Entertainment Expert Says Amber Heard Getting Cast In Aquaman Was Her 'Star Is Born' Moment

A Hollywood expert has testified about Amber Heard's career and how it has been affected following her divorce from Johnny Depp.

Entertainment industry consultant Kathryn Arnold told the Virginia court that Heard has clung on to her role in the upcoming Aquaman sequel thanks to her co-star Jason Momoa.

Arnold told the court Momoa rallied for Heard to be kept on as Mera in the upcoming 2023 flick Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

The consultant said the first Aquaman film was her 'star is born moment' as it catapulted her to international fame.

"It was that moment where not only was she a good actor, but she was now world-renowned because she was in the most successful film … for DC Comics,” Arnold said, as per the New York Post.

"It was just this extraordinary moment for her, for her career to take off."

Aquaman grossed more than $1.1 billion ($AUD 1.5 billion, £875 million) at the box office, but Heard's name was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons due to her messy divorce with Depp.

Arnold believes this put an end to Heard’s chance of a meteoric rise to fame.

The entertainment consultant went on to tell the court in Fairfax, Virginia, that the 36-year-old actor lost up to $50 million (AUD$ 39 million, £39 million) in potential earnings following claims that she had made up the allegations of domestic abuse.

If that had not happened, Heard's career might be on par with Gal Gadot or Zendaya, Arnold said.

She also projected that Heard would have received four other endorsement deals as well as multiple film and TV projects.

"Every time she appears anywhere, the social media negativity campaign starts up again," Arnold said. 

She added that the 'world has [since] been silent in terms of opportunities', according to NBC.

Depp launched the defamation lawsuit against his ex-wife after Heard claimed she was a survivor of domestic abuse in a 2018 op-ed in The Washington Post. 

The two actors started dating after meeting on the set of 2011 film The Rum Diary and were married in 2015.

Things soon fell apart and Heard obtained a restraining order against Depp the following year and they finalised their divorce in 2017.

In 2020, Depp lost a libel case brought against The Sun over an article in which he was labelled a 'wife beater'.

The US defamation trial enters its sixth and final week at Virginia's Fairfax County Circuit Court, with proceedings set to wrap up on May 27.

Although the trial was supposed to end last week, the date was extended to make room for new testimonies and evidence.

The jury will have the final say after the closing statements are made.