Johnny Depp: Jack Sparrow is 51, Savvy?

Johnny Depp has built his reputation in Hollywood by playing the most difficult roles with a touch so light that he is able to make the most outlandish characters endearing. He is adept at both drama and comedy, playing author J M Barrie and gangster John Dillinger with as much flair as Captain Jack Sparrow and Willy Wonka.

Here's a pictorial look at his journey as he turns a year older.

Born in Kentucky, on June 9, 1963, John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II's father was a civil engineer and his mother was a waitress. He has one brother and two sisters, one of whom is his manager. The family moved frequently during Johnny's childhood, changing locations at least 20 times before settling in Miramar, Florida.

His parents' divorce affected the 15-year-old Johnny hugely and he took to vandalism and narcotics. A year later, he dropped out of high school hoping to become a rock musician.

After fronting several garage bands, Johnny finally joined The Kids and found himself making $25 a night at Florida's nightclubs.

By the age of 20, he was married to make-up artist Lori Anne Allison, five years his senior. Lori introduced Johnny to actor Nicolas Cage who helped him get an audition. The actor made his debut in the low-budget horror film, A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), where he played a teenager who falls prey to a dream-stalking demon.

There was no looking back for the actor after that and he acted in number of films and TV serials, making a name for himself as undercover cop Tommy Hanson in the popular TV series, 21 Jump Street.

By 1990, he starred in breakthrough movie Edward Scissorhands, directed by Tim Burton with whom he has formed and very long and profitable partnership. In Edward Scissorhands, he played a sad-faced, tragic hero who had scissors for hands. It was the first of eight movies with Tim Burton and fetched Johnny a Golden Globe nomination.

In 1993, now established as a successful actor, Johnny was hailed for his performances in What's Eating Gilbert Grape - opposite a very young Leonardo DiCaprio - and Benny & Joon, for which he was nominated at the Golden Globes again.

His next film with Tim Burton was 1994's Ed Wood, in which Johnny played ‘the world's worst film director' to great acclaim. Over the next couple of years, he had hits like Don Juan DeMarco - co-starring the late, great Marlon Brando - and flops like Nick Of Time.

In 1997, Johnny co-starred with Al Pacino in the well-received crime drama Donnie Brasco. His performance as an FBI agent who goes undercover in the Mob is considered one of his best ever.

The next year, Johnny starred in the first of two movies in which he played a version of writer Hunter S Thompson - Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas. In 1999, he was directed by Tim Burton in period piece Sleepy Hollow, playing policeman Ichabod Crane on the trail of the murderous Headless Horseman.

In 2003, Johnny Depp's biggest success came with Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl in which he played the suave, roguish Captain Jack Sparrow. It was a smash hit, fetching over $200 million at the US box office in the first four weeks. Johnny Depp was nominated for an Oscar and reprised his role in all four Pirates films made so far and has been roped in for the fifth movie.

In 2004, Johnny was nominated for an Oscar again for playing Peter Pan author J M Barrie in Finding Neverland opposite Kate Winslet.

Johnny also founded his production company, Infinitum Nihil, in 2004. The company's first production venture was the 2011 film, The Rum Diary and has since produced Martin Scorsese's Hugo (2011) and Johnny's Dark Shadows and The Lone Ranger.

Between 2005 and 2011, Johnny was directed by Tim Burton in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - which fetched him another Oscar nomination and won him a Golden Globe - and Alice in Wonderland. He also received unanimous praise for his portrayal of John Dillinger in Public Enemies, stepped in for the late Heath Ledger in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, co-starred with Angelina Jolie in the poorly-received The Tourist, voiced the main character in animated film Rango, appeared in the next three Pirates films and played Hunter S Thompson again in The Rum Diary.

Lately, Johnny hasn't been as luck at the box office with 2012 Tim Burton film Dark Shadows being panned and 2013's The Lone Ranger declared one of the worst films ever. He also appeared in this year's sci-fi feature Transcendence but fared no better.

Johnny Depp believes he has Native American ancestry and has been adopted as an ‘honorary son' by a Comanche family. Despite this, his casting as Comanche brave Tonto in The Lone Ranger has been criticised since he was not raised as a Native American.

Johnny Depp is currently engaged to actress Amber Heard. The pair reportedly met on the sets of the film The Rum Diary (2011).

The actor is now shooting for the film Black Mass where he plays a mob boss.

Here's wishing Johnny Depp a very happy birthday and many more films to come.