Francois-Marie Banier exclusively for Vanity FairUs Magazine
Says Depp, "It's my way of trying to return to normalcy. Escapism is survival to me."
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Little Hall's Pond Cay features six different beaches, named after Depp's partner, Vanessa Paradis, and their children, Lily Rose, 10, and Jack, 7, as well as his mentors Hunter S. Thompson and Marlon Brando.
He also deemed one patch of water "Heaths Place" after the late actor Heath Ledger. (Depp plays an incarnation of Ledger in the fantasy movie, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, due later this year.)
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The island features several small residences, all solar-powered, and transportation consists of a fleet of green golf carts.
I don't think Id ever seen any place so pure and beautiful," says Depp, who headlines the July thriller Public Enemies. "You can feel your pulse rate drop about 20 beats. It's instant freedom. And that rare beastsimplicitycan be had. And a little morsel of anonymity. Whenever I was getting frustrated about being 'novelty boy' and making movies, I told myself, 'Calm down. I can come down here and disappear.' I spent the Christmas season here with Vanessa and the kids. You can feed hot dogs to the nurse sharks in the Exumas but it's best to not swim when doing it."
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He says he looks forward to his kids growing up on the island, "spending months out of the year here ... learning about sea life and how to protect sea life ... and their kids growing up here, and so on. Theoretically, this place can add years to your life."
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Then, quoting an old adage, Depp says: "Money doesn't buy you happiness. But it buys you a big enough yacht to sail right up to it."
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comments
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I have no idea why that posted three timesreport abuseposted July 6, 2009 7:53 PM PDT
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I thought it was really sweet of him to name a part of the island after Heath.report abuseposted July 6, 2009 7:51 PM PDT
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I thought it was really sweet of him to name a part of the island after Heath.report abuseposted July 6, 2009 7:51 PM PDT
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I thought it was really sweet of him to name a part of the island after Heath.report abuseposted July 6, 2009 7:51 PM PDT
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MTo hink221. If you can't express yourself without swearing maybe you should'nt comment at all!!!!! As for your comment you clearly know nothing about johnny, he on the other hand is a very well educated man even though he struggled in school.Maybe you should take a leaf out of his bookreport abuseposted June 9, 2009 8:01 AM PDT
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SUSIEwell said m ...i agree entirely !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!report abuseposted June 4, 2009 5:43 AM PDT
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MICHAELWOW A BEACH NAMED FOR A WASHED UP DEAD ACTOR...NICE ONE DEPP YOU SELF ABSORBED OUT OF TOUCH PEICE OF S@#T!!!report abuseposted June 3, 2009 1:37 PM PDT
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DiamondGirlHe seems like a well balanced man. Up and coming stars could take a lesson from how he does things in his life.report abuseposted June 3, 2009 9:24 AM PDT
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MGOBSMACKED!!!!!!!!!!!!! Iam a huge johnny depp fan .I respect him and his family immensley but i cannot believe he has spoken about his private island.I thought this was a haven for him and his family,a place where he can truly relax which he so needs to do.A place where he can escape from the pressures of the press etcreport abuseposted June 3, 2009 8:06 AM PDT
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wonderfulHe's literally living Brando's dream. That's all Marlon wanted. To create an island for him and his kids.report abuseposted June 2, 2009 5:13 PM PDT
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