Amber Heard returns to the big screen with “Silenced”

Amber heard returned to the screen in a small but notable way, making an unexpected appearance in a documentary that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

The “Drive Angry” star has retreated from the spotlight in recent years following her high-profile legal battle with her ex-husband. Johnny Depp.

Heard appeared in two film roles immediately following the legal drama, but has not announced any major new film or television roles since. Her appearance in the Sundance documentary marks a rare return in front of the camera.

Amber Heard will appear on the big screen at Sundance as part of the Australian documentary film “Silenced.”

The documentary is directed by Selina Miles and produced in collaboration with human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson, who also features prominently.

Heard previously worked with Robinson during Depp’s British libel case against News Group Newspapers, in which the New South Wales lawyer advised the actress as a defense witness.

Heard’s appearance “Silenced” follows this professional connection. In the film, she is interviewed as one of several subjects. Others interviewed include Colombian journalist Catalina Ruiz-Navarro and former Australian Member of Parliament Brittany Higgins.

In “Silenced,” Robinson fights against what is described on the official website. Sun Dance program’s website as “weaponizing defamation laws to silence survivors.”

The documentary features Heard, Ruiz-Navarro and Higgins, all of whom have accused men in positions of power of misconduct against them. They would all later be involved in defamation-related cases, albeit in different capacities.

Ruiz-Navarro was sued directly for defamation by Colombian filmmaker Ciro Guerra for publishing several instances of sexual impropriety reported against him. Heard and Higgins, on the other hand, have been called as witnesses in lawsuits related to their allegations.

Robinson explains how such legal actions can affect those who choose to come forward.

“In the post-#MeToo world, we’ve seen women speaking out publicly about gender-based violence,” Robinson said in an interview with Variety. “What we then saw was their alleged perpetrator filed a defamation suit and said, ‘This is defamatory and I’m going to sue you for a large sum of money.'”

Heard’s limited, somber appearance in “Silenced” represents her first involvement in a film since the release of “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom» in 2023.

The protracted legal dispute between Heard and Depp began in 2019, a period in which she was reaching dizzying heights in her film career.

“Aquaman” had enjoyed great commercial success the previous year, with the Texan actress alongside Jason Momoa.

Following a largely favorable verdict for Depp in 2022, Heard returned to work with two films released the following year, including “Aquaman 2.” The actress won’t be seen on the big screen until her appearance in “Silenced.”

Stepping away from filmmaking doesn’t mean Heard has completely abandoned the craft.

In June 2025, she landed her first acting role in two years when she joined the cast of “Spirit of the People”, a stage production by Jeremy O. Harris, presented at the Williamston Theater Festival.

Heard played a character named Genevieve, a role she really seemed to enjoy. In an Instagram post, she posed for a photo alongside Harris and captioned it: “In my theater days x.”