The defamation trial that left Johnny Depp reputationally bankrupt has caused his close friends and former co-stars much grief, especially those who had been on the receiving end of his kindness over the years. Most industry insiders have known the actor to be genial and compassionate toward everyone that he came across, and Depp’s unusually snarky humor made him appear disarmingly charming to his acquaintances.

It was this laid-back aura of his that made Johnny Depp’s co-workers, former partners, and friends speak up in his defense when the rest of Hollywood exiled him at the drop of a hat after the damaging op-ed of 2018. Among these friends are included one of Hollywood’s most famously private couples, Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem.

Penélope Cruz Shares Her Thoughts on Johnny Depp

The actor, , and her husband , both had the chance of working with during their extensive and well-accomplished Hollywood careers. While the former met Depp when she was only 19, Cruz recalls the day with much clarity and has only good things to say. Later, the two would find themselves working together on a handful of films — , , and

Speaking of her time with Depp on the sets of , Cruz (who at the time was 6 months pregnant with her son Leo Encinas Cruz) claimed:

“During six months of my first pregnancy, I spent every single day with him while we shot Pirates of the Caribbean. My husband [Javier Bardem] and I will never forget the sweetness, protection, and kindness he treated me with during every single step of that process. We love him very much, and I feel lucky to have someone so special in our lives.”

Bardem, too, had quite a few words to say about Johnny Depp in the declaration that he issued backing his friend and co-star with whom he worked in (2000).

Javier Bardem Joins Wife in Supporting Johnny Depp

When the news of op-ed took the industry by shock and the downward spiral of the Hollywood A-lister began its advent, Cruz and Bardem took their time to process the event. Two years later, with the matter escalating out of control and Depp filing a defamation lawsuit against , the husband-wife duo put out a declaration in support of the actor with whom they have both had the pleasure of working in critically acclaimed films. Bardem claimed:

“He has always been a true gentleman and an extremely generous and caring friend to my family and myself… I stand by Johnny because I have always seen and felt a true caring and loving man in him — an extraordinary and unique artist who has listened to anyone who needed his help. I not only love Johnny but respect him deeply and I thank him for being the free and careless little boy he is in his art and the mature and loving man he is in the lives of others — always there when we need him.I love Johnny because he is a good human being, trapped in the lies and manipulations of toxic beings and yet smiling and loving us all in spite of it. How? Through his music, through his acting, through his silence. This means a lot. Thank you, Johnny. Millions of others like me love you deeply.”

Several people within Hollywood, including Kate Moss, Winona Ryder, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Vanessa Paradis spoke out in his support — some in testimonies, others outside the courtroom walls, but every word spoken has been about the agreeable personality of the actor. On June 1, 2022, Johnny Depp won the defamation trial against Amber Heard after the jury ruled in favor of the plaintiff.