Walt Disney Studios' Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

[266][267][268] Heard filed for divorce on May 23, 2016, and obtained a temporary restraining order against Depp, alleging in her court declaration that he had been verbally and physically abusive throughout their relationship, usually while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

[292][293][294] The lawsuit ultimately resulted in Depp alleging that the op-ed contained three defamatory statements: first, its headline, "Amber Heard: I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture's wrath.

"[309] Depp also highlighted "the noble work of the Judge, the jurors, the court staff and the Sheriffs who have sacrificed their own time to get to this point", and praised his "diligent and unwavering legal team" for "an extraordinary job".

[316] In 2012, UC Irvine medical professor Robin Eckert sued Depp and three security firms, Premier Group International, Damian Executive Production Inc. and Staff Pro Inc.,[317] claiming to have been roughed up by his bodyguards at a concert in Los Angeles in 2011.

[320] In April 2015, Depp and his then-wife Amber Heard breached Australia's biosecurity laws when they failed to declare their two dogs to the customs when they flew to Queensland, where he was working on a film.

[336] In August 2022, Depp and Jeff Beck were accused of stealing an incarcerated African American man's poem by incorporating its verses into the lyrics to their song "Sad Motherfuckin' Parade" in their 2022 collaborative album, 18.

Bruce Jackson, the folklorist who made the accusation, requested that Depp and Beck give due credit to Slim Wilson, the actual originator of the lyrics, for the song.

In January 2024, actress Lola Glaudini, on an episode of the podcast Powerful Truth Angels, recounted an incident of verbal abuse from Depp during the shooting of the movie Blow (2001).

Shawn Holtzclaw of the Secret Service told CNN they were aware of Depp's comment, but that "for security reasons, we cannot discuss specifically nor in general terms the means and methods of how we perform our protective responsibilities".

[352] According to the review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, Depp's most critically and commercially successful films include A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Arizona Dream (1993), What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), Ed Wood (1994), Donnie Brasco (1997), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Chocolat (2000), Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Finding Neverland (2004), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), Public Enemies (2009), Alice in Wonderland (2010), Black Mass (2015) and Minamata (2020).