Johnny Depp Offers Rare Comment About His Life Following Controversial Amber Heard Trial

Johnny Depp offered an update on his life as he made his first directorial feature in nearly three decades.

The Pirates of the Caribbean star, who famously battled with his ex-wife, Amber Heard, in a highly-publicized trial in 2022, recently reflected on the past few years at a press conference for the film.

During the event, he was asked to compare the upcoming project, Modi, Three Days on the Wing of Madness, and its main character, bohemian artist Amedeo Modigliani, to himself.

“Sure, we can say that I’ve been through a number of things here and there, but I’m alright,” he said. “I think we’ve all been through a number of things, ultimately…Maybe yours didn’t turn into a soap opera, televised in fact, but we all experience and go through what we go through.”

Related: Johnny Depp’s New Career Award Stirs Up Controversy

Modi is one of Depp’s first projects since the 2022 court spat with Heard, in which he sued the Aquaman actress for defamation after she accused him of domestic abuse.

As Parade previously reported, Depp won the case, with Heard lamenting that her misrepresentation on social media influenced the jury’s decision.

Since the controversy, it has seemingly been a slow climb as the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory star attempted to re-enter Hollywood and regain his notoriety. He made his festival comeback in Cannes last year with a starring role in Maïwenn’s Jeanne du Barry, but has yet to be regarded at the same level he was pre-trial.

However, Modi producer Navidi said he thinks it’s “just a matter of time” before Depp is fully embraced by the industry again. “This movie perhaps is going to help and, at the same time, open doors,” he told Variety. “I know that his popularity is one thing in Hollywood — but the masses, the world, they love him.”

Next: Johnny Depp Teases a ‘Surprising’ First in Latest Career Update