Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are starring in a legal drama about the breakdown of their turbulent marriage, despite the fact that acting roles are few. The writing is unattractive, the walk-on roles are unpredictable, and the lighting is unpleasant.

Among the allegations and counter-claims in the dueling defamation lawsuits being heard in a Fairfax, Virginia, courtroom is domestic abuse, manipulation, obsession, drug addiction, and alcoholism.

Even if they are sitting 15 feet apart, separated by lawyers and a deep expanse of resentment, Depp and Heard, who were married for only three years, still know how to put on a show.

Depp’s $50 million lawsuit against Heard, whom he claims libeled him in 2018 by writing an opinion piece in the Washington Post that falsely portrayed him as a domestic abuser, has signaled that the actor, who has been effectively blacklisted by Hollywood, believes he has little left to lose.

Depp has accused Heard of fabricating domestic abuse allegations against him in order to “shock” and “manipulate” the #MeToo movement. The jury has been told that she started the fights. Heard’s attorneys claim in a $100 million countersuit that Depp is a “obsessed ex-husband hellbent on revenge” who punched, kicked, and sexually assaulted his wife with a vodka bottle.

A trial full of A-list cameos

In addition to the plaintiff and defendant, Judge Penney Azcarate has called actor James Franco, Paul Bettany, and billionare entrepreneur Elon Musk to testify. They will join employees, friends, doctors, and psychotherapists who have given Azcarate’s courtroom a Hollywood make-believe feel.

Heard has maintained a calm demeanor in the face of daily attacks on her character and motivations. Depp’s presentation of witnesses to support his libel claim one week into what is scheduled to be a seven-week trial is merely setting the stage for his testimony later on. That depends on whether the actor can portray his ex-wife as a schemer rather than a victim of his abuse, as she claims.

“Amber Heard is not the star of this drama, though she might like to be,” said Hollywood lawyer and commentator Allison Hope Weiner. “When he goes on the stand, it’s him. It’s going to be a hard act to follow. He’s going to be very likable.