‘Now he’s won the case he may came back’: Mads Mikkelsen praises ‘amazing’ Johnny Depp after replacing shamed 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 had been dropped from the role in 2020 when the High Court in London found a story that he assaulted ex-wife Amber to be ‘substantially true’
- Earlier this year a jury ruled in Johnny’s favour in a blockbuster defamation case against Amber
- He had claimed that she defamed him with an op-ed piece in the Washington Post in 2018 in which she claimed to be a survivor of domestic abuse
Mads Mikkelsen praised Johnny Depp as an ‘amazing actor’ and said the star may return to the Fantastic Beasts film franchise after his legal victory against ex-wife Amber Heard.
The 56-year-old Danish actor, who is known for his roles in James Bond film Casino Royale and NBC series Hannibal, replaced Johnny, 59, to play Gellert Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.
Johnny was removed from the Warner Bros film in 2020 a week into production when he was denied permission to appeal his libel loss in the High Court, who found a story that he assaulted ex-wife Amber Heard to be ‘substantially true.’
Speaking out: Mads Mikkelsen (left) praised ‘amazing’ Johnny Depp after replacing the shamed actor in Fantastic Beasts amid his legal battle with Amber Heard (both pictured in character)
Speaking at the Sarajevo Film Festival, Deadline reports that Mads described taking over the role as ‘very intimidating’ and spoke about the reason for Johnny’s departure from the film – his libel case against his ex-wife.
He said: ‘Obviously, well, now the course has changed – he won the suit, the court [case] – so let’s see if he comes back. He might.
‘I’m a big fan of Johnny. I think he’s an amazing actor, I think he did a fantastic job.’
Intimidated: Speaking at the Sarajevo Film Festival, Mads described taking over the role as ‘very intimidating’ and spoke about the reason for Johnny’s departure from the film
Mads continued: ‘Having said that, I could not copy it. There’s 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, yes, it was intimidating.
‘His fans were very, very sweet, but they were also very stubborn. I didn’t interact too much with them, but I could understand why they had their hearts broken.’
Legal woes: In 2020 Johnny lost a libel case against The Sun newspaper at the High Court in London where a judge ruled it was ‘substantially true’ he was a ‘wife beater’
In 2020 Johnny lost a libel case against The Sun newspaper at the High Court in London where a judge ruled it was ‘substantially true’ he was a ‘wife beater’.
Two years later, Johnny sued Amber for $50million claiming that she defamed him with an op-ed piece in the Washington Post in 2018 in which she claimed to be a survivor of domestic abuse.
Amber, 35, countersued for $100million claiming that Johnny’s lawyer Adam Waldman made defamatory statements by calling her claims a ‘hoax.’
Representatives for the actor said he had lost work opportunities and high-profile roles such as being dropped from the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise following the accusations.
Jurors found in his favour following the six-week trial.
Johnny is now set to direct his first feature film in 25 years with Modi, about the Italian painter and sculpture Amedeo Modigliani.
He will co-produce the film alongside Hollywood great Al Pacino.
Lost: In 2022 Johnny sued Amber for $50million claiming that she defamed him with an op-ed piece in the Washington Post in 2018 in which she claimed to be a survivor of domestic abuse
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