Though he probably doesn't call our fair city home, Owensboro has claimed Johnny Depp as our own since his rise to fame in the late Eighties. With blockbuster films under his belt like Edward Scissorhands, Blow, Alice Through the Looking Glass, and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Depp is considered one of the world's top leading men. He's even been crowned People's Sexiest Man Alive in both 2003 and 2009.

But, recent photos of Depp have fans wondering if he's ill.

According to VT, model Katerina Kurt who has been working with Depp while he is on tour with his band the Hollywood Vampires, posted a photo to Instagram last week that showed a gaunt and very pale Depp. It left fans wondering if he is sick, struggling with addiction, or preparing for a role that requires him to be very thin. I mean do you remember what Christian Bale looked like in The Machinist? HOLY MOLY! The once meaty man was a walking skeleton.

Now, I can tell you that my professional posed photos here at the radio station are far better than anything I am tagged on in the social media realm. People probably look at me and think I'm a creature from the depths of the Ohio River. And, after I lost 50 lbs, it took a few years for my skin to catch up to my weight loss. People were quick to tell me how sickly I looked after the loss.

But, I did look at a few recent photos of him and his recent transformation. Here he was in the Murder on the Orient Express premiere event.  He's still pretty thin but the facial hair seems to mask it.

'Murder On The Orient Express' World Premiere - Red Carpet Arrivals
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And here he is in 2017 in England at the Glastonbury Festival .

Glastonbury Festival 2017 - Day 3
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At the last Pirates of the Caribbean premiere.

Premiere Of Disney's And Jerry Bruckheimer Films' "Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales"
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Personally, I think these particular Instagram photos are a mix of several things that don't involve cancer, drugs, or reckless nights. He's an aging celebrity who we are used to seeing filtered and made up. And, if you think about it, all these photos show him with dark facial hair. Seeing any man who normally has a gruff appearance clean shaven is enough to scare a small child or grown woman!

And UPDATE: As our listener Matt McGlothlin pointed out, Depp is starring in Richard Says Goodbye, a movie about a college professor who lives his life with reckless abandon after being diagnosed with a terminal illness. Perhaps that is why he looks like he has a terminal illness!

In any event, he's still our leading man and we still call him ours!

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