Depp slithers into ‘Rango’ role

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

Johnny Depp’s most perplexing problem these days is explaining to his kids what he actually does for a living.

“It’s hard to tell your kids that you go off to pretend all day. You need something more concrete,” he says. “We were driving to school last year and I gave both kids a kiss goodbye before saying, ‘OK, Dad is off to be a lizard for the day.’”

His children weren’t impressed — or freaked out.

“My son was like, ‘That’s nice. Can we watch “Family Guy” tonight?’ And my daughter was like, ‘Can you turn on the new Justin Bieber song?’”

Depp’s new, animated alter ego, “Rango,” hits the big screen on Friday.

Rango is a pet lizard who gets in trouble and finds himself way over his tiny head when he tells a lie. The film is directed by Gore Verbinski, who also called the shots on the last “Pirates of the Caribbean” film.

“I took this on for one reason,” says Depp. “I just wanted my kids to finally see one of my movies and laugh themselves silly.

“My kids actually call me the Lizard King now,” he jokes. “I force them to address me like that.”

Actually, Depp has a strange fondness for lizards.

“I’ve always had an affinity for lizards, and even feel close to them,” Depp says. “I even oddly feel somewhat reptilian myself at certain times. When I was doing all of the ‘Pirates’ films and Jack Sparrow had to run, it was this very specific run. I’d seen footage of a lizard running across the water and it was the strangest thing I’d ever seen.

“I think that Rango was somehow implanted in Gore’s brain from that lizard run. When he called and said, ‘I want you to play a lizard,’ I said, ‘I’m halfway there.’”

Depp says he enjoyed working for a younger audience. “Kids aren’t sullied by intellectual expectations,” he says “It’s just a very pure sort of response to the work. I have so many kids who tell me that Captain Jack is their friend or they wish they could be Charlie in the chocolate factory.

“I’m also someone who watches kids cartoons with my own kids. Kids will also always tell you the truth if you ask if they like a character. There is no mincing words.”

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