Johnny Depp reacted ‘strangely’ to King Louis XV role offer

Johnny Depp felt “lucky,” but in several different ways for being offered the role of the French King Louis XV in Jeanne du Barry.

Co-star and director Maïwenn joined Depp on stage at the Curzon theatre in Mayfair, where they gave a quick synopsis of the movie during the premiere.

“I feel very lucky to have been [offered the role] – strangely, oddly, perversely lucky,” he said on stage in London during a rare public appearance.

“Because when Maïwenn and I first actually met and talked about the notion of me doing the film and playing Louis XV, the King of France — see that’s when instantly what happens in your brain is you instantly go back to Kentucky, where, like, everything is fried. So you realise that you’ve come from the bellybutton of nowhere and suddenly you end up playing the King of France.”

“It made no sense to me, I tried to talk her out of it,” he continued.

“But she wasn’t hearing it and she had great courage to take me into her cast. Whatever we did, whatever we experienced I think and I hope you’ll find it was well worth the agony of this kid trying to make a film for that length of time.”