‘Now he’s won the case that he might come back’: Mads Mikkelsen praises the ‘amazing’ Johnny Depp after replacing the disgraced actor in Fantastic Beasts amid his legal battle with Amber Heard
- Mads, 56, replaced Johnny, 59, to play Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
- The actor was dropped from the role in 2020 after the High Court in London found a story that he assaulted ex-wife Amber was “essentially true”.
- Earlier this year, a jury ruled in Johnny’s favor against Amber in a blockbuster defamation case
- He had claimed she defamed him with a 2018 op-ed in The Washington Post in which she claimed to be a domestic violence survivor
Mads Mikkelsen praised Johnny Depp as an “amazing actor” and said the star may return to the Fantastic Beasts franchise after his legal win over ex-wife Amber Heard.
The 56-year-old Danish actor, best known for his roles in James Bond film Casino Royale and NBC series Hannibal, replaced 59-year-old Johnny to portray Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of to play Dumbledore.
Johnny was removed from the Warner Bros film in 2020, a week into production when he was denied permission to appeal his High Court libel loss over a story in which he attacked ex-wife Amber Heard as “im Essentially true”.
Speaking of which, Mads Mikkelsen (left) praised the ‘amazing’ Johnny Depp after replacing the disgraced actor in Fantastic Beasts amid his legal battle with Amber Heard (both pictured).
Speaking at the Sarajevo Film Festival, Deadline reports that Mads described taking on the role as “very intimidating” and spoke about the reason Johnny left the film – his libel lawsuit against his ex-wife.
He said: “Obviously, well, now the course has changed – he’s won the lawsuit, the court [case] – Let’s see if he comes back. He could.
“I’m a big fan of Johnny’s. I think he’s a great actor, I think he did a fantastic job.”
Intimidated: Speaking at the Sarajevo Film Festival, Mads described taking on the role as ‘very intimidating’ and discussed the reason behind Johnny’s departure from the film
Mads continued, “Even so, I couldn’t copy it. There was no way I could just copy it because it’s so much him. It would be creative suicide.
“So we had to come up with something else, something that was mine and build a bridge between him and me. So yeah, it was intimidating.
“His fans were very, very sweet, but they were also very stubborn. I didn’t interact with them much but I could understand why their hearts were broken.’
Legal troubles: In 2020, Johnny lost a libel case against The Sun newspaper in the High Court in London, where a judge ruled it was “essentially true” that he was a “wife beater”.
In 2020, Johnny lost a libel case against The Sun newspaper in the High Court in London, where a judge ruled it was “essentially true” that he was a “wife beater”.
Two years later, Johnny sued Amber for $50 million, claiming she defamed him with a 2018 op-ed in The Washington Post in which she claimed to be a domestic violence survivor.
Amber, 35, is suing for $100 million, alleging that Johnny’s attorney, Adam Waldman, made defamatory statements, calling her claims a “hoax.”
Representatives for the actor said he’s lost job opportunities and high-profile roles, such as being dropped from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise following the allegations.
The jury ruled in his favor after the six-week trial.
Johnny will now direct his first feature film with Modi in 25 years, about Italian painter and sculptor Amedeo Modigliani.
He will co-produce the film with Hollywood great Al Pacino.
Lost: In 2022, Johnny sued Amber for $50 million, claiming she defamed him with a 2018 op-ed in The Washington Post in which she claimed to be a domestic violence survivor