Johnny Depp hired one of his lawyers after seeing her in Netflix's hit docuseries Making A Murderer, it has been reported.
Kathleen Zellner, who rose to global fame after taking on Steven Avery as a client in the documentary, was a case consultant for the Pirates of the Caribbean actor in the multi-million dollar US defamation suit.
Depp sued his ex-wife Heard for defamation following an op-ed she wrote in the Washington Post in 2018.
In a bombshell victory for Depp on Wednesday, a jury ruled in his favour and he was awarded compensatory damages of $10million (£8million) and a further $5million (£4million) in punitive damages.
Heard was awarded compensatory damages of $2million (£1.6million) after proving one of her counterclaims to the jury.
Prior to filing the lawsuit, Zellner revealed that Depp had called her personally after he had watched the true crime series.
Speaking to the Law & Crime Network following the verdict, Zellner said: “He called me and left a voicemail at my office.
“I didn’t really believe that it was Johnny Depp at all, but it sounded like him and he left the phone number and just said he wanted to talk to me.”
She added: “It was indicative to me of the fact that he was innocent, because he said, ‘I saw on Making a Murderer, where you said that you’d be the last person someone would hire if they were guilty, because you would find out about it’.
“And I was very struck with that that that’s what motivated him to contact me.”
Zellner also praised the actor’s legal team and said his testimony during the case was “not an act” adding that the film star was a “very humble and sincere person”.
Following the verdict Heard said she felt “heartbroken” by the ruling, adding she was “sadder still” that she had “lost a right” to “speak freely and openly”.
“The disappointment I feel today is beyond words. I’m heartbroken that the mountain of evidence still was not enough to stand up to the disproportionate power, influence, and sway of my ex-husband,” she said in a statement.
“I’m even more disappointed with what this verdict means for other women.
“It is a setback. It sets back the clock to a time when a woman who spoke up and spoke out could be publicly shamed and humiliated.
“It sets back the idea that violence against women is to be taken seriously.
“I believe Johnny’s attorneys succeeded in getting the jury to overlook the key issue of freedom of speech and ignore evidence that was so conclusive that we won in the UK.
“I’m sad I lost this case. But I am sadder still that I seem to have lost a right I thought I had as an American – to speak freely and openly.”
Depp denies ever physically or sexually assaulting Heard.
He did not appear in court on Wednesday as he is currently in the UK and was spotted in a Newcastle pub just moments before the verdict was read out.
However, he said in a statement read by his spokesman that the "jury gave me my life back".
“Six years ago, my life, the life of my children, the lives of those closest to me, and also, the lives of the people who for many, many years have supported and believed in me were forever changed.
“All in the blink of an eye.
“False, very serious and criminal allegations were levied at me via the media, which triggered an endless barrage of hateful content, although no charges were ever brought against me. It had already travelled around the world twice within a nanosecond and it had a seismic impact on my life and my career.
“And six years later, the jury gave me my life back. I am truly humbled.”
Depp went on to say his decision to pursue the case “was only made after considerable thought” and his goal was to “reveal the truth, regardless of the outcome”.
“Speaking the truth was something that I owed to my children and to all those who have remained steadfast in their support of me. I feel at peace knowing I have finally accomplished that,” the actor said.
