He may have come out on the winning side when battling ex-wife Amber Heard in the courtroom, but there are still no signs of Johnny Depp being welcomed back into the mainstream Hollywood fold after years of negative publicity and bad buzz.
It was only a decade ago that he was the highest-paid star in the entire industry after regularly netting paychecks of eight figures for his regular blockbuster outings, but these days the only projects the two-time Academy Award nominee has lined up are a French historical drama rife with rumors of behind the scenes discontent, and a animated Serbian series where he voices a puffin.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that his life would have been ruined had he ended up losing his most recent bout of litigation, especially when the former Pirates of the Caribbean headliner admitted he’d lost almost all of the $650 million he’d amassed during his career, while still owing an additional $100 million in back taxes.
His film career might be unsalvageable at this point, but Depp is back to earning big bucks through another medium. London’s Castle Fine Art Gallery recently held a sale of his artistic works – comprising of limited edition prints bearing depictions of Bob Marley, Hunter S. Thompson, Heath Ledger, and River Phoenix – which were being sold at £4,500 each or £17,500 for all four.
As a result, the Depp collection netted an estimated £4.5 million, which is well in excess of $5 million when adjusted for current exchange rates. Jack Sparrow may never sail the seven seas again, but the man behind the iconic pirate is back to laughing all the way to the bank.