Johnny Depp has formed an unlikely friendship with the powerful ruler of Saudi Arabia that is so strong observers have characterised it as a “bromance”.

The Hollywood actor and musician was first introduced to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as a business partner two years ago.

In that time, Depp, 60, has developed a real friendship with Bin Salman, 38. “They made a genuine connection,” a friend of Depp told Vanity Fair. “It’s a shock to many of the people who know him, but it’s what happened.”

Over the past year, Depp has reportedly spent more than seven weeks in Saudi Arabia staying in royal palaces and camps.

He has travelled the country by yacht and helicopter, and even flew to London and back on Bin Salman’s personal 747 to attend the Jeff Beck Memorial Concert at the Royal Albert Hall. 

At one point, Depp reportedly gave the prince a painting he had made.

The pair have become so close that the actor, known for his role as Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, is now considering a seven-figure annual contract to promote Saudi Arabia’s cultural renaissance, insiders told the magazine.

Both men share the common experience of having faced a reckoning in the public perceptions of their carefully crafted images in recent years.

Once one of Hollywood’s most sought-after leading men, Depp lost a libel case in the UK in 2020 over claims in a British newspaper by his ex-wife Amber Heard that he beat her.

The judge said The Sun’s publisher, News Group Newspapers, had proved what was in the article to be “substantially true”.

Two years later, a series of accusations including sexual abuse were made public after he also sued Heard for libel in the US.

He won that case and was awarded $10 million for damages to his reputation.

For his part, Bin Salman was hailed as a reformer by Western leaders when he first came to power in 2015 but that image was shattered when American intelligence said he sanctioned the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Khashoggi was murdered and dismembered by a Saudi government hit squad in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate in December 2018.

The genesis of the friendship between the two lies in the production of Depp’s 2022 film, Jeanne du Barry, which was struggling to come in under budget.

With the help of an intermediary, Sina Taleb, described by Vanity Fair as “a French wheeler-dealer whose famous friends include Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire”, Depp was introduced to Prince Badr bin Farhan Al Saud, Saudi Arabia’s culture minister and cousin of MBS.

In 2017, Prince Badr served as the front man for MBS’s purchase of the world’s most expensive painting, Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, bought for £342 million ($450 million) in New York.

After meeting with Depp, Prince Badr and the film’s producers arranged for Saudi Arabia to invest millions to cover budget overruns and some additional expenditures for Jeanne du Barry.

The investment formed part of MBS’s Vision 2030 plan which involves Saudi Arabia ploughing hundreds of billions of dollars into potential revenue streams which could ultimately become an alternative to oil income, such as sport, tourism, mining and entertainment, including film production.

Prince Badr hopes to secure Depp’s assistance in raising Saudi Arabia’s profile in the film world and talks are progressing with the Saudi government over an annual seven-figure deal for him to attend events and shoot films in the country. 

In December, Depp attended the Red Sea Film Festival for the regional premiere of Jeanne du Barry.

Earlier in the year, the Saudi government’s Red Sea Film Foundation announced an investment in Depp’s next directorial film production, Modi, about Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani.

Depp told Vanity Fair: “Though I admit I was somewhat naive at first to what was transpiring in the region, I’ve since experienced first hand the cultural revolution that is happening there—from emerging young storytellers radiating fresh ideas and works of art to a blossoming film infrastructure and a newfound curiosity for innovation.

“I’ve had the opportunity to meet people from various parts of the region who have been most welcoming in sharing with me their culture, their traditions, and their stories.”

But it is his friendship with Bin Salman that appears to be oiling the wheels of this “cultural revolution”. By the end of his first visit to Saudi Arabia, Depp had bonded with Prince Badr to such an extent he was invited to meet MBS and the pair are said to have hit it off immediately.

According to Vanity Fair, Depp’s friends in London were alarmed at first when they heard about the friendship but were won round by how refreshed he seemed by spending the time away from his hard-drinking friends in Europe. Alcohol is prohibited in Saudi Arabia.

“The trips to Saudi are actually healthy for him,” said a friend.

On his second visit, in early 2023, Depp was invited to Bin Salman’s royal camp in the mountains, with trained falcons, luxury tents and an outdoor kitchen set amongst spectacular scenery.

He also flew on multiple occasions by helicopter to Bin Salman’s yacht, Serene, one of the largest in the world. Depp brought his guitar more than once, a source told Vanity Fair.

Like Depp, Bin Salman and many of his advisers like to burn the midnight oil and sleep well into the day.

During their many late-night conversations, the Prince is said to have spoken about plans for Saudi Arabia and asked for Depp’s thoughts on how to bring more art and film-making to the country.