Whoever came up with that tired old axiom, “If you love something, set it free; if it comes back to you...” might have been thinking about actress Amber Heard and her beloved 1968 Ford Mustang. The powder-blue head-turner has been stolen more times than Heard can count, yet the two classic beauties always end up back together. “People take it for a joyride, strip it for parts, then ditch it—and I come rescue her,” explains the 23-year-old Texas-born rising star at a café near the L.A. home she shares with her teacup Yorkie, Pistol. “The last time, I had just gotten it back and had it all redone, and within an hour, I walked outside and it was gone again.” Does she ever feel like trading it in for something more, well, practical? “Oh no, it’s a commitment,” she insists. “I love that car, even if I have to hotwire it to get it home from the junkyard.”
In a curve-hugging tan Alexander Wang skirt, low-cut Diesel Black Gold sweater and Prada pumps, Heard, who beat out a slew of bigger names to land the female lead opposite Johnny Depp in the upcoming romantic drama The Rum Diary, doesn’t look like someone who would be able to hotwire a car. She knows that and is fine with it. “I’ve never needed help to change a tire or anything,” she says, “but if I pull over, the second that hood goes, somebody comes to my rescue!” Now, that’s not a surprise. In person, as in films like Pineapple Express, The Stepfather and this month’s satire The Joneses, Heard’s a real traffic stopper, all big hair and dangerous curves, like a pinball-machine cartoon bombshell come to life.
Those considerable physical charms get the period-piece treatment in The Rum Diary, an adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s novel. Heard literally had to be sewn into her costumes to play a woman torn between Depp and Aaron Eckhart in late 1950s Puerto Rico. “Johnny actually found the manuscript at Hunter’s house and encouraged him to publish it,” says Heard, a lifelong bookworm who was such a fan of Thompson’s writing, she wrote a letter to the film’s producers explaining why she would be perfect for the project. “Johnny cared so much, and he’s just a really down-to-earth, nice person.” Heard recalls the day Depp rescued a stray dog from the neighbourhood where they were shooting. “Well, the dog ended up being pregnant—I think it had six puppies—and then another dog we assumed to be the father showed up,” she recalls, laughing. “So now, instead of adopting one dog, he had eight, but he took care of them. He asked other people to carry one back on the plane because he had so many.”
Heard would have happily obliged but she had to jet off to the Washington set of The Ward, a mental-institution thriller directed by the man behind the original Halloween movie, John Carpenter. Though many young actors do horror films as a stepping stone to more serious films, Heard adores the genre. “With a drama, actors get very serious, like they’re always in character, and there’s something funny and pretentious about that,” says Heard, whose forays into slasher-ville include Zombieland and the upcoming And Soon the Darkness, which she also co-produced. “You can’t take yourself seriously when you’re sitting at lunch next to the person that just tried to stab you. I also like horror films because girls actually get to kick ass, instead of just being the hot girl that supports the male character.”
As happy as she is to be doused in blood and terrorized, Heard also enjoys feeling like a lady. “I love fast cars, loud guns and classic rock ’n’ roll, but I’d never do any of it in flats,” she laughs. “I love me a nice, big uncomfortable pair of heels and some big hair!” For Heard, who grew up outside of Austin riding horses and going hunting with her father, the glossy pages of fashion magazines were a glamorous escape. “Maybe it’s a Southern thing,” she muses, “but I love dressing up. It’s everything I can do not to leave the house in a goddamn prom dress every day.”
Check out our behind the scenes video of our cover shoot with Amber Heard.
First published in FASHION Magazine April 2010
related features
Comment on this article
Editor's note: This is a moderated forum, so your comments won't appear until approved by the moderator. Please help us foster a friendly environment by keeping your posts civil and on-point. We reserve the right to delete comments that include foul language, personal attacks on others, sales solicitations or any other inappropriate content. Posted comments reflect the opinions of the poster, not of Fashionmagazine.com. Read our privacy policy for more information.
Your comment