GQ: How’s your time in Australia been?
Amber Heard: I’ve had the most amazing time. I’ve had some
shoddy luck with visiting Australia in the past [laughs] and so, it was
a sign of fate’s dark sense of humour that I should get the longest gig
of my professional career stationed here. It ended up being a blessing
because it gave me an opportunity to really fall in love with the
place and reflect on the run of luck that I’ve been having up to now.
GQ: So now everything’s patched up with Barnaby Joyce, you’ll be
moving to the Gold Coast?
AH: Babe, I live here. This is the movie that never ends and I’m slowly
relinquishing any notion that we’re ever gonna finish.
GQ: You’ve starred in comedies, dramas, rom-coms and now you’re
about to debut as a superhero in Justice League.
AH: Yes, this is territory that I have yet to traverse. So, I’m excited
that I get to explore a new genre and a new fan base. When you’re
shooting different genres in film, the differences between them aren’t
as noticeable as you would think. For instance, it sounds weird but it’s
not so different to filming a horror or a comedy. Where you feel the
difference is in the fan base. Comic book fans are inherently different
than the average moviegoer. They bring a special kind of enthusiasm
and energy with them and I’m lucky and excited to not only enter into
this new space in filming but to see, also, the reaction that the film has
in other people. That’s gonna be the real fun.
GQ: Why are comic book movies so popular right now?
AH: Because they distil the very best of humanity and
the very worst. Our heroes are distillations of the
most concentrated elements of what makes humans
feel badass. Like what makes a man so great.
GQ: At the end of a project, is it nice to have
something tangible to show for it?
AH: Yes, but I’m not one for delayed gratification. I like to
walk away holding that prize. And it’s difficult to have to
wait a year to watch the final outcome of all of this effort.
GQ: You worked with Nicole Kidman in this film
- how was that?
AH: Nicole is one of the most beautiful humans I’ve had the fortune
to meet. She was only here for a short amount of time, but within that
time, I got to know her pretty well. And she’s just the most sensitive,
intelligent, real, grounded, sophisticated beauty that you could hope
for. I mean she is an incredible person.
GQ: And another great human is Jason Momoa, he seems to be an
absolute legend as well.
AH: Oh, yes. I mean try having more fun.
GQ: The other day he came under scrutiny for a comment he made
during his time on Game of Thrones. He came out and took
full responsibility. Why can’t more men be like him in that sense?
AH: Well, I don’t know. All I can hope for is that we continue to push
our collective conscious further and further in terms of justice and
fairness. And, collectively, I believe that appears to be the trend.
I can only hope that we keep publicly scrutinising our standards and
our expectations for how we approach the subject. And, especially,
how we handle or accept the people that come forward to criticise
the status quo. How we handle women that step up and say, ‘This
has happened to me’. How we treat survivors of abuse or women
in general. All we can hope for is that we continue to scrutinise
how we accept women in pop culture.I
“I hope we keep publicly
scrutinising our standards,
especially, how we treat
survivors of abuse.”
t’s two o’clock on a Sunday afternoon on the Gold Coast and Amber Heard is reeling off the many reasons why
she loves Australia. Penfolds Grange tops the list. “I love red wine,” says Heard, “It’s my hobby. I don’t care
what anyone says.”
Rewind two years: Heard had just been unceremoniously booted out of the country by Barnaby Joyce (not
personally, though he does have a history as a bouncer) for illegally smuggling a Pistol and a Boo through immigration. So, it’s
a surprise that she’s in Australia at all, let alone falling in love with the place.
Yesterday she wrapped on Aquaman, which signalled the end of seven months hard work. Cast and crew celebrated together
with many a bottle of Grange and a fair few Guinness too.
Professionally, Justice League and Aquaman make 2017 the busiest of Heard’s career. Since her divorce and legal issues
were finalised with ex-husband Johnny Depp last December, there’s been no shortage of attention on her private life. But through
the adversity, she’s shown the kind of strength that starts revolutions. She’s stood up where others have shied away.
In the month after we shot with the 31-year-old in LA, the unfathomable claims about Harvey Weinstein have materialised.
Given her own issues with Depp, it’s no surprise these headlines are upsetting to Heard. But seeing more and more
women stand up for themselves and speak out about the abuse they’ve suffered, as she did, is empowering to her.
With Heard, you can be assured of a couple of things. One, sparks will always fly around the Texan – to use her words,
“I never shy away from an opportunity to light fireworks”. Two, her wicked sense of humour is always close by. She references
The Rum Diary as “obviously” her favourite movie to work on (it was where she met and fell in love with Depp), and her series
of tweets to Barnaby Joyce, offering him a box of kiwifruit at the height of his dual citizenship fiasco, were nothing short
of comic genius.
Here, a candid conversation with GQ’s 2017 Woman of the Year, Miss Amber Heard.
190 GQ.COM.AU MEN OF THE YEAR 2017