Johnny Depp’s former agent has claimed that he was ‘fed lines through an earpiece’ during his time filming Pirates of the Caribbean 5.
The actor played Captain Jack Sparrow in the beloved franchise, making his debut in 2003 flick The Curse of the Black Pearl, alongside Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley and Geoffrey Rush.
Appearing on the stand during day 19 of his defamation trial against Amber Heard, his ex-talent agent Tracey Jacobs – who was terminated in 2016 – spoke of working together.
When asked by Heard’s lawyer, Elaine Bredehoft, if she recalled the 58-year-old using earpieces so people could feed him his lines during filming for the 2017 sequel, and if this became a regular thing, she said: ‘Yes.’
She also said that representing the star became ‘far more complicated’ in their last 10 years of working together, due to his ‘unprofessional behavior’.
Elaborating, Jacobs continued: ‘Showing up late to set consistently on virtually every movie. I would get yelled at.
‘I never said to him, “You’re a difficult client”. I never used those words, but I was very honest with him, and said, “You’ve got to stop doing this, it’s hurting you”.
‘And it did.’
Jacobs said that Depp did not ‘correct’ those behaviors after the chat, adding: ‘Initially crews loved him, as he was so great with the crew.
‘But crews don’t like sitting around for hours and hours waiting for the star to turn up.
‘It also got around town – people talk, it’s a small community – and it made people reluctant to use him toward the end.’
Fans were first introduced to Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, in 2003, with the franchise going on to gross a reported $4.5billion (£3.4bn) worldwide.
He went on to reprise his role in sequels Dead Man’s Chest (2006), At World’s End (2007), On Stranger Tides (2011) and Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017), and reportedly earned $300million (£230m) in that time.
Depp previously appeared on the stand at the beginning of the trial, and spoke of the impact the Disney franchise had on his career.
‘I had been around for many years really, and people knew who I was and all that. After Pirates one came out, it was a completely different way of life my family and I were being plunged into,’ he told the court.
‘That is to say, at our house in Los Angeles, you would have people trying to climb the gates to get in to see Captain Jack Sparrow. You would have people trying to bust in the gates dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow and follow you, or follow you and your family.’
When asked how the film turned out in his view, he added: ‘I didn’t see it. But I believe that the film did pretty well, apparently, and they wanted to keep going, making more and I was fine to do that.
‘It’s not like you become that person, but if you know that character to the degree that I did – because he was not what the writers wrote, so they really weren’t able to write for him…
‘Once you know the character better than the writers, that’s when you have to be true to the character and add your words.’
Depp is currently suing Heard for defamation, following a 2018 op-ed piece she wrote in the Washington Post, discussing her experiences with domestic abuse.
He was not mentioned in the piece, but his team argued that it implied that he was physically and sexually violent during their marriage – something he has denied.
The Edward Scissorhands star is seeking $50million (£40m) in damages, while his ex-wife is counter-suing for $100million (£80m), claiming he libeled her by calling her a liar.
The case is being heard at the Fairfax County Court and began last month – and is being livestreamed on YouTube.
So far, Depp and Heard have shared their testimony, alongside their former couple’s therapist, the Aquaman actress’ sister and make-up artist.
The trial continues.
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