Johnny Depp made a surprise appearance in a Welsh suburban street when he took a break from his current tour to visit the birthplace of Swansea-born poet Dylan Thomas. In an interview with the Welsh news site Nation.Cymru published on Sunday, Johnny opened up about his decision to visit the writer's home, now a museum, during a break from touring with his band The Hollywood Vampires.
The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise actor explained that it was his older brother, Daniel, who got him reading Dylan Thomas' work as a child. "Under Milk Wood was the one that really grabbed me," he said, before adding "the combination of the brilliance of Dylan Thomas' capabilities with language and Richard Burton's incredible voice," in the narration which he listened to got him hooked.
The Hollywood star has clearly remained a very big fan of Dylan Thomas to this day, as the interview above shows. "I'm floating," the former Fantastic Beasts actor gushed having been around the house. "Having been in the room where Under Milk Wood began and so many poems were written… I'm dumfounded… it's a lot to take in."
Johnny went on to describe his visit, during which he was guided around the museum by Dylan Thomas expert and the birthplace's guide Alun Gibbard "a great honour." Speaking with Nation.Cymru after the star's visit, Alun revealed more about Johnny's tour around the house.
"We had word some weeks ago that Depp might want to visit," he said. "As this week arrived, we were on stand-by for a Thursday afternoon visit. That didn’t happen. Then it was a 'might be possible Friday'. We got the call at 3pm to say that he was on his way."
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"He was so amenable and warm on the way he interacted with us," the guide continued, before also stressing how much Johnny clearly loved the poet. "He was really interested to know the story of the house," Alun added, before also expressing thanks for the fact that the Edward Scissorhands star had also supported the institution.
"He was very supportive, giving a donation in the box without any of us noticing,” the expert revealed, before also telling the news website: "He has followed The Birthplace on Instagram since and that has led to a huge response from all round the world on the Birthplace social media. He’s started the ball rolling to promote the Birthplace and Wales."
The 60-year-old actor's tour with his band had to be called off for several days in Europe after the star fractured his ankle late in May. While visiting the home, Johnny could be seen wearing a red cast around the harmed foot, which has thankfully not stopped the star from returning to performing in June.
When not on tour, it is believed Johnny prefers residing in his UK based $16 million home in Sommerset because of the privacy he is able to enjoy while staying there. He previously spoke very fondly of the local community, who despite being likely to recognize him, were unlikely to do anything other than greet him like a neighbor and move on.