Johnny Depp says he felt 'strangely, bizarrely, perversely lucky' to be offered role of King Louis XV in 'Jeanne du Barry'

Johnny Depp said he felt “strangely, bizarrely, perversely lucky” to be offered the role of French King Louis XV at the British premiere of his new film “Jeanne du Barry”.

Depp was joined by the film’s co-star and director Maïwenn on stage at the Curzon Theater in Mayfair, where the duo briefly presented the film.

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“I feel very lucky to have gotten (this role) – a strange, bizarre, perverse chance,” he said on stage in London during a rare public appearance. “Because when Maïwenn and I first met and talked about the idea of me making the film and playing Louis XV, the king of France, you see, that’s when what instantly happens in your brain is you instantly go back to Kentucky, where, like, everything is fried Then you realize you’re coming from the navel out of nowhere and suddenly you find yourself playing the king of France. .”

“It didn’t make any sense to me, I tried to talk him out of it,” he continued. “But she didn’t hear it and she had a lot of courage to take me into her casting. Whatever we did, whatever we went through, I think and I hope you will find that it was worth the agony of this kid trying to make a movie for so long.

Maïwenn also gave a brief speech in which she explained that she had wanted to direct “Jeanne du Barry” since 2016, explaining that she had been “obsessed with Jeanne for many years because she was a feminist before anyone else.”

The film, one of Depp’s first since his long legal battle with ex-wife Amber Heard, opened last year’s Cannes Film Festival, where it earned the actor-director a seven-minute standing ovation.

The crowd in London on Monday night, which included Depp’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” co-star Mackenzie Crook, was also enthralled, applauding as the actor took the stage.

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