For This Reason, Johnny Depp Considered Himself “Oddly Fortunate” to Play King Louis XV in Jeanne Du Barry

Johnny Depp is returning to the red carpet. At the UK premiere of his French feature Jeanne Du Barry, which took place on Monday, April 15, at the Curzon Mayfair Theatre, the Hollywood star posed for pictures and signed autographs. Co-star and director Maïwenn joined Depp on stage for his appearance, and they gave a quick synopsis of the movie.

Depp said he felt “strangely, oddly, perversely lucky” to have been granted the role of French King Louis XV in his next movie in a press conference held before to the movie’s premiere. “When Maïwenn and I first actually met and talked about the notion of me doing the film and playing Louis XV, the King of France — see, that’s when instantly what happens in your brain is you instantly go back to Kentucky, where, like, everything is fried,” the actor continued, highlighting the reasoning behind the statement. You therefore realize that you have appeared out of nowhere and are now playing the role of King of France.

As he said, “It made no sense to me, I tried to talk her out of it But she wasn’t hearing it,” Depp also thought that Maïwenn, the film’s director, had the guts to put him in the picture. However, Maïwenn clarified that she had been eager to create “Jeanne du Barry” since 2016 due to her feminist convictions.

Jeanne Du Barry, in the meantime, represents Depp’s movie return after his contentious Virginia trial with his ex-wife Amber Heard. It tells the tale of working-class Jeanne Vaubernier, who utilizes her charm to try to get away from her hard-scrabble existence. When she falls in love with King Louis XV, the narrative takes an intriguing turn.

The movie, which starred Pascal Greggory, Melvil Poupaud, Pierre Richard, and Benjamin Lavernhe, had its global debut at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2023. The actor and director were given a standing ovation for seven minutes. On May 2, Jeanne Du Barry will be released in theaters.