Hard to believe, but it’s been over a year since Johnny Depp and Amber Heard faced off in court and transfixed the nation with tales of cut off fingers and pooping on beds. Now in the wake of her first film since the trial, Heard is opening up about how the whole thing affected her.
In an exclusive talk with Deadline, Heard touched on a number of topics and provided a few quirky tidbits (like how she hurt her wrist swatting a fly and tripping over her daughter’s step stool). As for the way she’s been perceived by the media and general public, she seems to be coming to terms with the fact that there’s only so much she can control.
“I’m in control for the most part of what comes out of my mouth,” she said. What she doesn’t have control of is “stories other people create around” her, something she said she might appreciate “as a blessing further down the line.” As for right now, she just wishes people would not throw “stones” at her so much.
What she wants to do is promote her new film and continue to work as an actress, a vocation she’s held since she was a teenager.
“As crazy as it sounds to say, that means I have decades in this industry. I’m not telling you I have this amazing film career, but what I have is something that I’ve made, myself, and it has given me a lot to be able to contribute. The odds of that in this industry are really [improbable] but somehow, here I am. I think I’ve earned respect for that to be its own thing.”
When it comes to the trial and its aftermath, Heard wants to make it clear she’s not going to just fold and go away.
“What I have been through, what I’ve lived through, doesn’t make my career at all. And it’s certainly not gonna stop my career.” You kind of can’t help but admire that kind of grit. Heard’s new movie, by the way, is called In The Fire. The movie stars Heard as a psychiatrist in the 1890s who travels to Colombia to treat a child when psychiatry was still in its infancy.
In an interview with People, director Conor Allyn said the movie is just the start of “a hell of a comeback” for the actress.
“Amber has an incredibly bright future ahead,” he said. “I think In the Fire showcases her talents as an actor. I know this is something she is very proud of and it’s something we are very excited to release to the public.” In The Fire releases Dec. 20.