D Politicians, Pundits, and Stars 229
During the interview, he touched his face occasionally, usually
by stroking his moustache, or flicking his nose. A couple of times,
he also ran his fingers through his hair and tapped his crossed leg
with his fingers—a leg that stayed crossed with the left ankle rest-
ing on his right thigh in exactly the same position throughout the
interview. I see that as an attempt at control while his face and
right hand leaked emotion. He had a litany of adaptors.
Depp seemed genuine—his fidgeting an expression of his true
personality. So, I’d conclude he was himself on the show. He didn’t
bother to portray a character, as many other introverted actors do
when they subject themselves to late-night talk-show banter. I’m
sure you’ve seen some of those actors who try to make up for the
fact that they are uncomfortable by taking on the role of entertaining
guest; they come across as fake.
All of the famous people I have discussed have one thing in
common: they evolved a strategy by trial and error. Each of them
probably started very similar to you by a simple shake of the head
and a later answer of no by your parents when you wanted some-
thing. Every time they met a new situation, they evolved their rep-
ertoires until the strategy was at its current state of polish. At some
point we all stop polishing. The more public among us polish for
longer than the more anonymous, all because of constant stimulus.
None of these survival strategies is right or wrong. What works
for one person with his extroverted quick wit will not work for the
systematic, thorough introvert. By now, you have enough informa-
tion to analyze for yourself. For most of us, analysis of the famous
is passive, meaning we will only watch body language and have