After the trailer for Ebenezer was released, Johnny Depp’s fans couldn’t hide their excitement. The actor is all set to give Christmas a darker twist with his upcoming film Ebenezer. The film is a haunting reimagining of Charles Dickens’ timeless classic A Christmas Carol, and Depp takes the iconic character of ‘Ebenezer Scrooge’
Johnny Depp took a massive pay cut for Ebenezer
Based on Dickens’ novella A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer is directed by Ti West. Besides Depp, the film features Rupert Grint, Andrea Riseborough, Sam Claflin, Robert Strange, Tramell Tillman, and Ian McKellen in key roles. But did you know that, for his role as Ebenezer, Depp took a massive pay cut?
According to a Variety report, Johnny Depp was paid USD 5 million for his role as ‘Ebenezer Scrooge’ in the film. That is a massive pay cut compared to Depp’s last studio role, 2018’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, for which he was paid USD 16 million. Depp had shot only one scene of the film before Warner Bros. cut ties with him.
According to multiple reports, Depp took a fraction of his previous salary to star in Ebenezer. Depp, once one of Hollywood’s biggest actors, has been absent from the American film industry. This is his first Hollywood film since the 2022 court battle against his ex-wife, Amber Heard, in which the actor faced allegations of domestic abuse.
For the unversed, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard were married between 2015 and 2017. After their split, Depp sued Heard for defamation over a 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post about domestic violence. Heard countersued Depp, claiming he orchestrated a “smear campaign” against her.
The case went to court, and the televised trial ran from April 11, 2022 to June 1, 2022. A jury ultimately found in Depp’s favor and awarded him more than USD 10M in damages. However, it also found that Depp’s lawyer had defamed Heard, and awarded her USD 2M in damages.
Johnny Depp was once named as Hollywood’s most overpaid actor
While Johnny Depp took a massive pay cut for starring in Ebenezer, he was once tagged as Hollywood’s most overpriced actor in 2015. Depp’s highest-paying role was playing ‘Captain Jack Sparrow’ in 2017’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. For the role, he reportedly made a whopping USD 90 million from backend profits.
Depp’s huge salaries have often made headlines, as he is one of the few actors in Hollywood who charge massive fees even for a brief stint. He was reportedly paid USD 50 million to appear for just a few minutes on screen in 2010’s Alice in Wonderland. When Alice in Wonderland’s sequel, Alice Through the Looking Glass, bombed at the theatre, the actor returned just USD 2.80 for every USD 1 he was paid.
Not just the reports, but Depp himself has accepted being an overpaid actor. In 2011, the actor revealed that he was overpaid for the Pirates of the Caribbean films and said that, despite knowing it, he still took it for his kids. Speaking about the same, the actor told Vanity Fair:
“Basically, if they’re going to pay me the stupid money right now, I’m going to take it. I have to. I mean, it’s not for me. Do you know what I mean? At this point, it’s for my kids. It’s ridiculous, yeah, yeah. But ultimately, is it for me? No. No. It’s for the kids.”
Did you know that Johnny Depp was named as Hollywood’s most overpaid actor?
Images Courtesy: Disney, Instagram
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