Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest opens this week and now is the perfect time to sit back and reflect on the blessing of Johnny Depp, arguably the best working actor in Hollywood. Like many movie stars he is the kind of man that women fawn over, not only for his good looks and charm, but also for his quirky sense of humor and unique fashion sensibility. Unlike many movie stars, however, he is not so threatening to the average male like Tom Cruise or Bruce Willis. (I wouldn't mind lending my girlfriend to Johnny Depp--provided I get a boatload of cash for it. He earns that type of professional respect with his ability and work ethic) Why so? Possibly because we know Depp is much smarter than just good looks and intense close up shots. We know he is going to bring a high intellect to every role he inhabits. That's why when you go through the archives, you can hardly find such a thing as a "bad Johnny Depp performance." (Kevin Costner on the other hand? Stay away from my girl!) Here's a list of Johnny's ten best characterizations.

10.Raoul Duke
Possibly Depp at his career low in terms of overacting excess. But playing stoned for an entire movie is a gutsy career decision and one that virtually no other A-list leading man would dare and attempt. One interesting thing about his chosen parts, it's really hard to find an identifiable "good guy" anywhere in his resume. Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas might have been a misguided film but did boast a great Johnny Depp performance.

9.Donnie Brasco
The closest thing to a straight performance Depp has given in years, and one of a few traditional "good guy" roles he's ever played--with too many complexities to summarize. In his noblest and most colorless performance, he acts opposite the legendary Al Pacino and holds his own in Donnie Brasco with no great effort.

8.Sam
In Benny And Joon, Depp plays an eccentric man who models himself after Buster Keaton who falls for a mentally ill heartthrob. Was there really any other young actor who could have played this? Furthermore, what besides Depp's performance (haunted and surreal in this romantic crowd pleaser) made this movie worth remembering?

7.Ichabod Crane
Johnny Depp could easily write a book on how not to play action heroes. Of course, every new striving actor would miss the point and turn out to be a new generation of Jimmy Fallons or Chris Tuckers. There is an art to rebelling against conventions, and playing Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow as a squeamish, cowardly running man is a stroke of perverse genius.

6.James M. Barrie
What a compliment to state that Depp's dullest characterization in years in Finding Neverland was still one of the five best performances of the year at the 2004 Academy Awards. I actually did enjoy his subtle performance as Barrie, the lovesick creator of Peter Pan. More importantly, this role established to the acting community that he could do also do "serious roles"...yeah, in his sleep.

5.Edward Scissorhands
The brilliance of playing the title character of Edward Scissorhands was lost on academy members way back in 1990, who didn't know Johnny Depp from the kid from Home Alone. Edward Scissorhands was less of a character than a piece of living art. Credit Tim Burton with the physical creation of Scissorhands, as much as Depp's ultra sensitive man-monster portrayal.

4.Mort Rainey
Did you see the big plot twist coming in Secret Window? Whether or not the story was predictable, Depp's willfully misleading performance allowed him to showcase his demonic ability to play the full range of both good and evil motivations. The fact that he played both within one movie and with one character--and that it was actually a horror blockbuster instead of an arthouse flick--is mind boggling.

3.Willy Wonka
With all due respect to Gene Wilder, was the new Tim Burton remake of Charlie & The Chocolate Factory really a new age re-imagining of a classic or an artistic remodeling that delivered more wondrous and creative justice to the source material? Depp's performance as Willy Wonka is so madly imagined, loony, and yet so confident, it makes everyone else wonder if they're crazy for not being equally obsessed with candy. The only other actor who could have played this bizarre role so adeptly is perhaps Michael Jackson. (Who admittedly, wouldn't have tried so hard)

2.Jack Sparrow
Johnny Depp's first Oscar nomination was for the original Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl. Why did it take so many years to nominate this multi-talented actor, who was clearly on the level of Robert Deniro and far surpassing the work of other award winners like Robin Williams and Nicholas Cage? Whatever the reason, at the 2004 ceremony the industry could no longer deny his talents. Though it's true his performance in Pirates was largely an action hero role, he still managed to pull off an amazing experiment. As Captain Jack Sparrow, a sort of drunken Rolling Stone who just happened to stumble upon sword swinging adventure, he found a way to please popcorn popping audiences as well as snotty film critics. A performance funny enough to be mainstream and irreverent enough to tickle the funny bone of loyalists who know his range.

1.Edward D. Wood Jr.
In Ed Wood, Depp's best performance and Tim Burton's best film, the title character was complex to say the least. He was as eccentric as Willy Wonka, as perverse as Jack Sparrow, and somehow had the heart of Edward Scissorhands. Even living with these three conflicting motivations, Johnny's portrayal of Edward D. Wood Jr. somehow managed to speak honestly and with a certain 1950's eloquence to his voice. The fact that he was shown as a perennial loser in the film, and is still regarded in history as the worst filmmaker of all time, just adds to the poignancy and complexity of the character's pathos. Ever since Ed Wood, neither Tim Burton nor Johnny Depp have been able to mix quirk and heart in such a flawless manner as in this tribute film. It takes brilliance to play incompetence. A tough acting lesson that only a few, including Johnny Depp, understand and are able to demonstrate.