Johnny Depp, the actor best known for the Pirates of the Caribbean films, will be felicitated with the Donostia Award, the highest honorary award in recognition of his work, at the San Sebastian Film Festival, the curators of the event announced on Monday.
The 69th edition of the festival will be held from September 17 to September 25.
Depp, who has films like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Finding Neverland to his credit, is a three-time Oscar nominee and has won several awards, including a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and multiple People’s Choice Awards.
It is notable that the actor has been embroiled in a prolonged legal battle with his estranged wife, actor Amber Heard, who has levelled domestic abuse allegations against him.
Heard first spoke about the abuse in 2016 when she filed for divorce and a legal tug-of-war followed between the two.
In April 2018, The Sun, a UK tabloid, called Depp a “wife-beater” in an article and Depp filed a libel claim against the publication, which was rejected by the British High Court’s Justice Andrew Nicol in 2020. Justice Nicol also found that 12 of the 14 alleged domestic violence incidents did occur. The judge had ruled that Depp had assaulted Heard on these occasions and put her in “fear for her life” three times.
In a bid to overturn the order, Depp asked the court of appeal to allow him to challenge the ruling, but he was denied permission to do so.
Depp also sued Heard for defamation in 2019 after she discussed being a victim of domestic violence in a 2018 op-ed piece for The Washington Post.
Following Justice Nicol’s ruling, in November 2020, Depp released a statement announcing his exit from the Fantastic Beasts film franchise.
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He wrote, “I wish to let you know that I have been asked to resign by Warner Bros from my role as Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts and I have respected and agreed to that request.”
Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen, who is known for his role in the film Another Round, reportedly replaced Depp in the third film in the Harry Potter spin-off franchise, and will be seen playing the antagonist, wizard Gellert Grindelwald.
Depp was also dropped from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise by Disney in the wake of the domestic abuse allegations from Heard.