While Johnny Depp is no longer part of one of the biggest movie franchises in the world, the actor is still a big name and one of the biggest movie stars in the world. But every star has to start somewhere. If nothing else a big movie star’s early roles is a fun trivia question. Most fans are probably aware of Johnny Depp’s early role in one of the best horror movies ever. the original A Nightmare on Elm Street movie. Star Heather Langenkamp remembers the first time she hung out with Depp and how they bonded over a classic movie.

Somehow A Nightmare on Elm Street is 40 years old this year, and while that doesn’t seem possible, Heather Langenkamp, who starred in the movie that launched the franchise recently spoke with E! About meeting on-screen boyfriend, Johnny Depp. Since the pair were playing a couple, Langenkamp thought it would be a good idea for the two to get to know each other before production started. So after Depp was cast, she called him up. The actress explained…

Once he had been cast, I called him on the phone, and I said, ‘Let’s spend the day together. I’d love to get to know you before we start our first day of work.’

It’s fairly normal for actors who are going to be working together to spend some time together off the set. It’s just nice to get to know the people you’re going to be working closely with for the next couple of months. In the case of Nightmare, Langenkamp and Depp were playing girlfriend/boyfriend, so being comfortable with your co-star is all the more important.

And as it turns out, the two had something in common. They were both fans of Rebel Without A Cause. The pair decided to spend their day at the Griffith Observatory. While the location has been shown in numerous films, perhaps its most famous use was by James Dean and Natalie Wood in the iconic film. Langenkamp continued…

We went to the Griffith Observatory because both of us were big lovers of James Dean and Natalie Wood. And I was kind of envisioning us in that kind of a situation. We walked, and we just had a lovely time getting to know each other.

It sounds like the two young actors had a wonderful time. Langenkamp said Depp was very easy to talk to and described him as kind. Apparently it was very different than seeing him on the set as Langenkamp called Depp “tortured” on the set.

The events at Griffith Observatory in Rebel Without A Cause were quite tragic in the end, but perhaps that was fitting. The relationship between Heather Langenkamp’s Nancy and Johnny Depp’s Glen doesn’t exactly have a happy ending.