Living the quiet life in the South West is clearly suiting Hollywood leading man Johnny Depp and helping him forget his movie star hellraising years.. The star of Pirates of the Caribbean and Edward Scissorhands now lives in an 850-acre estate in Somerset, complete with a 19th Century mansion, reports The Mirror.
The superstar splashed a whopping £13million on the Downton Abbey-style estate which features sprawling walled gardens and a shoot. In a surprise interview with Somerset Life, the actor extolled the advantages of living a quiet life in te British countryside.
The A-lister, 59, told the magazine: "I just love places with character. British people are cool and will greet you as if you are a neighbour, without going over the top - I like going to places, seeing things and meeting people but I'm not the great extrovert that people think.
"In truth, I'm quite a shy person. That's one of the great things about Britain, and especially Somerset. I can just be me - and that's nice. I can go into shops without being surrounded by people wanting selfies. I don't mind that up to a point, but sometimes it gets a little too crowded."
Just earlier this month, Depp bought three guitars, a skull-encrusted vase and an easel to furnish his new home during a surprise visit to an antiques centre in Lincolnshire. He arrived at Hemswell Antiques Centres by helicopter and was taken on a private tour after hours.
Owner Robert Miller, 58, said he overheard Depp talking about the late musician Jeff Beck while testing different guitars during his visit. Beck, who died aged 78 in January, released an album with Depp last year titled 18 and they played a number of live gigs together.
Mr Miller said: “He just bought a lot of very quirky items. A desk chair, three guitars, paint sets, easels, a few pictures, posters, just a whole range of things for decorative items for his own personal property.
“He chose a vase with a skull on it. Guitars obviously. He was very friendly with, best friends with Jeff Beck, he sat and played a few tunes on this guitar I think just for old times’ sake really and then decided to buy three of the guitars that were there. I think I overheard him talking (about Beck) to one of his colleagues that was with him.”
