Johnny Depp 'always calm and gentle' says 'Minamata' co-star Hiroyuki Sanada

Hiroyuki Sanada talks about the time he spent with Johnny Depp during the filming of "Minamata" in Serbia, and how the actor treated the cast, crew, and the fans who came to see him.

Sanada, who plays Mitsuo Yamazaki in the drama, revealed that Depp "spent a long time in make-up every day." But he was "always calm and gentle." The 59-year-old Japanese actor added that the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star was fun to be around and that he treated everyone kindly. Even the extras who came to see him were glad to be around him.

"He was generous with the crew and cast and on weekends we would have a drink together. He loves jokes and would play the guitar and sang for me. I had a great time with him," Sanada said in an interview in Berlin, as quoted by the South China Morning Post.

"Since the film was shot in Serbia – Minamata is a very modern city now – some of the Japanese extras came at their own expense from London, Germany, and Japan just to be around him [Depp]. They were not disappointed," he continued.

Sanada's kind words about Depp were the total opposite of what Amber Heard said about her ex-husband. She accused Depp of being physically violent during their marriage. She even filed a domestic abuse case against him and had her lawyers request documents regarding his past relationships to find out if he was also violent towards his ex-partners.

On the contrary, those who were with Depp in the past shared the same sentiment as Sanada. Vanessa Paradis, the mother of his two kids, said that he was "loving" and "sensitive." She did not experience any kind of abuse in the 14 years that they were together, and called Heard's allegations "outrageous."

Depp's first wife, Lori Anne Allison, chimed in and said he was a "soft person" and never once got physically violent when they were married from 1983 to 1985. Likewise, Winona Ryder, who was once engaged to the "Minamata" star, called him a "really good, loving, caring guy who is very, very protective of the people that he loves." All of their statements contradict what Heard said about her ex-husband.