Director Christopher Miller reveals Brie Larson mistook Johnny Depp as an extra on the set of 21 Jump Street due to his biker costume. The buddy cop action comedy served as an adaptation and continuation of the late '80s TV series of the same name and revolved around Morton Schmidt and Greg Jenko, two incompetent police officers sent back high school undercover in the hopes of discovering the supplier of a dangerous new drug. Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, who also co-wrote the film, led the cast of 21 Jump Street alongside Larson, Dave Franco, Rob Riggle, DeRay Davis, Ice Cube, Chris Parnell, Ellie Kemper, Jake Johnson and Nick Offerman.
Hitting theaters in 2012, 21 Jump Street received rave reviews from critics and audiences alike for its blend of satire and nostalgia for the original series and teen movie genre and Hill and Tatum's effective comedic chemistry. The film also proved to be a box office smash, grossing over $201 million against its estimated $54.7 million budget, spawning a sequel two years later that received equal critical acclaim and higher financial returns. Despite the continued success, a third film and multiple spinoffs, including a Men in Black crossover, have seemingly died in development hell.
In honor of the film's 10th anniversary, Christopher Miller took to Twitter to share behind-the-scenes photos and stories from 21 Jump Street. One such story included their first week being the hotel room shootout scene, during which Brie Larson mistook Johnny Depp as an extra due to his extensive biker hair, makeup and costume. Check out Miller's post below:
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Depp starred in the original 21 Jump Street series as Officer Tom Hanson, with the show's success largely being seen as helping propel the actor into the spotlight as a teen idol, a status he detested at the time. The Oscar nominee's role was kept hidden through most of the 21 Jump Street movie as seemingly one of the bikers in the One-Percenters gang, only for he and Peter DeLuise to reveal themselves as their original characters in the climactic hotel shootout. Larson mistaking Depp as an extra while filming 21 Jump Street is understandable given the actor donned a large wig, fake beard and nose, sunglasses and bandana all the way up to the final reveal.
Interestingly, Depp wasn't the only original 21 Jump Street series cast member to reprise their role for Phil Lord and Miller's film adaptation, with Holly Robinson Peete also returning as Officer Judy Hoffs early in the movie as Hill and Tatum's characters headed to the police impound lot to look for a car that would impress the high school crowd. Lord and Miller would continue this trend in 22 Jump Street as well with brief cameo appearances from Dustin Nguyen and Richard Grieco as Harry Truman Ioki and Dennis Booker. Though 23 Jump Street is seemingly dead in the water, it would have been interesting to see who else the directing duo would have tried to pull in from the original series for a surprise cameo.
Source: Christopher Miller/Twitter