[canadian_voter]

The references, in order, are to Frank Herbert, Albert Einstein and Johhny Depp. The point is that famous, successful people don't always start out that way. Just trying to give people some hope.

POP: I read that you did telemarketing. How was that?

DEPP: [laughs] I marketed pens—on the phone. But the beauty of the gig was that you had to call these strangers and say, "Hi, how ya doing?" You made up a name, like, "Hey, it's Edward Quartermaine from California. You're eligible to receive this grand­father clock or a trip to Tahiti." You promise them all these things if they buy a gross of pens. It was just awful. But I actually think that was the first experience I had with acting.

Source: http://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/johnny-depp/