Details emerge of Johnny Depp’s Fantastic Beasts pay and on set behavior

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Love him or hate him, Johnny Depp is a major figure in Hollywood. Because of his celebrity, details of his work and home life become fodder for the media. We here at JoBlo.com report on the news and while we are not taking sides for Team Depp or Team Heard, a new exposé about the actor's on-set behavior and recent Fantastic Beasts 3 salary are intriguing insights into Johnny Depp the actor.

Despite filming only one scene for the third Fantastic Beasts film, Depp's contract ensured he would get his full $16 million participation payment. This detail was previously brought to light in a THR article which also indicates that former WB head Kevin Tsujihara and J.K. Rowling herself approved the contract decision despite rumbling legal issues surrounding the actor. While these types of contracts are not uncommon, it shows just how much Warner Bros did not want to risk the already tenuous success of the Harry Potter spin-offs by keeping Depp in the cast.

It also appears that Disney was at one point hoping to have Depp reprise his Jack Sparrow role in the upcoming Margot Robbie-led Pirates of the Caribbean film but circumstances have eliminated that possibility. Whether or not Disney's final decision was swayed by the UK lawsuit that doomed his Fantastic Beasts role, on-set issues pertaining to the last Pirates of the Caribbean film definitely were a factor. Case in point, the THR exposé sheds light on an incident that shut down production for two weeks at a cost of $350,000 per day that was attributed at the time to Depp needing surgery after slamming his finger in a car door. However, the new version of the story claims the true reason was due to Depp taking 8 pills of Ecstasy and going on a bender at the expense of Amber Heard. The drug-induced incident is said to have been the real reason and catalyst for why Depp sliced off the tip of his finger.

Personally, I take no glee in Depp very obviously being in the throes of a downward spiral. Throughout his career, he's delivered some of my all-time favorite performances, including his turn as Hunter S. Thompson for Terry Gillam's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. My hope is that Depp will get the help he needs to get back on an even track before all is lost and he disappears from the spotlight entirely.