In 1993, he made three film appearances. He portrayed an eccentric and illiterate silent film fan who befriends a mentally ill woman and her brother in the romantic comedy Benny and Joon, which went on to become a sleeper hit. Depp "may look nothing like Buster Keaton, but there are times when he genuinely seems to become the Great Stone Face, bringing Keaton's mannerisms sweetly and magically to life," according to Janet Maslin of The New York Times.