Did you forget that Amber Heard once guest-starred on an episode of "The O.C.?"
Remember when she worked with legendary director John Carpenter on a film that most fans wouldn't
rank in their top 10?
Here are Amber Heard roles you forgot about.
Back in 2003, when she was still a teenager, Amber Heard got what would be the first of
many big breaks in the industry.
The future "Aquaman" star acted in the music video for Kenny Chesney's single "There Goes
My Life," playing the college-bound daughter of the song's subject.
She was asked about the part by Fox 17 while promoting her role in 2013 thriller "Paranoia,"
explaining with a laugh to her bewildered co-star, Liam Hemsworth,
"When I was like 15, 14 maybe, I did a country music video when I was in Texas."
One of Amber Heard's first big roles was in "North Country," a 2005 film about a woman
experiencing sexual harassment while working in a mine.
Heard played the younger version of Charlize Theron's character, Josey, in flashbacks.
This was Theron's follow-up to "Monster," the film that won her an Oscar, and she told
Female.com.au that she was intentionally choosing roles to show off her range rather than her looks.
Heard frequently speaks about feeling a similar frustration in her career, often worrying
aloud that she was being typecast as a pretty blonde instead of getting offered well-rounded
characters.
She told British Vogue in 2011,
Before she became a star big enough to lead films and television shows on her own, Amber
Heard was like a lot of young actors trying to make it in Hollywood, taking guest roles
wherever she could.
One such role was on hit teen soap "The O.C.," on which Heard guest starred in a memorable
episode called "The Mallpisode" in 2005.
The plot of this episode sees the gang accidentally get locked in a mall overnight; Heard played
the salesgirl who shows the group into the back room to pick up donations, only to forget
they were there before locking up.
Though they didn't share any scenes together on the show, Heard would go on to befriend
"The O.C."
star Olivia Wilde a few years later on the set of "Alpha Dog."
Wilde told Marie Claire that she was struck by her friend's composure so early in her
career, explaining of the young Heard,
Amber Heard's first leading role was as the titular Mandy Lane in "All the Boys Love Mandy
Lane," a slasher movie that was filmed in 2006 but not released until several years later.
Heard told IGN that she loved the role when she read the script, adding that the experience
of actually filming the horror flick didn't match up to what she had expected for herself
when she relocated to the West coast.
Heard's character is a complex, standoffish teenage girl, and she told Rotten Tomatoes
that she went method on set.
She also added that on indie films like "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane," no one was there
to get famous.
Still, the role undoubtedly helped catapult Heard's career; she received positive notices
for her acting skills, including from The Washington Post, who called her femme fatale
a "solid, psychologically interesting performance."
Heard got another big break when she starred in "Hidden Palms," a CW show about a teenager
who moves to Palm Springs.
Her character, Greta, is a mysterious beauty who intrigues the new kid after he spots her
running carefree on a golf course late at night, dancing through the sprinklers.
The eight-episode series was created by Kevin Williamson, the man behind teen-drama hits
like "Dawson's Creek," but it didn't get airtime for a while and was burned off over the summer
of 2008.
Subsequently, it received a critical drubbing, including from The Hollywood Reporter, who
called it, quote "mostly silly, pretentious, soap opera-style TV with an escapist mentality
and the subtlety of an avalanche."
Ouch.
"Ay, whoa, before you settle in there, sport, let me just say that last night was a moment, okay?"
In 2008, Amber Heard starred in "Never Back Down," a film about a troubled teenager who
joins a fight club at school.
She played Baja, the love interest of the main character.
Describing her role to Cinemablend, she said,
Heard was referring to the character's introduction in the film, explaining,
Though the film was not a critical success, it did well enough at the box office to spawn
three sequels, the most recent of which was released in 2021.
Heard did not reprise her role in any of the subsequent films in the series.
"This is awkward."
Amber Heard played Seth Rogen's girlfriend in 2008's "Pineapple Express," a character
who is still in high school and yet has her life together far more than her stoner boyfriend does.
Although she told Rotten Tomatoes that she had more fun on that set than any of her other
jobs, Heard also pointed out that her girlfriend character didn't make much sense or have much depth.
"I said I might be able to go, now I look like an asshole!"
"You are one!"
"Oh, come on, don't say that."
However, it does seem that the cast enjoyed their time on set.
Heard joked to JoBlo that they did "about 17,000 takes of each scene" for the improv-heavy film.
She also got along well with co-star James Franco, reuniting several years later to star
together in 2016's "The Adderall Diaries."
Amber Heard had a small role in the first "Zombieland" film, playing a girl who comes
over to Jesse Eisenberg's character's home, only to transform into a zombie before they
can hook up.
The character is named simply "406," the number of her dorm room.
At the film's premiere, Heard joked to Maximo TV that after she got the offer, she thought,
She explained that the role required three and a half hours of hair and makeup for the
character's zombie prosthetics, and then a further two and a half hours to get it all off.
In 2009, Amber Heard starred in "The Stepfather," a remake of the '80s horror film of the same name.
In the film, Heard plays Kelly, the girlfriend of Penn Badgley's Michael.
She told Collider that she enjoys acting in horror and thriller films, explaining that
it's hard to buy into the scary stuff when you're hanging out with the killer between takes:
Though the original is something of an '80s horror classic, the 2009 version came at the
tail end of the '00s remake boom and was not well-received; as of this video, it stands
at a mere 13% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In 2008, Amber Heard clarified to Female First that she doesn't like watching horror movies
when she's not acting in them.
A few years later, Heard acted in "The Ward," and something seemed to have changed in her
feelings about horror as a genre.
The chance to work with legendary director John Carpenter was, it seems, too good for
Heard to pass up.
She revealed that she'd completely flipped her views on the horror genre, telling Collider,
Unfortunately, Heard and Carpenter's collaboration wasn't quite the winner Heard wanted it to be.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie has a meager 33% approval rating.
In 2011, Amber Heard starred opposite Nicolas Cage in "Drive Angry," a film about a man
who escapes from Hell in order to kill the cult leader who murdered his family.
Heard plays Piper, a woman who finds out her husband is cheating on her and decides to
tag along on Cage's character's angry quest for revenge.
"Just so you know, I don't pick up hitchhikers."
"I didn't have my thumb out."
She told Den of Geek that, in addition to being asked to play a strong female character
in a film with a good script, the role offered other attractions.
Amber Heard led the cast of NBC's flashy drama "The Playboy Club" in 2011, which was essentially
sold as "Mad Men" for network television.
Her character, Maureen, is a new Playboy bunny, an alluring femme fatale who is accidentally
responsible for the death of a mobster.
Heard told Collider that the period-specific costumes helped her get into character, explaining,
The show was met with criticism from many sides, including legendary feminist Gloria
Steinem, who urged people to skip it during an interview with Reuters.
If you remember "The Rum Diary," it's probably for one of two reasons.
First, the movie saw lead actor Johnny Depp return to another Hunter S. Thompson project,
after receiving critical acclaim for 1998's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."
Second, you might know it as the film set where Depp and Amber Heard met and fell in
love, soon to be married, and soon to embark on one of Hollywood's most drama-filled celeb marriages.
At the time, though, with all of that still in the future, Depp was excited about having
Heard in the film.
He told Collider that he thought late pal Thompson would have approved of the casting.
"I thought maybe you were a mermaid.
They tell me the coast is infested with them."
"I'm from Connecticut."
Director Bruce Robinson agreed, telling TNT,
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Nicki Swift videos about your favorite celebs are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.