Amber juggles Depp, Redmayne
AMBER Heard ate an entire cake for a movie scene. Photo by Ruben V. Nepales
LOS ANGELES—“There was nothing better,” Amber Heard said of being with her husband, Johnny Depp, on the set of their film, Mathew Cullen’s “London Fields.” She looked stunning in a white ensemble, her long blonde hair cascading down her shoulders. The actress had earrings and several necklaces on but her best accessory? “Obviously, my wedding band,” she said with a laugh in this chat at The London Hotel in West Hollywood.
In “London Fields,” a mystery-thriller based on Martin Amis’ novel, Amber plays a clairvoyant who’s involved with three men, including one who wants to kill her. Theo James, Billy Bob Thornton and Jim Sturgess also star.
Amber added, “Johnny is an important element who comes in and greatly shifts the tide. But he’s not one of the three men that I work opposite with. It’s a very interesting story. What I like about my character is that she is the movie’s driving force. She drives the plot.”
She stressed: “She is truly her own character. She pokes her finger at the archetypes that women are often faced with.
“It is a complex movie. It was difficult to prepare for and make. A real labor of love. I’m looking forward to seeing how it comes out.”
Amber also talked about the controversy she and Johnny figured in last May when they almost lost their pet Yorkshire Terriers, Pistol and Boo, in Australia. Australian officials accused the couple of skirting that country’s strict quarantine laws and threatened to euthanize the dogs. Johnny had Pistol and Boo returned to the US at a reported cost of $300,000.
“We made the mistake of not having the proper documents,” Amber claimed. “We bring our dogs everywhere and never had problems before.”
The actress, who married Johnny in private rites in their LA home last February, was otherwise coy about her husband. They first met while filming “The Rum Diary” and began dating in 2012. Asked when she feels sexiest, Amber answered, “When I am with the person I love.” And what is her sexiest moment with Johnny? “One that I can’t talk about in this room,” she quipped with a smile.
Openly bisexual
ACTRESS turns coy when talk turns to her husband Johnny Depp. AP photo
Amber, who came out as a bisexual in 2010 when she was in a relationship with photographer Tasya van Ree, told AfterEllen.com: “I don’t label myself one way or another—I have had successful relationships with men and now a woman. I love who I love.”
In an event commemorating the 25th anniversary of GLAAD (formerly the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), Amber explained why she came out: “When I became aware of my role in media, I had to ask myself … ‘Am I part of the problem?’ And I think that when millions and millions of hard-working, tax-paying Americans are denied their rights … you have to ask yourself, what are the factors that are an epidemic problem? And that’s what this is.”
On being an independent woman in a relationship, the 29-year-old said, “I have always been a curious person, with an open mind and curious heart. That has kept me constantly traveling and learning, hopefully. I am an independent spirit. I am drawn to people who see that in me. It’s done nothing but help in any relationship I have been in.”
“It’s a very beautiful place but you would have to ask Johnny,” Amber replied when asked about the news that Johnny is selling his private village in the South of France (where he lived with his then-partner, French singer-actress Vanessa Paradis) for a small change—$26 million.
Amber stars in another interesting film, Tom Hooper’s “The Danish Girl.” “I am so honored to be part of that project,” she said. “Eddie Redmayne plays Einar Wegener, the first person to undergo a sex reassignment operation. It was in the 1920s so you can imagine the social and cultural implications.”
“I was drawn to what a complex story that was and what a fascinating life this character (Einar) lived,” Amber explained. “That it is being told by Eddie is incredibly interesting. I play a ballet dancer named Oola Paulson, a friend of Eddie’s character.”
Red velvet
As Zoe, the love interest of Channing Tatum’s Mike character in “Magic Mike XXL,” Amber eats an entire red velvet cake in one scene.
Did she spit out the cake between takes? “Red velvet cake is my favorite so I sacrificed my waistline in an effort to make the scene authentic and genuine,” she said. “I suffered.”
Amber volunteered another favorite treat, which we can imagine her sharing with her husband. “My favorite of all is a very strong dark chocolate and a good old French Bordeaux. And a book with some quiet home time for me is the biggest luxury.”
On Channing and his gang of strippers, Amber said, “The thing about Channing and the folks who made this movie is that they are friends in real life. They have this energy about them that’s palpable.
“They are warm and friendly. Channing is cool and easygoing and so are the rest of the guys. I felt very much incorporated into the group.”
Amber chuckled when she recounted the deafening screams she heard during the boys’ dance routines. “They filled this entire auditorium with real, live, screaming women. There must have been an audition process for the extras to see who could scream the loudest. I have sustained some long-term [ear] damage.”
She has never set foot in a male strip club, though.
“I have never been to a traditional bachelorette party nor have I ever had one,” she said. “But do I like to send male strippers to my representatives for their birth anniversaries at their offices. I’ve also done that to my friends, to the most conservative ones.”
“I don’t know who goes to strip clubs in real life,” she continued. “It’s a joke, to be honest. In the movie, the women in the audience are laughing, too. On the set, women scream and laugh at the same time. They are having a good time and no one is taking it seriously.”
Immigration reform
On a more serious note, Amber shared one of her goals.
“I would love to have a foundation one day to help in immigration reform. It’s desperately needed in this country. I grew up about five hours from the (US-Mexico) border. My dad owns a construction company.
“We have a lot of close family friends in Mexico. He employed a lot of people born in Mexico. We housed a lot of immigrants. I grew up around Mexican people.
“I have an affinity to their increasingly dire situation. One day, I hope to be able to use—what little power that I have—in a more productive way.”
Johnny must love her even more for her vocal support of social issues. “You would have to ask him.” Breaking into a laugh, she said, “I don’t know if anyone loves my big mouth after a certain point.”
(Email the columnist at [email protected]. Follow him at twitter.com/nepalesruben.)
