Alice Cooper says he suggested Amber Heard divorce film remake to Johnny Depp

Alice Cooper has claimed that he suggested a potential film project for Johnny Depp to work on with his ex-wife Amber Heard.

Depp, 60, and Heard, 37, were married from 2015 to 2017. In 2022, they were embroiled in a highly publicised legal battle.

The Pirates of the Caribbean actor sued the Aquaman star for defamation following an op-ed written in the Washington Post that, he argued, implied that he abused her.

After a six-week testimonial period, Depp won his defamation case against Heard, with a jury awarding him $15m (£12m) in damages. The jury also awarded Heard $2m (£1.6m) for one part of her own counterclaim, that Depp’s lawyer had allegedly called her abuse accusations against her ex-husband a hoax.

In a new interview, “Poison” singer Cooper shared some insight into his relationship with the actor, with whom he collaborates in the touring rock band Hollywood Vampires.

“Johnny is always Johnny. He’s the guy who is at his happiest when he’s playing guitar or talking about Howlin’ Wolf,” Cooper told The Times in an interview published on Saturday (19 August).

According to Cooper, the pair “never talked” about Depp’s relationship with Heard outside of Cooper once suggesting that the former spouses collaborate on a film together.

“I said, ‘I have a great idea. You and Amber do a remake of The War of the Roses. Who wouldn’t go and see that?’”

The 1989 comedy stars Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner as a warring married couple who launch an epic fight over custody of their luxury home as they divorce.

When asked what Depp’s opinion was on the potential film, Cooper continued: “He laughed. Then it was, ‘What songs are we doing?’ Johnny is a good guitarist and in a way he would have been happiest doing that, playing side of stage in a band and not having to deal with the level of attention he gets.

“He just happens to be a really good actor. He has never seen a single one of his movies.”

The Independent has reached out to representatives of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard for comment.

Earlier this year, Depp appeared in his first film project since his failed 2018 libel lawsuit against The Sun in 2018: Jeanne du Barry, a French-language film about Louis XV’s last mistress.

Depp plays the 19th-century monarch who invites his working-class mistress Jeanne (Maïwenn, who also directs the movie) to Versailles, much to the horror of the French court.

The film received mixed reviews from critics, including a four-star rating from The Independent’s reviewer.