John Christopher Depp II is an actor and musician, best known for his iconic movie roles such as Edward Scissorhands (1990), Blow (2001), and becoming popular with younger generations through acting in the Pirates of the Caribbean (2003-2017) film series and Disney related movies.
Similar to Tom Hardy, the versatile and exciting acting roles Depp undertakes make his height blend seamlessly into the background without giving much thought to it. Yet when focusing on how tall he is, he usually looks neither short nor tall compared to the cast around him.
He does however wear very thick footwear and large hats making him appear taller than he really is. So, how tall is he really, and has he lost any height from his youth? Let's find out his height listing, claims, what others say about his height, and also compare his height to other celebs, to find out how tall he really is!
What's His Real Height?
Johnny Depp is a man who can look both shorter and taller than average. This is partly down to the use of 1.5-2 inch heels, boosting him from around average height to slightly above average. I feel that he wakes up between 5'9.25 (175.9 cm) to 5'9.5" (176.5 cm) tall, then falls into the height range he carries throughout the majority of the day, between 5'8.75" (174.6 cm) to 5'9" (175.3 cm).
Listings
Depp is generally listed between 5'9"-5'10". Some examples of this are his 5'10" Google and 5'9" IMDb listing. In biographies, he is also referenced around these heights.
Height Claim
I have read through the majority of interview transcripts Johnny has had throughout the years, and surprisingly not found a direct height claim from him. However, indirectly, there is one claim that he made for his driving license.
This comes from a sit-down interview in 1989, where the interviewer asks for Johnny's Driving ID, saying:
"Let’s see your ID! . . . A fairly accurate description of this 25-year-old star is that he’s 5’10”...and weighs approximately 145 pounds." (1)
What Others Say
Similar to some other celebs, and as previously mentioned, Johnny's height is hard to pin down. This is also expressed through those who have met him over the years, and their vastly differing opinions.
Shorter Than Average Height
Johnny Depp has been described as under average height
For instance, in a 1993 interview:
"It’s strange because although Johnny Depp is actually only about 5’7”, he gives the illusion of being really tall". (2)
Average Height
He has also been described as around average height.
For example, one interviewer remarked:
"At 5’10”, with sandy brown hair that goes every which way and soulful brown eyes, Johnny was recently named ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ by People magazine". (3)
Taller Than Average Height
More frequently than other heights, Johnny has been described as just below 6 feet!
1: Examples of this include one interviewer saying:
"However, at just under six foot tall in his stocking soles, Depp towers over most of the elite Tinseltown club. The only way Mel Gibson could look him in the eye would be if Tom Cruise gave him a footie." (4)
Regarding this quote, in reality, Mel Gibson was at the time most likely a fraction taller than Depp.
2: Johnny's near 6 foot appearance is further backed up by another interviewer, who after seeing Johnny in the flesh, remarked:
"At nearly six feet, he is taller than people think" (5)
3: Finally, during an interview, when questioned about Depp's height, one man who met him said:
"He’s smaller than me (J. Richardson is 6’.) A bit fine-boned, I suppose, but not dramatically so" (6)
All of the quotes listed have been made after meeting Depp in person, so as we can see, his height is difficult to pin down!
Compared to Other Celebs
Possible Height Loss
Johnny Depp is approaching 60 years of age and is in the age range where slight height loss is fairly common. Yet, as of 2022, although he has filled out and is clearly heavier than in his youth, I feel he is in a similar height range.
I came to this conclusion after seeing him standing next to the same celebs in both early and later years, as the differences in height appear similar. Though, due to the stacked footwear that Depp often uses, it is easy to negate a fraction (0.25") of height loss.
Brad Pitt (181.cm)
When pictured standing next to Brad Pitt at the Los Angeles premiere of What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), there is a 1.25 inch difference in height, with Brad being clearly taller.
In more recent years and when Johnny is standing next to Brad again, the difference remains the same, which is one of the reasons why I believe Brad hasn't lost a significant amount of height. Regardless, in these examples, Johnny is wearing shoes that give around 1/2 inch advantage over Brad.
So after taking his footwear advantage into consideration, when next to Brad, again, johnny appears to be approximately 5'9" tall.
Tom Cruise 5'7.75" (172.1 cm)
We can gain an understanding that Depp isn't above 5'9" when we compare his height to Tom Cruise at the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013. Tom is in 3 inch lifted shoes here, giving him 2.5"-2.75" of actual height, putting his height at around 5'10.25-5". Depp is wearing 1.5" shoes and appears a very similar height, or slightly taller than Cruise.
Therefore with Cruise, Johnny appears approximately 5'8.75-5'9" tall.
Jimmy Kimmel 5'11.25 (181 cm)
When the two met on Jimmy's Late Night Show, such as in 2013 and 2014, there looked to be a 2 inch difference in height between them, with Jimmy the taller of the pair. However, once again Johnny is in 1.5-75 inch Cuban heels and platform shoes in two of these instances opposed to Jimmy's 1-1.25 inch shoes.
Taking into consideration the footwear difference, next to Jimmy, Johnny appears to be around 5'8.75" tall.
The Results - when standing next to other celebs throughout the years, Johnny Depp appears to be anywhere between 5'8.75"-5'9" tall.
The Curtain Call
Johnny Depp's height is hard to pin down. He may have lost a fraction of his peak height, yet due to his thick, changing footwear, it isn't obvious when comparing him to other celebs. Therefore I believe that he wakes up between 5'9.25 (175.9 cm)to 5'9.5" (176.5 cm) tall and drops to around 5'8.75" (174.6 cm) to 5'9" (175.3 cm) tall throughout the majority of the day.
Heights Related to Johnny Depp
- Lori Anne Allison, Ex-Wife (1983-1985), 5'0" (152.4 cm)
- Amber Heard, Ex-Wife (2015-2017), 5'6" (167.6 cm)
- Vanessa Paradis, Ex-Girlfriend, 5'3" (160 cm)
- Tim Burton, Director, 5'11.25" (181 cm)
- Lily-Rose Depp, Daughter, 5'5" (165.1 cm)
References
Sourced from The Johnny Depp Zone Interview Archive, referencing articles below:
1: Heeere's Johnny Depp: Meet TV's Most Popular Cop Star, By Sonia Black Dynamite, Issue No. 149, 1989
2: Oh Johnny by Leesa Daniels, Smash Hits, July 1993
3: Hidden Depps by Paul Sheehan Blink, Issue 1 June 2004
4:An Interview with Johnny Depp The Sunday Herald, by Graeme Virtue, Scotland March 11, 2001
5: Where's Johnny? by Johanna Schneller Photographs, by Jake Chessum Premiere, December 1999
6: The Unprocessed Johnny Depp by John H. Richardson, Esquire Magazine, May 2004
