Reluctant Johnny Depp Prefers Slower Lifestyle

Johnny Depp is just not that into the United States.

The 43-year old actor tells Newsweek that he and Vanessa Paradis have chosen to raise their children in France because of the country's slower lifestyle and the anonymity it affords him. Depp met Paradis, a French actress and singer, in 1998 while filming The Ninth Gate in France. They have been together since and have two children, Lily-Rose, 7, and Jack, 4.

"I've always loved it there," Depp said of France, where the couple spends a majority of its time. "The phones don't ring as much. Movies are never brought up in conversation. I'll take the kids and we'll go out to the trampoline and the swing set, and we'll stop by the garden and see how our tomatoes are doing. You know, old-fart stuff. Good stuff."

Despite a deeply-professed love for his craft and great success both among fans and critics, the Pirates of the Caribbean star has always eschewed what he calls the "occupational hazards" of fame -- being stalked by the paparazzi, approached by strangers, packaged to sell commercial projects, et cetera.

"You go into restaurants [in America] and people are pointing at you and whispering," he said. "You feel spooked by it because that freedom of anonymity is gone. You never get used to that. You'd leave the hotel to go to dinner and there'd be tons of cameras and flashbulbs."

While other stars such as Tom Cruise overwhelm audiences with bombastic personalities and off-the-set headlines, Depp is an iconoclast, known for his evolving craft and a string of successful eclectic roles. Reluctant, unapologetic and unpredictable as ever, he will be back on the big screen soon in this summer's Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest.

The summer blockbuster may very well approach or shatter some box office records, as its predecessor grossed a tidy $653 million.