Johnny Depp had a long and wildly successful career as a character actor, although he stopped acting for a period of time thanks to his legal battle with Amber Heard. While the verdict largely made Depp the winner, the two actors have had a hard time continuing their career after various violent allegations they made against each other. But Depp has a few upcoming projects, and his first post-trial movie Jeanne du Barry is finally going to play in the states. The Edward Scissorhands actor recently got candid about landing his first post-trial movie, and why he was hesitant to join it.
Despite his lengthy resume, Depp most closely associated with his trial against Amber Heard nowadays, especially since the public could watch the procedings on TV. But he's back on the big screen with Jeanne du Barry, giving a performance in French. While speaking with Variety about the project, he offered:
I feel very lucky to have been [offered the role] – strangely, oddly, perversely lucky. Because when Maïwenn and I first actually met and talked about the notion of me doing the film and playing Louis XV, the King of France — see that’s when instantly what happens in your brain is you instantly go back to Kentucky, where, like, everything is fried. So you realise that you’ve come from the bellybutton of nowhere and suddenly you end up playing the King of France.
The "luck" of this role makes sense, as jobs haven't exactly been knocking at the actor's door in the wake of the defamation trial. While Depp appeared at the VMAs and was part of Rihanna's Savage X Fenty show, he hasn't signed on to any big Hollywood productions. And since he's an actor by trade, it was no doubt exciting to return to his craft.
Later in that same interview, Depp shared how he tried to talk filmmaker Maïwenn out of casting him in Jeanne du Barry. In his words:
It made no sense to me, I tried to talk her out of it. But she wasn’t hearing it and she had great courage to take me into her cast. Whatever we did, whatever we experienced I think and I hope you’ll find it was well worth the agony of this kid trying to make a film for that length of time.
In addition to landing his first post-trial acting role, Depp also took on a directing gig at around the same time. That movie's cast includes Robert De Niro, so perhaps his professional comeback has legs. Only time will tell how it all shakes out.
Jeanne du Barry will finally hit theater son May 2nd thanks to Fathom Events. In the meantime, check out the 2024 movie release dates to plan your next movie trip.
