Perhaps Johnny Depp's new take on Tonto will help set a course that honestly portrays the Native American culture in Hollywood at a moment when the continued disregard of Native Americans is still with us. As Anthony Breznican writes in EW, Depp had always been told his family was part Indian:
I guess I have some Native American somewhere down the line. My great grandmother was quite a bit of Native American, she grew up Cherokee or maybe Creek Indian. Makes sense in terms of coming from Kentucky, which is rife with Cherokee and Creek.
This time, though, our focus is the origin of his Indian makeup as Tonto in Gore Verbinksi's The Lone Ranger. However, Depp is no stranger to unusual choices in makeup such as his look for Barnabas Collins in the upcoming Dark Shadows.
Meanwhile, Depp revealed EW he was actually inspired by Kirby Sattler‘s painting:
I'd actually seen a painting by an artist named Kirby Sattler, and looked at the face of this warrior and thought: That's it. The stripes down the face and across the eyes … it seemed to me like you could almost see the separate sections of the individual, if you know what I mean. There's this very wise quarter, a very tortured and hurt section, and angry and rageful section, and a very understanding and unique side. I saw these parts, almost like dissecting a brain, these slivers of the individual. That makeup inspired me.
He added:
It just so happened Sattler had painted a bird flying directly behind the warrior's head. It looked to me like it was sitting on top. I thought: Tonto's got a bird on his head. It's his spirit guide in a way. It's dead to others, but it's not dead to him. It's very much alive.
It's interesting, isn't it? Well, you know, the big screen adaptation will be released by Walt Disney Pictures on July 3rd, 2013.
Now you can see Sattler's original painting below and compare side-by-side:
Source: EW
