Johnny Depp’s Agent Confirms How He Lost His Iconic Role
During the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial, Depp's former agent described why the actor lost out on his most iconic movie role.
While the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial rages on in a Virginia courtroom, a number of tidbits about the careers of both have come up. Specifically, the fallout for Depp in particular who, in recent years, has been dismissed from a number of high-profile franchises. In many ways, this is at the heart of his lawsuit against Heard for defamation. On Wednesday, more information came to light about why he was no longer with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise in particular, with one well-informed person saying it was directly tied to the accusations Amber Heard had previously made about domestic abuse.
During the trial, CAA agent Christian Carino was seen in a pre-recorded video deposition (via Deadline) that had him answering a number of different questions about his time working with both Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. When asked specifically why he thought Johnny Depp wasn’t asked back to be part of a then-unmade Pirates of the Caribbean 6, Carino felt that the answer was obvious even if it was never stated directly. In his mind, being a professional within the industry and, presumably, having extensive knowledge along these lines (or at least backing up Johnny Depp in this matter), Carino went on record saying it was his opinion that Depp was effectively let go from the franchise because of what Amber Heard had claimed re: domestic abuse accusations. Check out part of what Christian Carino had to say.
“My opinion is it was related to the accusations that Amber has made… (Based on) conversations with colleagues and studios executives … internal and external…It is something within the industry that is understood…”
This effective dismissal from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, as well as losing his gig in the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them franchise are, in part, at the center of this trial between Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. It is the loss of future wages and income from these jobs, and more, that Depp is claiming as part of his lawsuit. His contention is that her claims of abuse by him were made erroneously (or even fabricated) and the fallout within the industry, especially related to his career, was swift and final.
Carino would go on to say that following Amber Heard’s Washington Post Op-Ed claiming she was the victim of domestic abuse in which Depp wasn’t named, though it was clearly about him, was when industry insiders began talking about how Johnny Depp wouldn’t be returning to Pirates of the Caribbean. According to Deadline, there is some timing disagreement here with Heard’s side saying that decision had already been made by the studio where it concerned Johnny Depp returning as Jack Sparrow at some point. It is these details that a jury will have to decide on when it comes to a final ruling in the case. For what it’s worth, Depp said during the trial that he would never return to this franchise, even for $300 million dollars.
This case of Johnny Depp suing Amber Heard for libel and defamation follows the 2020 trial when Depp sued the British tabloid The Sun after they referred to him as a “wife-beater”. In defending their side of that claim, The Sun effectively had to prove that what they said was accurate. Depp lost that case at the time.
