Cannes Film Fest: History and Memory: Johnny Depp Brought ‘Fear and Loathing’
Before he stepped into the shoes of Louis XV for Jeanne du Barry, the actor played drug-addled gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson to great effect in Terry Gilliam’s 1998 Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Taking the query in stride, Depp replied, “We’re responsible people. Certainly being an altar boy, having dabbled a bit in my youth, experimenting with various heinous substances, I know what some of those things feel like. But you know, most of the drugs in [Thompson’s book] are invented. Adrenochrome, for instance. The idea of chewing on a human pineal gland is a little bit strange … although you never know.”
“You can go to the source and ask a doctor what it might feel like,” the actor added. “He said it would be the equivalent of drinking 20 bottles of wine in 1.5 minutes. Imagination. Just using my imagination. That’s what I did.”