Johnny Depp revealed that becoming a parent forever altered his career, and his outlook on life.
“There was a great veil lifted,” the “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor told “CBS Mornings” in an interview that aired Friday.
“[A veil] that I had no idea had existed when my first child was born,” he added, referencing the birth of daughter Lily-Rose Depp — whom he shares with ex Vanessa Paradis— in 1999.
The “Ebenezer” actor, who also shares son Jackwith Paradis, said the arrival of his children opened his eyes to “exactly what everything had been for.”
The “Edward Scissorhands” star said there were “years” where he wondered, “Why am I doing these movies?” He speculated that perhaps it had been for money or some other reason.
“I never knew the answer to those questions until that veil was lifted, and instantly I knew,” he explained. “This is why you’ve made every single move in your life. This is what it’s all about.”
Depp noted, “Even if you’re not particularly, like, [a] self-obsessed person, it is the first real, selfless moment that one could have, when your child arrives, there’s nothing else in the world that exists.”
The actor confirmed that he had “held on to that purpose” now that his children are grown, saying, “Oh, for sure.”
Depp has previously spoken out about life after raising Lily-Rose, now 27, and Jack, 24. “Years get away from us, don’t they?” he told the Sunday Times in June 2025, adding, “I’m of the empty-nest syndrome.”
When asked by the outlet if he missed having his children at home, he said, “Oh man, my kids growing up in the south of France in their youth? I was Papa.” He gushed, “I cannot tell you how much I loved being Papa.”
Depp, now 63, said once the family moved to Los Angeles, “Suddenly, Papa was out the window.”
“I was Dad,” he continued. “But Papa was awesome and I’m getting old enough for Papa to possibly come back.”
The “Sleepy Hollow” star confessed France had truly been a “home” to him during those years.
“Truly, the first time I felt I had a home was the place in the south of France where Vanessa and I raised the kiddies,” he recalled. “That’s the only place that ever felt like home.”
And despite his realization about acting and parenting, Depp also told the outlet that he’d warned his children against the career choice.
“Sometimes kids say to me, ‘I want to be an actor, what’s your advice?’ And I say, “Don’t be!’” he told the Sunday Times last year.
“I was chucked on that road and the only advice that I can give is, ‘Don’t allow anyone to make you something you are not.’”
He continued, “They’ll want you to be a poster boy and it’s tempting – a lot of money. And if that’s the direction you want? Go for it. But don’t let anybody choose for you.”
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