Hollywood actor Johnny Depp "became emotional" when visiting a beloved Swansea attraction this week. The Edward Scissorhands and Pirates of the Caribbean star enjoyed a short visit to the Dylan Thomas Birthplace in Uplands ahead of performing at Swansea Arena with his rock band Hollywood Vampires on Friday night. You can read our review of the band's show here.
Away from the glitz and glamour of his life as a film star, Johnny Depp is an unexpected rare book collector who enjoys reading and has read several Dylan Thomas books and poems over the years. During his visit he told Geoff Haden, owner and restorer of Dylan Thomas Birthplace, that he first came across the Welsh poet's work when his brother bought him 'Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog' when he was young.
"It was amazing [to have Johnny Depp visit]," he told WalesOnline. "I would say it was the best house tour we've ever done. He was absolutely delightful, very unassuming and he loved the house. He couldn't get over that we'd done so much work here [to restore Dylan's birthplace]. He was extremely amenable, it was as if someone we knew really well had popped in for a coffee!
Read more: Council agrees to shell out £210,000 to subsidise energy bills at Swansea Arena
"And his knowledge of Dylan was evident. He knew the poems, [had] been reading them for years. When he was young he had a book bought for him by his brother, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog," Geoff added. "He said he has trouble sleeping about two or three times a week and he listens to Richard Burton reading Under Milk Wood.
"He knew far more about Dylan than most people, he couldn't get over that he was here visiting his birthplace and the place where Dylan wrote two-thirds of his work."
The Dylan Thomas Birthplace is a 'living museum' and celebrates the life and works of acclaimed Swansea poet and writer Dylan Thomas. Located at 5 Cwmdonkin Drive, where Dylan was born in 1914, the Dylan Thomas Birthplace receives no public funding and is run as a 'labour of love' by Geoff and his family and a small team of volunteers.
One of the volunteers, author and Dylan Thomas expert Alun Gibbard, explained that the visit was organised by Johnny Depp's team a short while ago and was completely Depp's idea.
"He came down late yesterday afternoon, not long before his sound check. He was really, really, insistent on coming to the Birthplace. He is really into Dylan Thomas," Alun said. "We'd been contacted as he'd made it clear to his staff that he was interested in Dylan and wanted to visit, so we were on standby for when he could come down, depending on his schedule and soundchecks.
"He was really enthusiastic, he got a little overwhelmed and emotional at the end when he thought about being in the place where Dylan was born and grew up. He was a very warm person which made the whole tour that much more enjoyable. He was very appreciative of being able to visit – and he signed our visitors book and left us a donation, but we didn't realise until after when a staff member told us - he didn't make a song and dance of it or anything."
During his visit to Swansea, Johnny Depp and his bandmates stayed at The Grand Hotel in the city centre and were "lovely" hotel guests, manager Andrew Crowley said. He and his team had hosted Alice Cooper previously so were pleased to welcome him back, joined by Johnny Depp and Joe Perry.
"They were all lovely people to be fair, we'd hosted Alice Cooper previously so it was nice to welcome him back," Andrew said. "Johnny Depp was absolutely lovely, really down to earth. We'd had an email from their team asking us to host VIPs and we booked them in and they arrived Thursday and checked out just before their concert on Friday."
For more information about events and activities in your area, type in your postcode into the box below:
