Cannes Film Festival: Johnny Depp says he has no 'further need for Hollywood'

Johnny Depp poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Jeanne du Barry' at the 76th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 17, 2023.
Johnny Depp poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Jeanne du Barry' at the 76th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 17, 2023. Copyright Vianney Le Caer/ AP
By Katy Dartford with AP
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The actor was speaking on the day after premiering his first film in three years, 'Jeanne du Barry'.

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Johnny Depp said that he has “no further need” for Hollywood during a rare public appearance to face questions from the press at the Cannes Film Festival.

The actor made the comments a day after premiering his first film in three years, 'Jeanne du Barry', in which Depp plays King Louis XV.  

The French film, directed by and starring Maïwenn and featuring a French-speaking Depp, is the actor's first film since a jury last year largely sided with him in his legal battle with his ex-wife, Amber Heard.

Part of Depp's argument in the 2022 defamation trial was that he had lost work due to Heard's allegations. Heard was ordered to pay Depp $10 million (approximately €9.2 million) in damages, vindicating his allegations that Heard lied about Depp abusing her before and during their brief marriage. Heard was also awarded $2 million (about €1.85 million).

After the controversial trial, Depp was most notably asked to step down from the 'Harry Potter' spin-off franchise 'Fantastic Beasts'. Now, though, he says he's not interested in returning to studio projects.

“I don’t feel boycotted by Hollywood, because I don’t think about Hollywood. I don't have much further need for Hollywood, myself,” Depp said, adding, “It’s a strange, funny time where everybody would love to be able to be themselves, but they can’t. They must fall in line with the person in front of them. If you want to live that life, I wish you the best”.

'Jeanne du Barry' opened on Tuesday in French cinemas to mixed reviews.

Depp, who arrived about 20 minutes late for the press conference, also called the majority of what's been written about him in recent years “fantastically, horrifically written fiction”.

“It’s like asking the question: ‘How are you doing?’ But the subtext is, 'God, I hate you,'” said Depp.

Some have debated whether Cannes ought to have given Depp such a prominent platform. Asked how he would respond to such critics, Depp made a comparison that suggested few people feel that way.

“What if one day, they did not allow me to go to McDonald's for life because somewhere there’d be 39 angry people watching me eat a Big Mac on a loop?" pondered Depp. “Who are they? What do they care?”

“I’ve had my 17th comeback, apparently,” said Depp. “I keep wondering about the word ‘comeback.’ I didn’t go anywhere. As a matter of fact, I live about 45 minutes away. Maybe people stopped calling out of whatever their fear was at the time. But I didn’t go nowhere”.

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