Johnny Depp shares honest reaction to 'Fantastic Beasts' firing: 'They wanted me to retire'
Johnny Depp isn't mincing words about his firing from the "Fantastic Beasts" franchise.
In an interview with The Telegraph published Saturday, July 5, the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star, 62, looked back on being dropped from the "Harry Potter" prequel movies in 2020 amid allegations that he abused his ex-wife Amber Heard. The allegations were part of a yearslong legal saga, and Depp's firing came on the heels of a U.K. judge ruling that a British tabloid's article referring to the actor as a "wife beater" was "substantially true."
"It literally stopped in a millisecond, like, while I was doing the movie," Depp said. "They said we'd like you to resign. But what was really in my head was they wanted me to retire."
The actor, who has denied abusing Heard, recalled his explicit, angry response and remembered thinking, "There's far too many of me to kill. If you think you can hurt me more than I've already been hurt you're gravely mistaken."
Depp announced in November 2020 that he had "been asked to resign by Warner Bros." from his role as the villain Grindelwald in the "Fantastic Beasts" films and has "respected and agreed to that request."
His exit came after the actor lost a libel case in the U.K. against The Sun concerning an article that called him a "wife beater" in reference to allegations that he was physically abusive to Heard. A judge ruled that what the tabloid published was "substantially true."
Depp later won a separate libel case against Heard in Virginia in 2022 after he sued over an article she wrote about being a victim of domestic abuse. Heard partially won a countersuit, with the jury finding that Depp's lawyer defamed her. Both parties have accused the other of being the abuser in their relationship, which each has denied.
Depp played Grindelwald, the main villain of the "Harry Potter" prequel series, in the first two "Fantastic Beasts" movies, released in 2016 and 2018. For the third entry, 2022's "Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore," the role was taken over by Mads Mikkelsen.
Two additional "Fantastic Beasts" films were planned, but the franchise came to a halt after "The Secrets of Dumbledore" performed under expectations at the box office. Warner Bros. later announced a "Harry Potter" HBO series that will adapt the original books again, with author J.K. Rowling's involvement.
Depp recently reflected on his 2022 court battle with Heard in an interview with The Sunday Times, telling the outlet he does not regret it.
"Look, none of this was going (to) be easy, but I didn't care," he said. "I thought, 'I'll fight until the bitter …end.' And if I end up pumping gas? That's all right. I've done that before."