Johnny Depp on His Cannes Return and Finding ‘The Basement to the Bottom’

Johnny Depp poses for portrait photographs for the film 'Jeanne du Barry' at the 76th international film festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 17, 2023. Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP

CANNES, France—Just a year ago, the image of Johnny Depp smiling and waving atop the Palais steps at the Cannes Film Festival would have been unthinkable to most—including to Depp, himself.

“When you hit the bottom, you hit the bottom, you hit the bottom, then you find the basement to the bottom,” Depp told The Associated Press the day after “Jeanne du Barry,” in which he stars as King Louis XV, opened Cannes.