Sir Ian McKellen has showered co-star Johnny Depp with admiration, stating that he “fell in love” with the actor while shooting their new film together.
Depp will play Ebenezer Scrooge in a retelling of Charles Dickens classic A Christmas Carol, which is the Pirates of the Caribbean star’s most notable role since his highly publicised trial with ex-wife Amber Heard.
The actor appears in the film alongside McKellen, Andrea Riseborough, Rupert Grint and Severance actor Tramell Tillman, and according to McKellen, 86, Depp is “in spankingly good form”.
McKellen, who will soon return as Gandalf in a new Lord of the Rings film, told Variety: “He’s effervescent, funny, irreverent, serious — all at the same time. It was a bit of a love fest, really. I fell in love with him. He’s very obliging to his fellow actors. [There was] a wonderful feeling on the set.”
In 2020, Depp, 62, lost a libel action against The Sun over claims that he had assaulted Heard, and then two years later, broadly won a defamation action against Heard in relation to claims that he had physically and sexually assaulted her. During this time, he was dropped as the character Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts franchise. He has since starred in international films Jeanne du Barry and Minamata.
Later this year, he’ll also appear alongside Penélope Cruz in mystery film Day Drinker before Ti West’s Ebenezer is released around Christmas.
Last year, the actor told The Sunday Times that some of his Hollywood peers “did me dirty” during the trials, with the journalist noting that the star’s “ire for them is bubbling, passionate”.
“As weird as I am, certain things can be trusted,” said the Pirates of the Caribbean star. “And my loyalty is the last thing anybody could question. I was with one agent for 30 years, but she spoke in court about how difficult I was.
“That’s death by confetti, these fake motherf***ers who lie to you, celebrate you, say all sorts of horror behind your back, yet keep the money – that confetti machine going – because what do they want? Dough.”
The Edward Scissorhands star did not name anyone specifically. The court case became a point of contention in Hollywood, with several celebrities taking sides. You can find a list of stars who supported Depp here, and those who supported Heard here.
Depp previously referred to himself as the “crash test dummy for MeToo”, in reference to the social movement that gained traction in 2017 with the aim of raising awareness about sexual harassment and assault, particularly in the workplace.
“And, look, I understand people who could not stand up [for me], because the most frightening thing to them was making the right choice,” he said. “I was pre-MeToo. I was like a crash test dummy for MeToo. It was before Harvey Weinstein,” he said.
Heard’s accusations came a year before Weinstein was arrested and charged with rape in 2018. The disgraced producer was found guilty of two of five felony counts in 2020 and sentenced to 23 years in prison.
McKellen will next be seen in Steven Soderbergh film The Christophers, and this August, will travel to New Zealand to reprise the role of Gandalf in Lord of the Rings film The Hunt for Gollum.
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