Johnny Depp, the Hollywood star of films like Edward Scissorhands and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, says he holds no grudges against anyone. The actor went through the media blitz of a very publicized divorce, and then a globally-observed defamation trial was the inspiration behind documentaries, thousands of daily gossip reports, and… memes. But again, he says he has no ill feelings towards anyone.
Is this Depp trying to reboot his career? Well, it sounds like he couldn’t care less about public opinion. Depp spoke to The Hollywood Reporter during his press tour for Modi: Three Days on the Wing of Madness, a film that brought him back to the director’s chair. After the debacle of his divorce, and the following cancelation by the industry due to claims by his ex-wife, Amber Heard, Depp participated only in minor projects. Now, he seems to be back with the biographical drama Modi, which received a standing ovation after premiering at the San Sebastián International Film Festival in September 2024.
Nevertheless, Depp can’t fully escape the aftermath of the media frenzy that was his trial. We won’t report on the gossipy aspects, but what started as everyone’s right to defend themselves turned into a media circus. Today, Depp looks back and feels no hatred toward the figures who looked down on him:
“Honestly, I can sit here this very second and think about all the hit pieces, and how everybody was against me, and yeah yeah yeah he is off the map … endless stuff. I can remember it all. Went through it all. Some of it was not the most beautiful time, some of it was hilarious. Some of it was mad. The thing is, it simply just
was
, and it simply just
is
. So, for me, it happened. I learned, man.Everything that we experience, whether you’re given a snow cone or walking your dog, you learn something somewhere along the way. So I don’t have any ill feelings toward anyone. I don’t have this great reserve of hatred, because hatred requires caring. Why carry that baggage?”
Depp’s Redemption is Coming
The 61-year-old actor of Sleepy Hollow and Murder on the Orient Express is on a path to redemption. Not because he needs it, but because his “cancelation” seems to have faded away with time, and his return is nothing but inevitable. There are those in the industry who definitely miss him (there’s no other Jack Sparrow but Depp), but others are fine with Depp staying in a punishment corner where every attempt at coming out is met with disdain. There’s no doubt that anything he does has the risk of being divisive.
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Depp is a great actor with a list of formidable movies to prove it. But there’s no doubt his career was heavily affected by his personal matters. The Hollywood Reporter highlights his “unforgettable” performances, but the actor confirms he has the ability to use those bad moments as inspiration for his characters:
“It is also helpful in certain instances, especially when things are crumbling all around. It’s weird to be able to escape, not into a character, but it is good to be able to inhabit a character, and as everything is in your toolbox — some of that stuff can be used as available stimulus. Which is great. So yeah. Everything has been … it has really, it just is. And on some level, it is gonna be around, that kind of thing. It’s like OJ or something. But hey, it just happened. That’s all.”
- Release Date
- July 9, 2003