Johnny Depp’s gray hair transformation was far from his signature look

When preparing to make his return to the silver screen, Johnny Depp donned new silver locks to go with it. Before the 2025 announcement that he’d been cast in a Lionsgate project, Depp had been out of the limelight for some time, with his last major motion picture being 2018’s “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.” Afterward, Depp shifted toward smaller projects, while the public shifted its focus to his public trial with his ex-wife Amber Heard, which occurred in 2022. But a few years later, he landed lead roles in two larger films, both of which would require major physical transformations.

The actor isn’t unfamiliar with switching up his look entirely for a role in a film. Depp has been able to shift his way through various roles, from Edward Scissorhands to the Mad Hatter, taking his audience by surprise every time. But in 2025, he swapped out his typical dark brown hair for silver for the film “Day Drinker,” directed by Marc Webb. In it, Depp plays a mysterious blue-eyed, gray-haired guest onboard a private yacht who forms an unlikely connection with a bartender, played by Madelyn Cline. Depp’s look for the film is quite striking and is completed by a dyed gray beard to match his altered features. It seems that fans love Depp’s silver fox look. One took to X, writing, “Personally, I think Johnny Depp looks much better with the gray hair. He definitely should stop dying it and go au naturel.”

Ghosts of defamation trials past might always haunt Johnny Depp after his return to Hollywood

This isn’t the only major transformation Johnny Depp has signed up for. Also in 2025, it was announced that he would be starring in Ti West’s “Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol” as the titular Ebenezer Scrooge. With horror guru West directing, Depp had to be prepared to take the classic Charles Dickens tale to some dark places. He also looks unrecognizable as Scrooge, donning gray hair in a completely different way than his handsome character in “Day Drinker.” With old age makeup and gray mutton chops, Depp’s transformation is certainly shocking.

Upon the release of the first-look photos of Depp on set, there were some mixed feelings about his return to the big screen. On one hand, people seemed happy that he was working again, with one commenting on an Instagram post, “Love the way Johnny can transform so incredibly.” On the other hand, it seems that many haven’t moved on from his 2022 defamation trial, with one person commenting, “Men can really abuse women without any accountability or punishment and just get right back to work.” As a reminder, the jury found that Amber Heard had defamed her ex-husband, resulting in a legal victory for Depp. It appears that the highly publicized case will continue to haunt Depp throughout his return to Hollywood, despite his win.

Nicki Swift