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Johnny Depp‘s plane was late coming into Rome, so he missed the Rome Film Festival press conference that was scheduled on Saturday to talk about the new film he directed, Modi: Three Days on the Wing of Madness. Depp was due to present the film that evening, pick up a prize and then fly out on Sunday morning.
The actor is considered a controversial figure in Hollywood after years of legal battles and a messy divorce from his ex-wife Amber Heard, which included allegations of domestic violence and his and Heard’s heavily publicized defamation trial. But Depp is in the midst of a career reboot of sorts in Europe, one that began at last year’s Cannes Film Fest with French director Maïwenn’s Jeanne du Barry, in which he starred as King Louis XV.
Modi, which premiered at the San Sebastian Film Festival last month, is the story of three turbulent days in the life of Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani. It is set in war-torn Paris in 1916, in the Montmartre district which was home to many bohemians and artists at the time. Depp sat down with The Hollywood Reporter Roma to talk about how he identifies with Modigliani, moving on from the past and jokingly compared his reputation to that of O.J. Simpson.
Al Pacino first suggested this film about Modigliani to you way back in 1997. Why did it take so many years to make it?
Al was going to direct it at the time, and he was talking to me while we were working together on Donnie Brasco, and he wanted me to play Modigliani. Then it sort of disappeared and then 20-plus years later Al calls me, and he says [imitating Pacino], “Hey John I think you should direct the Modigliani thing,” and I said, “Why?”
How do you feel about directing? This is your second attempt at directing a film; the first one, The Brave, back in 1997, did not go so well.
The Brave didn’t go so well. I remember very well the comedown of the critics on The Brave, and all it did was make me understand. What do you do? You learn from that.
[Riccardo Scarmacio, who plays Modigliani in Modi, interjects to say: “By the way, (Italian auteur Michelangelo) Antonioni said ‘Bravo, bravo!’”]
Yes, he did, bless his heart. That actually happened.
Did you identify with Modigliani? He was a wild guy — he was into sex, drugs and rock and roll. And he couldn’t stand rejection.
And he is the exact opposite of me. I adore rejection. [Laughs.]
But are there ways you identify with him as a character?
Of course. My upbringing was not the same as Modigliani’s, but you do understand the levels that you have to climb, up a ladder or up a wall to get to a point where you earn your stripes. I do understand him in the sense that he stuck to his guns with his particular style, which was far too brute for those at the time.
He was in the wilderness for a while, like you because of your personal issues. Is that a good description?
It was a vast wilderness and ultimately that vast wilderness taught me a whole lot
What lessons have you learned?
Oh let’s see. Should this be funny or should it be true? [Laughs.]
Just give it to me straight. You said in San Sebastian last month that your life turned into a soap opera. Do you still feel that way?
Honestly, I can sit here this very second and think about all the hit pieces, and how everybody was against me, and yeah yeah yeah he is off the map … endless stuff. I can remember it all. Went through it all. Some of it was not the most beautiful time, some of it was hilarious. Some of it was mad. The thing is, it simply just was, and it simply just is. So, for me, it happened. I learned, man. Everything that we experience, whether you’re given a snow cone or walking your dog, you learn something somewhere along the way. So I don’t have any ill feelings toward anyone. I don’t have this great reserve of hatred, because hatred requires caring. Why carry that baggage?
You also said that you feel you don’t need Hollywood anymore.
I had a few bouts with Hollywood over their particular easy way and the fluid three-act structure and all the stuff that is predictable. And I am sorry, but I had to get in there and whip it around a little bit…
With all the challenges you have faced in your personal life and your career, you still give unforgettable performances. Do you have an instinct or an intuition or some method that allows you to focus on the authenticity of your roles?
Oh yes, of course, it is my responsibility. But it is also helpful in certain instances, especially when things are crumbling all around. It’s weird to be able to escape, not into a character, but it is good to be able to inhabit a character, and as everything is in your toolbox — some of that stuff can be used as available stimulus. Which is great. So yeah. Everything has been … it has really, it just is. And on some level, it is gonna be around, that kind of thing. It’s like OJ or something. But hey, it just happened. That’s all.