Jul 29th 2013, 21:31, by Kevin P. Sullivan
Everyone is making a big deal about comments that Johnny Depp made in an interview with the BBC about his career. From the sound of it, he has a very rational explanation for why he doesn't see himself acting for much longer. "At a certain point, you know, you start thinking when you add up the amount of dialogue that you say per year and you realize you've said written words more than you actually had a chance to say your own words, you start thinking of that as an insane option for a human being.
Is Johnny Depp retiring? He's certainly making another "Pirates of the Caribbean," as well as another "Alice in Wonderland," and he's definitely not the first actor in recent memory to start talking about stepping out of the spotlight. So we thought we'd check up on a few recent retirees to see what they're up to.
Angelina Jolie
Last year, Jolie told Channel 4 that she plans on retiring from acting when her children hit their teenage years, saying it would be "too much to manage at home." Little Maddox will turn 13 next year, so the deadline is quickly approaching, but 2014 is looking pretty full. Jolie stars in "Maleficent," due out in July, and her second directorial effort, "Unbroken," hits in December.
Amanda Bynes
Just one month after retiring from acting in 2011, the former child star tweed "i've unretired." The unretirement unfortunately didn't do much for Byne's career. Her last film was 2010's "Easy A," one of the movies responsible for launching Emma Stone in superstardom.
Ryan Gosling
Though the Gos is currently taking a break from acting to focus on his directorial debut "How to Catch a Monster," the "Drive" actor started discussing a possible retirement all the way back in 2011 when he told The Times (via IFC), "I don't want to act much longer; I can't do one thing my whole life. I know there are only so many characters I'll be able to play." He doesn't currently have developing acting projects, so this one may stick for a while at least.
Robert Downey Jr.
During the press cycle for "Iron Man 3," Downey spoke openly, most notably in GQ about his non-existent contract with Marvel and that it might be the end for his Tony Stark. Shortly thereafter, he signed a contract for "Avengers 2" and "Avengers 3," probably for lots and lots of money.
Brad Pitt
In 2011, Pitt told 60 Minutes Australia that he'd like to return in three years, but the comments were largely interpreted as hypothetical. (We picked his last five projects for him, if he decided to follow through.) Pitt has dozens of projects developing, mostly through his production company, so we'll see how serious the retirement talk was in the next few years, especially with Jolie talking about the same thing.
Joaquin Phoenix
Phoenix's retirement from acting to pursue a rap career is by far the most...entertaining of the bunch. In 2008, he announced that "Two Lovers" would be his final film, before making a bunch of incoherent public appearances. It was all for a mockumentary he was making with Casey Affleck called "I'm Still Here," and then everyone just kind of forgot about it.
