Paul Bettany says he was wrongly portrayed as Johnny Depp’s 'close friend' amid Amber Heard battle
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Paul Bettany has clarified his friendship with Johnny Depp, saying the two actors had not spoken for years when their private text messages about Amber Heard became public.
The 'VisionQuest' actor described the period surrounding Depp’s legal battles as a “very interesting time” and explained why he chose not to comment on the controversy.
Paul Bettany clarifies his relationship with Johnny Depp amid legal battles
Bettany addressed the controversy in a new interview with The Times, explaining that he had not been in contact with Depp for years when their text messages attracted public attention.
“I hadn’t spoken to Johnny in years when that happened and I haven’t spoken to him since,” Bettany said. “I was being painted as this close friend of a guy I hadn’t spoken to in years and, honestly, amid all the things two celebrities threw at each other, that bit was the most odd.”
The actors’ private exchanges were publicized during Depp’s unsuccessful libel lawsuit against The Sun, which had accused him of domestic abuse.
Their friendship faced further scrutiny during Depp’s contentious 2022 defamation lawsuit against Heard. A jury found that the 'Aquaman' actress had defamed Depp in a 2018 Washington Post op-ed. The two later settled the case after Heard appealed the verdict.
Bettany explained that he chose not to speak publicly during his legal battles because he believed people understood his character and personal life. “I decided to say nothing because, I think, people know me,” he said. “I’ve been married 23 years and, for what I do, I live an incredibly quiet life. Everybody kind of thought this is probably a nothing burger — and left it alone.”
Depp and Bettany first worked together on the 2010 film 'The Tourist', which also starred Angelina Jolie. They subsequently appeared together in 2014’s 'Transcendence' and 2015’s 'Mortdecai'.
Johnny Depp and Paul Bettany’s text messages about Amber Heard
During Depp’s 2022 trial, the actor described Bettany as one of his “close friends” and testified that Heard had disliked their friendship. “Ms Heard despised Mr Bettany mainly because we had become such close friends,” Depp testified.
He continued, “For her, he was a threat and would take me away from her. If Paul Bettany were getting the attention from me, that was a showstopper.”
The controversy intensified after private text messages between Depp and Bettany revealed exchanges about burning and drowning Heard. In one message, Depp wrote, “I will burn her corpse afterwards to make sure she’s dead.”
Depp later said he was “embarrassed” by the messages, describing them as “unfortunate words” written in the “heat of the moment” and attributing them to “dark humor” inspired by Monty Python.
Bettany also addressed the messages in a 2022 interview with The Times, arguing that public discussion would only prolong the controversy. “Anything that you say is oxygen for a fire. And there’s just no fire,” he said.
Gesturing towards his smartphone, Bettany added that the situation raised questions about the privacy of personal communications. “The only real way to deal with this elegantly is to say: I’m not sure there’s anybody who has one of these devices…that would feel comfortable having a team of lawyers scour their private text messages.”
