Oscar laureate Sir Mark Rylance has voiced doubt that fellow actor Johnny Depp was violent towards his ex-wife Amber Heard. Rylance, who co-starred with Depp in the new drama "Waiting for Barbarians", said the accusations made against the actor are not consistent with his character.
"My impression of him was a very loving, and very sensitive and very trustworthy person. The accusations that were around at the time we were making the film were of physical violence. And he obviously denied this and I found his denial completely believable. It didn't seem to be part of his character at all", Sir Mark Rylance told the Times, adding that Depp was "intensely, intensely shy".
Earlier this week, Sir Rylance gave an interview to Radio Times magazine where, among other things, he spoke about Depp and his impressions of him.
"With these stars, you read things, you hear things and I wasn't sure what it would be like, whether he would be vain, or shattered, or broken by the things that he's gone through. But it wasn't like that at all. I've never, ever heard him say a bad word about anyone. All his stories are loving and amusing", the actor told the magazine.
His statement comes as Depp awaits the verdict in his libel case against the publishers of The Sun and their Executive Director Dan Wooton. The 57-year-old actor took News Group Newspapers to court after the British tabloid described him as a "wife beater" in an article about his ex-wife Amber Heard and him.
The three-week trial was full of revelations and saw several famous actors, including Winona Ryder and Vanessa Paradis, testify in support of Depp.
Depp is separately suing Amber Heard for defamation after the star of Aquaman penned an op-ed in The Washington Post where she spoke about being a victim of domestic violence. She didn’t mention Depp by name, but the actor filed a $50 million defamation case, saying it was clear that Heard meant him.
Heard's legal team previously submitted photos showing her with bruises, but Depp claims she fabricated the evidence against him by painting injuries and was herself violent during their marriage. Depp claimed he had to undergo surgery on his finger after it was cut by a glass bottle that Heard threw at him. The actor’s legal team has presented photos of the severed finger and audio tapes, during which Heard admitted to hitting Depp.