Johnny Depp was offered a directorial role after his court battle against Amber Heard

Johnny Depp felt “surprised” when he was asked to direct the upcoming biopic Modì amid his and Amber Heard’s case, per the producers.

Depp’s directorial work Modì is based on the life of Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani, and stars Riccardo Scamarcio in the titular role.

The Tourist star was first asked to direct the film by Al Pacino in 1997, when the duo worked together on Donnie Brasco.

However, the film’s producer Stephen Deuters told Variety that Depp was humbled when asked to direct the project in the wake of his very public defamation case against ex-wife Amber Heard.

“Johnny was quite surprised, humbled and a bit blown away that Al [Pacino] was asking him to direct this,” Deuters said.

“He wasn’t expecting anyone to ask him to direct a film at that particular moment. We had a lot going on at the time, this was even before COVID, and we just thought it would be a really positive thing for us to do, a slightly unexpected change of direction and something that he could really throw himself into.”

Fellow director Barry Navidi explained what made Depp the perfect choice for the movie: “I think John is a very sensitive artist. He’s a painter, a musician, an actor, and an active director, which I got to witness up and close. I was quite impressed and just loved the way he worked all the time on set.”

“We were, of course, thinking of several other directors before Johnny, as the project has been around for so long, but Al recognized that he was the right director because he has the sensibility and sensitivity of an artist. In the end, Johnny totally owned it,” he added.

Modì marks Johnny Depp’s second time directing a movie. The film also stars Stephen Graham and will bow in theaters on December 5.