“They Said We’d Like You To Resign” – Johnny Depp Talks About His Exit From ‘Fantastic Beasts’ and Fighting His Way Back

Johnny Depp isn’t hiding anymore. He’s not on a big movie set or walking red carpets. Instead, he’s tucked away in a small caravan on a street in Budapest, chain-smoking roll-ups and going over pages of a script. After two decades, he’s back doing something he hasn’t done in a long time, directing.

His new film, Modìgliani: Three Days on the Wing of Madness, tells the story of the Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani during just three intense days in 1916 Paris. Depp says the film, which comes out on July 11, isn’t just about art. It’s about chaos, pain, and survival, which also mirrors his own life.

For the past several years, Depp hasn’t been making movies. He’s been in courtrooms. He was accused by his ex-wife Amber Heard of physical abuse, which he denied. In 2020, he lost a libel case in the UK after The Sun called him a “wife beater.” Then came a defamation trial in the U.S. in 2022, which he won. But the damage was already done.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, Depp said that after losing the UK case, Hollywood quickly turned its back on him. While filming the third Fantastic Beasts movie, he was asked to leave.

“It literally stopped in a millisecond,” he said. “Like, while I was doing the movie. They said we’d like you to resign. But what was really in my head was they wanted me to retire.” And his answer? “F— you. 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.”

The pain Depp talks about didn’t start in Hollywood. He says it began in his childhood. His mother, Betty Sue, was violent and unpredictable, and he says she beat him with whatever she could grab.

“She beat me with a f—— stick, a f—— shoe, an ashtray, a phone, it didn’t matter, man,” Depp said. “But I thank her for that. She taught me how not to raise kids. Just do the exact opposite of what she did.”

So why didn’t he just walk away from the fight with Heard? Why not take the hit and move on?

“I fought it because had I not then I wouldn’t have been me,” he said. “Of course everyone tells you, ‘Don’t do it. You’re crazy.’” But he adds, “If the allegation made against me – a lie! – was going to be the deciding factor of whether or not I have the capability of making movies in Hollywood? F— you.”

He admits the court battles nearly swallowed him. “Going through all that in real time amounted to seven or eight years,” he said. “It was a harsh, painful internal journey. Would I rather not have gone through something like that? Absolutely. But I learnt far more than I ever dreamed I could.”

Now, Depp seems to be moving forward. He’s directing again. He’s also expected to star in The Carnival at the End of Days, a new film with Terry Gilliam. He’s working on Day Drinker with director Marc Webb and reuniting with Penélope Cruz.

It’s not a full return to the spotlight yet, but it’s something. After years of silence, Depp is done staying quiet. He isn’t begging Hollywood to take him back, he’s simply showing up and doing the work.

And as he puts it, “I’m not running for office.”