It is relatively impossible for Amber Heard to recover from her reputation in recent years. After her very public trial with Johnny Depp and having her entire life laid bare for the world to see, the audiences made their judgment, and she was completely sidelined by the industry as a whole.
While the world no longer expects her to star in worthwhile projects, there was a time when she was an up-and-coming actress, trying to make a name for herself. Although her filmography isn’t specifically impressive, she did work with her Oscar-nominated ex-husband, who is known for being a part of masterpieces.
The tale of how Heard got her part in 2011’s The Rum Diary is quite fascinating, especially because she ended up beating Scarlett Johansson to get the role.
Amber Heard thinks she can act better than Scarlett Johansson
Before her trial and public defaming, Amber Heard had been working in the film industry for decades. She had been trying to climb through the ranks; however, she did not have much to show for it. Over the years, the actress could frequently be found in mediocre, C-level films that did not get recognition because of the master acting in them.
Considering this, many might wonder how she was able to star alongside Johnny Depp on a project directed by Bruce Robinson himself. Many fans of the Hunter S. Thompson classic, The Rum Diary, did not believe that Heard was rightfully suited for the role of Chenault.
However, she seemed to be confident that it was otherwise. In an interview with the Daily Mail, the actress revealed that she was running against Scarlett Johansson for the character. She stated that she had a close connection with the book, character, and Thompson as a writer. This made her rightfully suited to play the character, even if it meant beating the Marvel actress for it.
In regards to Scarlett Johansson, I think she is a good actress and I respect her, and her choices and her work quite a bit.
She also implied that she was more deserving of the role and stated that Chenault needed an actress to play her and not someone who was famous. Hinting at herself being a better actress than the Oscar-nominated actress, it is quite ironic that fans think that her acting in the movie was subpar.
Fans wanted Scarlett Johansson as Chenault
Although more than a decade has passed since the release of The Rum Diary, fans are still stuck in time, imagining a better version of the project where the lead lady wasn’t Amber Heard. Ironically enough, Keira Knightley was also in the running for the role.
Considering how much talent was just within arm’s reach of the film, they still ended up going for the lesser-known and talented actress; fans were rightfully upset. The way that Heard got the role is also quite interesting. Revealing in the same interview, it would seem that the actress wrote letters to the director.
I auditioned and read many times, wrote letters to the producers and the director, I really had to work for this part. As an avid reader and fan of Hunter S. Thompson, I did have something to offer to the role of Chenault that came from the literature. I felt a connection to the role.
Trying to inform him about how passionate she was about the project and everything surrounding it, she was potentially cast into the film because of her knowledge of the topic. At the same time, there is no denying that Johansson could have achieved much better results with her talent.
The Rum Diary is available for streaming on Prime Video.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
