Paul Bettany says he had not spoken to Johnny Depp for years when their private messages became evidence in court. The revelation puts an unexpected spin on a connection that was assumed to have followed Bettany and Depp beyond their films together, dragging a private exchange into public view. The actors had shared three films, from The Tourist to Mortdecai, making their messages seem like a glimpse into a friendship.

Now, the VisionQuest actor says that the picture missed a rather significant detail. The texts were real, but the relationship surrounding them was apparently not what the headlines suggested.

In a new interview with The Times, Paul Bettany recalled being portrayed as Johnny Depp’s close friend despite years without contact. The messages dated back to 2013 and surfaced in February 2020, during Depp’s libel case against The Sun. Their contents were ugly, and Bettany found himself caught in a controversy he had not publicly addressed.

“I hadn’t spoken to Johnny in years when that happened and I haven’t spoken to him since,” he said.

“I was being painted as this close friend of a guy I hadn’t spoken to in years and, honestly, amid all the s*** two celebrities threw at each other, that bit was the most odd.”

He told The Times he chose silence, believing people knew him and the episode would eventually fade. Bettany has previously described the prospect of lawyers examining a decade of his private messages as unpleasant. The texts made him part of a much bigger story, whether he wanted the role or not.

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But before the courtroom spotlight, Depp, with his eclectically marked dossier, and Bettany, who would go on to land a Marvel role in a rather unconventional manner, had already built a curious little filmography together.

Paul Bettany and Johnny Depp first collaborated in 2010's The Tourist, a Venice-set thriller starring Depp as an American tourist drawn into a dangerous game involving a mysterious woman. Bettany played Inspector John Acheson, investigating the intrigue. The proved to be a commercial hit grossing nearly $279 million worldwide.

Fast forward to 2014, they reunited for Transcendence, where in Depp played a scientist whose consciousness enters an artificial-intelligence system. Bettany was Max Waters, his friend and fellow researcher. Despite its high-concept premise and starry cast, the film earned around $103 million worldwide against a budget that reportedly reached $150 million.

Then came Mortdecai (2015), a caper comedy with Depp as an eccentric art dealer and Bettany as his loyal manservant, Jock Strapp. It flopped commercially. In hindsight, these three collaborations made their connection look enduring. Bettany’s account, on the other hand, suggests the private friendship, if any, had ended long before the public drama began.

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Did you think Paul Bettany and Johnny Depp were friends? Let us know in the comments.