Johnny Depp attempted to persuade the director of Jeanne Du Barry not to cast him – Ents & Arts News
Johnny Depp has revealed that he attempted to dissuade the director of his latest film from casting him in a lead role.
The renowned Hollywood actor portrays France’s King Louis XV in the historical drama Jeanne Du Barry and graced the UK premiere in London on Monday evening.
Depp, aged 60, made a comeback to the red carpet for his first feature film post his high-profile defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard in the US in 2022.
The storyline revolves around the life of Jeanne, a woman from a working-class background who utilizes her intelligence and charm to ascend the social ladder, ultimately attracting the attention of the king. The character of Jeanne is played by French actress Maiwenn, who is also the co-writer and director of the film.
Depp stars as King Louis XV. Pic: Stephanie Branchu/Why Not Productions
Depp addressed the audience at the premiere, expressing his astonishment when approached for the film.
As per the Hollywood trade magazine Deadline, the actor, hailing from Owensboro, Kentucky, shared with the crowd, “Instantly what happens in your brain is that you go back to eastern Kentucky… you realise that you come from the ‘ombelico’, ‘nombril’, the belly button of nowhere, and you’re playing the king of France.”
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Johnny Depp reading at MacGowan funeral
“It made no sense to me, I tried to talk her out of it. She wasn’t hearing it, and she had great courage to take me into her cast.”
Jeanne Du Barry received a seven-minute standing ovation when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2023.
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This film marks Depp’s significant return to the screen following legal battles with Heard and The Sun newspaper in the UK.
In 2022, he successfully won a lawsuit against Heard over a 2018 article she penned for The Washington Post depicting her encounters as a domestic abuse survivor, a case where his attorneys argued that she falsely accused him of being an abuser.
Nonetheless, his UK lawsuit two years earlier did not end in his favor, with a High Court judge ruling that Depp had been physically violent towards Heard during their relationship.
