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Rural retreat deep in Depp rumours Mar 9 2004
Catrin Pascoe, The Western Mail
ONE of Hollywood's hottest stars is living in their midst.
But say Johnny Depp to many in this quiet corner of Wales and they cry, "Johnny who?"
The 2004 Oscar nominee is filming The Libertine at Tretower, near Crickhowell, but it appears it's just another week in rural Powys.
Producers Odyssey Entertainment are keen to keep a lid on proceedings to prevent fans flooding the tiny hamlet until the multi-million pound film crew leaves tomorrow.
And locals seem more worried about upsetting the tax man or their boss, than adopting the star-struck act usually akin to any Hollywood invasion.
Executive movie trailers were still in evidence yesterday - sat in the shadow of the imposing Black Mountains.
People walking their dogs in warm springtime sun tried not to gaze too hard at the impromptu trailer park.
A chef, complete with pinnie, warned off sightseers, but 40-year-old Depp was nowhere to be seen.
Pensioner Mrs Wright, reluctant to reveal her first name, said her 55-year-old son Mick had allowed film makers to use one of his cows in a scene.
"It seems like weeks since they first arrived," she said. "They have been very good and friendly, but we locals don't seem that bothered in the filming - life goes on as normal."
When asked if she had spotted filmstar Johnny Depp, she replied, "Johnny who?
"Oh, yes, Johnny Depp. He's been here but I don't know him, so I wouldn't have recognised him."
Retired farmer Ken Francis and his wife Maureen live a stone's throw from where a London street was recreated for filming purposes.
Mrs Francis, 70, played a beggar, while teetotal Mr Francis, 72, played a drunk.
"I was standing about seven or eight feet away from Johnny Depp, but I did not know it was him. He was wearing a mask but later people were asking me if I saw Johnny Depp and I had to confess that I wouldn't know him if I fell over him," said Mr Francis.
Mrs Francis added, "To get me better acquainted with his work, my granddaughter rented his latest film Pirates of the Caribbean."
The 2003 hit, which also starred Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom, is now for rent in the local video shop - unmissable with the slapped- on yellow label "Top title".
"As an extra I played a beggar and we filmed our bit last Wednesday," said Mrs Francis. "The crew were so very kind and the food on the set was excellent.
"We were paid £80 each. But don't tell the tax man."
At nearby Llangyndir Stores, shop assistant Diane Hurst told how Johnny Depp - rumoured to be staying at Newport's Celtic Manor Hotel - was actually staying at the three-star Gliffaes Country House Hotel. She described how her friend had changed the movie star's bed linen.
"That's my friend's claim to fame - she changed Johnny Depp's bed clothes. I can't say more because it's more than her job's worth, but everyone at the hotel was told not to ask Depp for his autograph."
All was quiet at the Gliffaes hotel yesterday. In a downstairs drawing room pensioners played bridge, seemingly oblivious to the news a Hollywood superstar was staying at the same hotel.
A spokeswoman denied yesterday that Depp was or had stayed there.
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