NEWSHolly Robinson Peete Reveals Johnny Depp Was Not Original Actor For Role In '21 Jump Street': 'He Was Broke'
April 4 2023, Published 1:30 p.m. ET
Though Johnny Depp skyrocketed to fame after playing Officer Tom Hanson on the TV series 21 Jump Street, which premiered in 1987, his costar Holly Robinson Peete noted the actor was not original supposed to play that role.
"A lot of people didn't realize that Johnny was a replacement. There was another actor who was in his part. They let him go in the middle of the pilot and brought Johnny in, so we all thought we were going to get fired. We didn't know what was going on," the 58-year-old actress told David Yontef on the Tuesday, April 4, episode of his podcast, "Behind the Velvet Rope."
"We tried to welcome Johnny, and we felt bad for the other actor. It was an interesting way that he came into the show, but then we all embraced him. We embraced each other and we became this really rock solid group on TV. It was really, really lovely," the brunette beauty, who played Officer Judy Hoffs on the series, added.
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The Masked Singer star also reflected on how far Depp, 59, has come in his career. "He was pretty much how he is now, but in some ways he was totally different because he was so green and he was broke," she revealed. "He had done a couple of things here and there, but this was his big break, so it was interesting. But I think I certainly knew he was destined for superstardom, but it was great to be around him when he was nice and young and unaffected. It was a really good time."
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Elsewhere in the chat, Robinson Peete, who was on The Talk for one season before leaving in 2011, touched upon her stint on the show. "I loved the format, and I was really, really good at it. It got weird and political and crazy, and it just got weird," she said. "I loved that show and put my heart and soul into kicking that off and giving it a great first season. It's a lot of multitasking, and I felt like I was really good at it. It was a positive experience."
