What was Johnny Depp's first major movie role?

Johnny Depp's first major movie role was in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). He played Glen Lantz, the boyfriend of Nancy Thompson, in Wes Craven's influential supernatural horror film.

Depp was not yet an established actor when he auditioned. He had been working as a musician, and actor Nicolas Cage encouraged him to pursue acting. Although Glen is a supporting character, the role marked Depp's feature-film debut and introduced him to a large movie audience.

The film became a landmark of 1980s horror, establishing Freddy Krueger as one of cinema's most recognizable villains. Glen's death is especially memorable: Freddy attacks him in bed, pulling him into a whirlpool-like hole in the mattress before blood erupts from the ceiling.

A common mix-up is Edward Scissorhands (1990), Depp's first major collaboration with director Tim Burton and the performance that helped establish his distinctive star persona. Another early film, Private Resort (1985), was his first leading movie role, but it came after his debut in A Nightmare on Elm Street.