Johnny Depp reveals how he survived Hollywood and what it’s like working with Leonardo DiCaprio.

Johnny Depp has revolutionized Hollywood. His acting in Pirates of the Caribbean launched a franchise and made Disney millions upon millions of dollars.

The actor received the Santa Barbara Film Festival’s Maltin Modern Master Award Thursday night and he discussed his life as an actor, how he deals with Hollywood, and the ways he gets into character for movies. “I’m scared to death,” Depp said at the start of the discussion.

Johnny Depp began on explaining his distaste for acting on a TV show. Depp said. “When you’re confined to a TV series and you have to play one character, it can make you insane. But it didn’t affect me. I got out in time. I didn’t want to be a salesman, I guess is what it was. So I tried to get fired a lot.”

Depp also revealed he used to bully Leonardo DiCaprio on set of What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. “I respect Leo a lot. He worked really hard on that film, researching and showing up ready to work — and I tortured him. I really did. He was always talking about these video games. ‘No I will not give you a drag from my cigarette while you hide from your mother again, Leo,’ [I would say].”

But, the highlight of the night was how he discovered the character of Captain Jack Sparrow. Johnny Depp explains that it only took him 30 seconds to agree to the role, largely because he had just had a daughter and had spent several years watching cartoons. So, he wanted push the envelope and he wanted to see if he could capture that in a live action performance. “It had a strong effect on me, how they could get away with stuff and we buy it, where it’s absolutely OK when Wile E. Coyote walks in with a Band-Aid on his head after having a giant rock fall on him,” Depp said. “I don’t know why I said, ‘I’m in,’ but I did. And that really says it all for me.”

But, Depp also explained that he completely changed the character in the movie.

The character’s quirky physicality came to him in the sauna. He decided to depict a seaman who seemed to not quite have his sea legs when on land, suffering something akin to a “heatstroke that didn’t really go away all that quick,” he said. “To be able to keep things like that in my head when I’m going to make a movie for Disney, that’s like infiltrating the enemy camp!”

The role of Captain Jack Sparrow landed him one of his three Oscar nominations to date, but one performance that did not turn up recognition from the Academy.

What do you think? Share with us your thoughts in the comments below!

Chris Rock is demanding more respect and higher pay for black actresses.

Chris Rock was recently interviewed by Essence magazine and used the opportunity to speak out on behalf of black women in Hollywood.

In doing so, the comedian called out Jennifer Lawrence’s essay on the gender pay gap among female actresses.

“Black women get paid less than everybody in Hollywood. Everybody’s talking about Jennifer Lawrence. Talk to Gabrielle Union. If you want to hear stories, talk to Nia Long. Talk to Kerry Washington,” Rock told the magazine in an interview that took place in December 2015 prior to the #OscarsSoWhite controversy. He coversEssence‘s annual Hollywood issue. “They would love to get to Jennifer Lawrence’s place, or just be treated with the same amount of respect.”

For the first time ever, comedy vet @ChrisRock graces ESSENCE’s annual Hollywood March Issue cover. In a candid and revealing profile—Rock contemplates diversity in Hollywood, fatherhood after divorce, and roles for #BlackWomenInHollywood. Available on newsstands 2/12. #BlackRolesMatter

A photo posted by ESSENCE (@essencemag) on Feb 4, 2016 at 7:06am PST

Chris Rock says that he has “never done a movie” where a studio has not asked, “Does the girl have to be black?”

“Black women are the least represented on-screen. They just are,” he exclaimed. “You can go see a lot of movies and there’s not one black woman in there with, like, a real part. It’s a real, real, real problem.”

The 50-year-old star also spoke in defense of black actresses when he participated in the New Yorker’s profile of Ghostbusters star Leslie Jones. “Black women have the hardest gig in show business,” he said. “You hear Jennifer Lawrence complaining about getting paid less because she’s a woman — if she was black, she’d really have something to complain about.”

But, it begs the question: will Chris Rock call out Lawrence when he hosts this year’s Academy Awards? While she is nominated for her role in Joy, the comedian has refused to speak about his monologue. After Academy Awards Reginald Hudlin told ET that Rock was “writing a new show” in response to the Oscars backlash, his rep responded, “Chris has made no decisions about the content of the show. All will be revealed on Feb. 28.”