Secrets to Being Cool Like Johnny Depp

It’s a simple fact of life: being a drug dealer, drunken scallywag, deranged candy man, heterosexual transvestite filmmaker and even an anemic guy strapped in black leather with scissors for hands is undeniably cool. 

But that only holds true if your name is Johnny Depp.

In an article in the New York Post, Sara Stewart describes why “Johnny Depp is the ultimate definition of cool.” Unlike fellow cool icons, such as James Dean, Jack Nicholson and Steve McQueen, Johnny Depp is the mastermind behind a new breed of cool.

Oh, so you wanna be cool too? That's why I'm here, so take notes and then give it a shot.

According to the article, the following factors make Mr. Depp too cool for school:

OK, I admit, some of the Depp-style coolness is hard to emulate with the whole island thing (you can’t blame him though; he’s a pirate, after all), but according to clinical psychologist Adam Ferrier, whose thesis, Identifying The Underlying Constructs of Cool People, coolness can be conquered through just five principles.

Depp certainly has caring for others and understated achievement under his faded leather belt. It seems he is the Houdini of charity. He makes his appearance then vanishes without a trace, magically free of publicity. “When he makes star appearances, most of them are for charity … Johnny’s been known to show up dressed as Capt. Jack to entertain children’s hospital wards,” wrote Stewart.

It’s certainly an understatement to say Depp is understated regarding his achievements. He supports more than a dozen charities, including Children’s Hospice & Palliative Care Coalition, Dogs Deserve Better and he even received the Courage To Care Award acknowledging his contribution efforts for the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

Call it cliché, but we all know one secret to coolness is being in a rock 'n' roll band. Leave it to Johnny to kick it up a notch. His rock band plays for charity. For two years in a row, Depp has reunited with his old high school band The Kids for the Sheila Witkin Memorial Reunion Concert, which honors The Kids' late manager. All proceeds from the benefit concert went to the Dan Marino Foundation, which funds programs for children with special needs.

Last but not least, consider yourself cooler than cool if you’re part of Johnny’s Angels. A fan group that began in 2007. The club encourages Depp fans from all over the world to raise money for the charities he supports.

Even though we might never be as cool as the man who asks why the rum is always gone … we’re sure as hell gonna try.

Check out this video of Johnny and his band The Kids ... being cool.