Johnny Depp receives award from Polish Film Festival following exit from Harry Potter franchise

Actor Johnny Depp won an award from the Polish Film Festival just two weeks after officially resigning from the upcoming “Fantastic Beasts” film. His new film, “Minamata,” was screened to close the 28th Polish EnergaCAMERIMAGE Film Festival dedicated to the art of cinematography. Depp accepted the award for Actor with Unique Visual Sensitivity for “Minamata” via a written letter during the ceremony, since the COVID-19 pandemic prevented him from collecting the award in person.

In the film, the 57-year-old actor plays famous war photographer W. Eugene Smith, who documented the effect of mercury poisoning in Japan.

His acceptance showed Depp posed behind jail bars with the award, staying in line with his usual eccentric nature.

EnergaCAMERIMAGE, in a statement announcing the winner, said that Johnny Depp movies have “earned [Depp] a reputation of a true acting chameleon capable of handling basically everything that the screenwriters, directors, costume designers, makeup artists and others threw at him.”

On Nov. 6, Depp announced on Instagram that he had officially resigned from the “Harry Potter” franchise after losing a libel battle against The Sun. Depp sued the newspaper after they published articles accusing him of being a “wife-beater.” Despite the actor denying the accusations against him, The Sun claimed Depp’s ex-wife Amber Heard was physically abused by him. Judge Andrew Nicol ruled in favor of the newspaper, saying “The claimant [Depp] has not succeeded in his action for libel.”

“The defendants [The Sun] have shown that what they published in the meaning which I have held the words to bear was substantially true,” Judge Nicol ruled. “I have reached these conclusions having examined in detail the 14 incidents on which the defendants rely as well as the overarching considerations which the claimant submitted I should take into account. In those circumstances, Parliament has said that a defendant has a complete defence.”

As such, Warner Bros requested the star to step down from his role as Grindelwald in “Fantastic Beasts.”

Talking about the ruling, Depp called it “surreal” and plans to appeal the decision. He took to Instagram to tell his 8.6 million followers about the news.

Depp first landed the gig as a cameo role playing Grindelwald in the 2016 “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” film. Although there were rumors that his role would be recast in 2022, it has been confirmed that Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen will replace Depp for “Fantastic Beasts 3,” which is slated to release on July 15, 2022.

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