Johnny Depp has been spotted in costume as Ebenezer Scrooge in an upcoming adaptation of A Christmas Carol, marking the actor’s first major Hollywood role since his public court battle with ex-wife Amber Heard.
The actor was spotted on-set in London last week wearing makeup and prosthetics to channel Charles Dickens’ iconic protagonist. Andrea Riseborough was also spotted filming the scene; she plays the Ghost of Christmas Past, the first of the spirits that Scrooge encounters.
Alongside Depp and Riseborough, the upcoming A Christmas Carol adaptation also stars Ian McKellen, Rupert Grint, Daisy Ridley, Sam Claflin, and Tramell Tilman. See the first look image below.
People Magazine
‘A Christmas Carol’ Will Be Depp’s First Hollywood Role In Seven Years
Depp has not starred in a lead role in a Hollywood production since 2019’s Waiting for the Barbarians. He stepped back from the spotlight following his hugely public demational lawsuit against Amber Heard, which made news headlines across the world for several months.
Their televised trial ended with Heard being found liable on all three counts of demation against her ex-husband, and the pair agreed on a settlement after her legal team appealed the result.
Following the trial, Depp took a step back from Hollywood and starred in a handful of international productions, including 2023’s Jeanne du Barry and 2024’s Modi: Three Days on the Wing of Madness, which he also directed.
Interestingly, Depp’s upcoming twist on A Christmas Carol isn’t the only adaptation of this Dickensian classic currently in the works. Robert Eggers, director of The Lighthouse and Nosferatu, is reportedly working on a Gothic retelling of the story with Willem Dafoe in the lead role.
