Johnny Depp’s comeback continues with ‘Day Drinker,’ but will he ever contend for Oscars again? Here’s what recent history tells us.
Johnny Depp once quipped, "I've had about 17 comebacks, and I don’t understand it because I didn’t go anywhere." Well, Day Drinker now marks comeback No. 18.
The three-time Oscar nominee for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Finding Neverland, and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street just began production in Spain on the Lionsgate thriller Day Drinker. The plot follows a cruise ship bartender (Madelyn Cline) who becomes embroiled in a criminal enterprise with the titular alcoholic passenger (Depp) and a well-known criminal (Penélope Cruz). The first look photo featuring Depp (above) was released today.
Day Drinker marks Depp's first Hollywood film role since the conclusion of his highly publicized defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard in 2022. Before that, the controversial actor was arrested for assault in Vancouver (1989), for hotel damages in New York City (1994), and for fighting with paparazzi in London (1999).
Depp has been keeping busy since the conclusion of the defamation trial, both in front of and behind the camera. He filmed the French movie Jeanne du Barry, in which he played Louis XV, the King of France. It was released at the Cannes Film Festival and in overseas theaters in May 2023, receiving mixed reviews. Depp then directed the Italian biopic Modì: Three Days on the Wing of Madness, about the artist Amedeo Modigliani, which debuted at the San Sebastián Film Festival in September 2024. Now comes Day Drinker.
"I don’t feel boycotted by Hollywood, because I don’t think about Hollywood," Depp said in 2023 at a Cannes press conference. "I don’t have much use for Hollywood, do you?" He later addressed the "comeback" question by saying, "Maybe people stopped calling me out of whatever their fear was at the time — but I didn’t go nowhere. ... ‘Comeback’ is almost like I’m going to come out and do a tap dance — dance my best and hope you approve."
Hollywood loves a well-publicized resurgence, and it will take months before we have any idea whether Day Drinker brings Depp some industry adoration or awards nominations (and not just from the Razzies). But for every success story like Robert Downey Jr., a recent Oscar winner for Oppenheimer whose career was almost derailed due to substance-abuse issues, there are others who are never fully redeemed in the public eye.
In 2006, Mel Gibson (a two-time Oscar winner for directing and producing Braveheart) was arrested for driving under the influence. According to the arrest report, he verbally attacked Jewish people by saying, "The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world" and mocking the arresting deputies. Gibson's career became an overnight punching bag, and years later at the Golden Globes, host Ricky Gervais made fun of the actor by proclaiming, "I like a drink as much as the next man, unless the next man is Mel Gibson."
But by 2016, all seemed to be forgiven. His war film Hacksaw Ridge received six Oscar nominations including Best Director for Gibson; it won Best Film Editing and Best Sound Mixing. He's still working today, with his upcoming starring vehicle Blood of Man in post-production, and he's set to direct the anticipated sequel to The Passion of the Christ (2004), titled The Resurrection of the Christ, due out in 2026.
In 1977, filmmaker Roman Polanski (Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown) was arrested for drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl. He pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful sex with a minor, where the expected sentence was probation. Believing the judge would reject his plea bargain, he fled to Europe, where he continued his career. He faced a separate civil suit for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor in 1973; that case was finally settled out of court last year.
Polanski's crimes never stopped him from receiving love from Hollywood. In fact, he scored three Oscar nominations while a fugitive from the U.S.: Best Director for Tess (1979), Best Picture for The Pianist (2002), and Best Director for The Pianist, which he won. The controversial auteur received a standing ovation at the 2003 Academy Awards, despite him not being in the country to accept his trophy. (Note that the Academy's social team has turned off comments for the video of his victory, suggesting people at home have a much different view than those wildly applauding in the theater.) His most recent movie, The Palace, was released in September 2023.
In 2017, at the height of his Netflix political series House of Cards, Kevin Spacey was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple men. He denied all charges, and some cases were eventually dropped. The actor was found not liable in a 2022 case, and was acquitted by a jury in 2023 of a different charge. Despite his denials, the two-time Oscar winner for The Usual Suspects and American Beauty was essentially "canceled." But then in 2021, he was cast in his first project since the allegations, the Italian movie The Man Who Drew God. More jobs soon followed, including the indie films Peter Five Eight, Control and Once Upon a Time in Croatia. A major motion picture studio has yet to hire Spacey.
And then there's Woody Allen, the four-time Oscar winner for Annie Hall (writing and directing), Hannah and Her Sisters (writing), and Midnight in Paris (writing). In 1991, he began a relationship with his ex-girlfriend Mia Farrow's adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn, and they married in 1997. Farrow also publicly accused Allen in 1992 of sexually abusing their adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow. Despite Allen's repeated denials, many turned their back on him. His Hollywood comeback arrived in 2011 with the ensemble comedy Midnight in Paris, which received four Oscar nominations and won for Best Original Screenplay for Allen. He didn't attend the Academy Awards ceremony that year, and the reaction from inside the theater was muted applause.
Day Drinker is directed by Marc Webb (Snow White), written by Zach Dean (The Gorge), and produced by Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee (John Wick). "I’m excited to be starting production with Johnny, Madelyn, Penélope, and this incredible cast," said Webb. "We’re in a beautiful location with a fantastic crew and a thrilling, ferocious story to tell. This is gonna be fun." Lionsgate has not yet announced a release date.
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