nov 17, 2018 - INSTYLE Russia Amber Heard How She Went To Hell and Came Back Stronger INTERVIEW

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KNOW THE LIMITS
Performing the role of Mera, the queen of the underwater world in the new sci-fi action film “Aquaman” (premier on December 13), Hollywood star Amber Heard in everyday life fights injustice no less fearlessly than in a superhero costume: she travels around the world with a UN humanitarian mission and actively advocates for rights of refugees and migrants. The 32-year-old actress spoke about this, as well as about life on airplanes, treasure hunting, her passion for Russian history and how she went to hell and came back stronger from there, in a candid interview with InStyle.

As I arrived to meet Amber Heard half an hour earlier - in order to take a strategically convenient place in a cafe in New York
West Village, embroider your third cup of espresso this morning and collect your thoughts. In the end, we were promised only half an hour for an interview with the main character of the issue. True, my brilliant plan had to be urgently changed on the spot: Heard was already waiting for me at the table with The New York Times in her hands.

Putting the newspaper aside, Amber began the conversation as if we were old friends, and not people who were seeing each other for the second time in their lives. We met a couple of weeks ago at an interview dedicated to the release of Aquaman, and now we started where we left off then: we started talking about age (“it seems to me that I became an adult at 7 years old - my perception of age never corresponded to reality”). and discussed life on airplanes (“my home is the airport”). And all this before they had time to place an order: the actress prefers black coffee with ice, which a Russian person has a hard time accustoming himself to even after five years of living in America.

— Home has become synonymous with vacation for me. I calculated that over the past month I have spent more nights in the air than in a normal bed. Even my phone is worth it should I start a message with “I”, offers a hint:
“I’m taking off soon, I’ll call you back when I land.”
- How do you relax then? Are you sitting at home watching TV?
- No, what are you talking about? I don’t think I’ve ever sat on the couch for more than twenty minutes in my life. I have a chronic allergy to boredom. Well, home for me now is where my friends are. They are always waiting for my return: they fill the refrigerators with cold coffee concentrates - they know that I am right.
— By the way, about the refrigerator. I saw your culinary masterpieces on Instagram. When do you manage to cook?
“Are you talking about Texas chicken fried steak?” For me, cooking is meditation. I can work 16 hours, then come home and cook for another two and a half hours. Therefore, even when I leave for filming, I do not live in hotels, but rent houses that have kitchens.
— What do you usually take with you to feel at home?
— I would like to take my best friend with me, she is a yoga teacher and will probably be able to fit in a suitcase (laughs). But seriously, I have the most unsuitable habit for a “gypsy” lifestyle: carrying hardcover books with me. When you travel a lot, you want to hold something real in your hands: books, letters. In general, I adore various “treasures” and collect antique publications. True, the guests at my house have a hard time: every now and then they trip over the stacks of books placed everywhere - sometimes from floor to ceiling.
— Have you read any of the Russian authors?
— I had a period in my life when I was interested in Russian literature, but your story seemed much more interesting to me. There is an amazing book about the Romanovs by Simon Sebag-Montefiore, he also wrote an amazing biography of Catherine the Great. There is something special about Russians, some kind of driving force. By the way, many years ago my sister and I went to Moscow. We didn't know anyone in town, but somehow we ended up at a family dinner. I still remember the smell of home-cooked food. I even shed a little tears that day - I felt so good and warm.
— How do you like Russian food?
— I liked baking. For example, nut-shaped cakes with caramel - I don’t remember what they are called.
Before our conversation moves from chatting about nothing and everything to talking about the most important thing, it’s probably worth saying a few words about Amber Heard’s career. She grew up in a Catholic family in Texas and, despite the fact that her parents doted on her, she left home at 17 to become an actress. A year later, she played in her first full-length film, “In a Glow of Glory,” and away we go: the public remembered her in “Alpha Dog” and “Pineapple Express,” and finally fell in love with her after “Welcome to Ombiland,” and her role in the four-time Oscar-nominated “The Danish Girl” broke the ice in the hearts of film critics two years ago. In the near future, the actress will appear on screens in two completely different roles: in the musical drama “Her Smell” she plays the tambourine in a rock pear, and in “Aquaman” she will save the world in the role of Mera, the red-haired queen of the underwater world in the DC cinematic universe. Such a role is the dream of all actors, especially now, when Hollywood stars are born in superhero fantasy.
— How were you offered the role of Mera?
“I was told that she is a queen and a warrior.” It turns out that I will have both a crown and a sword? Consider me in!
— I love comics, but many complain that nowadays there is almost nothing to watch - there are only superheroes in the movies...
“That’s how the entertainment industry works.” After all, movies about superheroes are pure escalism. Who knows, maybe when the terrible news disappears from the front pages of newspapers, people will stop running away from reality into the world of comic book heroes?
Heard herself is definitely not running away from reality: she actively advocates for the rights of refugees and LGBTQ people, traveled with a UN humanitarian mission to the Middle East, helps children's hospitals and organizations that fight domestic abuse.
— Do you have any fears that after the social storm caused by the Time's Up and MeToo movements, everything will ultimately remain just talk?
- Of course have. Misogyny has permeated our society and is ingrained in our culture. But we cannot stop talking about injustice towards women - for too long everyone has turned a blind eye to this problem. Women should not be afraid to defend themselves, women should not apologize for wanting to get out of a situation that threatens their lives. They should not feel ashamed for wanting to stand up for themselves.
Many of those who shared their story with the hashtag
#Me Too over the past year and a half, they have acted on the same front with journalists from reputable publications. But almost three years ago, when Amber reported domestic violence from her husband Johnny Depp, she was completely alone - the reaction of the public and the press could hardly be called adequate. In principle, the press is breathing unevenly about Heard: every step is monitored more scrupulously than the actions of many Oscar-winning actresses. Every exit into the street is captured by the paparazzi (a Boko style icon, what can you do), and any romance or even a hint of it (for example, with Vito Schnabel or Elon Musk) is examined under a microscope. What can we say about her relationship with Johnny Depp, which is still being discussed today, two and a half years after their divorce.
It seems that the couple agreed to a settlement according to the well-known Hollywood scenario: they divorced, and the compensation went to charity. But in reality, conversations about physical and psychological violence in these relationships are not over.
continue to this day: Depi recently stated in an interview that he could not have hurt anyone. One way or another, even today, talking about what she had to go through,
Amber does not mention the name of her ex-husband.
- Do you regret anything?
“I only regret what I didn’t do.” Yes, I've been to hell and come back stronger. But at that moment I could not defend myself. Back then, no one in the community talked about it, and everyone who went through something like this was left alone with their questions and fears: “How will this all turn out for me, my family and my career?” And do you know what the biggest horror is? You not only gather the strength to talk about what happened, but also prepare yourself in advance for the reaction of society, which often blames the victim herself and questions her words. When this happens, it feels like you are being forced to relive what happened all over again and in a state of constraint.
— Aren’t you surprised that often this “shaming” comes from women themselves? What is this? Feeling of competition?
- I understand what you’re talking about, but I wouldn’t generalize like that. Ninety percent of my friends are women.
I find it easy to get along with them and have a strong sense of “sisterhood.”
Amber also has a rare gift: she is real. She manages to be, and not seem, - for example, to listen in such a way that the interlocutor is left with no doubt: you have known this person for a long time.
Whatever the topic is - cinema, life or her activism, she speaks with great passion and with a signature hoarseness in her voice:
— Before taking an important step, I always ask myself, will I be comfortable telling my future daughter about this? Or my mom?
- Do you want a daughter too?
- (Laughs.) Exactly, you understand me. Although the gender of my child is not important to me, the main thing is that he is a good person. After talking with Amber Heard, I want to immediately become her friend, or at least call and ask for advice before an interview or in a difficult life situation - and this rarely happens in my profession.
The last time this happened was five years ago during a conversation with Drew Barrymore. Amber Heard doesn’t make routine compliments from the “you have such beautiful shoes” and doesn’t try to get better, but she listens carefully and notices the details: having paid attention to my Smythson notebook, she immediately admits that she herself loves these and keeps a diary in them.
— I like that in these notebooks you can write with a fountain pen and not be afraid that everything will smudge. And the paper is good - thin, but not see-through. I do calligraphy, I love words, and I love them so much that I started applying them to my own body.
— I have scars on my elbows, maybe you can advise me what to write on them?
“I remember thinking the same thing myself and joking that I had a witch’s paw.” During photo shoots, I am sometimes delicately asked if I would like to hide this “defect” on my hand.
But it's part of me, it's a mistake I made and I don't regret it. So I think tattoos can be anywhere, as long as they don't cover up scars.
— Do scars appear after filming action films where the villain literally has to kick ass?
- Sometimes. But some scars remain under the skin.
I open my mouth to ask what kind of scars she means, but at that moment Amber’s phone rings and she asks permission to answer the phone: “This is my sister. Sorry, she's pregnant and I can't miss the call." While the actress is talking on the phone, I get a chance to take a good look at her outfit.
Today she is head to toe in black, the favorite color of New Yorkers. A knitted top, a vintage skirt with transparent inserts and mules, so the only thing that gives away the boko queen is her jewelry: massive necklaces on
neck and earrings - at least five in one ear and three in the other.
- This one, for example, was in my friend’s family for several generations, and he gave it to me. I never wear earrings in pairs. Why give the world a false signal that I am in a state of balance? (Laughs.)
- What kind of earring with a ruby?
- I bought it myself, although I usually don’t buy jewelry for myself. But I like to look for some cool vintage pieces - take, for example, this skirt. I told you I love treasure hunting! And then I bring the trophies home.
- Something tells me that you
You may soon need a big house - so that your friends will stop tripping over your treasures.
“I understand what you’re hinting at... I’m a shopkeeper!”
- Notice that I didn’t say that!
- No, well, it really happens to me when it seems that this particular thing will really be useful to me if I suddenly find myself in Paris in April. What if it suddenly starts to lightly drizzle and I need it? And these rubber boots? So what if I live in Los Angeles, where it hardly ever rains! Or this bag, a friend brought it to me from Indonesia! This is the kind of person I am: I can find an excuse for any thing that happens to me. This is probably wrong, but in general I attach great importance to things: each one has certain memories associated with it. I understand that someday I will have to learn to let them go. But I will definitely learn, I promise!

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