Raoul Duke – character from book &film Fear and Laothing in Las Vegas, one by Hunter S. Thompson, the gonzo knight, and the other by Terry Gilliam. Based on and shaped by Hunter S. Thompson.

Johnny Depp about preparing for the role of Raoul Duke: "I was blessed enough, or cursed enough, to spend a good 3 or 4 months with Hunter Thompson prior to filming. So he was just a wealth of information. He was an incredible source of information. He was generous with his time and his private life. He even let me move into his basement. Become a termite. It was due to Hunter's generosity allowing me to absorb just watching him as I could.... I was living in the basement 5 days, 6 days... You know, I have a tendency to smoke cigarettes. It wasn't until 5 or 6 days passed that I discovered he had a keg of gunpowder about 5 feet away from me. So I stopped smoking in the basement after that."

Depp even traded his car for Thompson's red Chevrolet Caprice convertible, known to fans as the Great Red Shark, and drove it around California during his preparation for the role. Many of the costumes that Depp wears in the film are actually reproductions of genuine pieces that Depp borrowed from Thompson, and Thompson himself shaved Depp's head to match his own natural male pattern baldness. Thompson also had a brief cameo in the film as his character, portrayed by Depp, has a flashback to a San Francisco music club, The Matrix, where Thompson can be seen sitting at a table as Depp walks by narrating his inner monologue, "There I was ... Mother of God! There I am!". (Wikipedia)