Amber Heard has been an actress since the early 2000s. She dropped out of high school to pursue her acting career, picking up whatever small roles she could in Los Angeles. As she gained more and more roles, she built up a portfolio that led her to her first leading role. Her mainstream recognition began from two back to back supporting roles in critical success movies, and from there, she’s gone on to act in some very well-known franchises.
Updated February 3rd, 2023: If you are here for Amber Heard and her best movies, or are just curious about why she was famous before the Depp trial, you'll be happy to know we've updated this article with new entries.
Perhaps one of her most popular roles is as Princess Mera in Aquaman. It exists in the DC extended universe, a popular superhero franchise that brings the DC superhero comics to life. She is set to reprise her role and star in the sequel, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which is currently set to release in December 2023. There were rumors she wasn’t going to return due to current personal and legal issues, but she still remains in the movie, especially now that filming has wrapped up. As we wait for the movie’s release (and the world watched the libel trial with Johnny Depp, for better or worse), take a look at some of Heard's best films in the meantime.
10 Never Back Down
In the martial arts film Never Back Down, new student Jake Tyler (Sean Faris) discovers that his school is really into mixed martial arts. After being humiliated by a bully due to his lack of training, he quickly realizes that it’s a necessity for him to learn MMA if he wants to gain the respect of his peers.
Heard plays Baja Miller, the love interest for Jake in this film. Without her there to support him, Jake might have never made it through the rough Beatdown tournament, powering through his injury to try and defeat Ryan. Heard is perfect for the role, sympathetic when needed but also knowing when to take a stand. It wouldn’t be the same movie without her.
9 Drive Angry
In Drive Angry, Nicolas Cage plays John Milton, a man who escapes from hell with Satan's gun to avenge those who killed his daughter and kidnapped his granddaughter. Amber Heard earned herself a leading role alongside Cage. She enters this wildly enjoyable action horror film as Piper Lee, a waitress at a local bar with a cheating boyfriend. Happening to be in Milton's path as he is on his way to vengeance, she becomes his fearless sidekick. While it is not a film that should be taken seriously, Heard delivers an intense performance.
8 The Joneses
The Joneses centers on a team of stealth marketers who pose as a perfect family to get their unsuspecting neighbors to buy never-ending products. Heard steps into the role of Jenn Jones, Steve’s and Kate’s (played by David Duchovny and Demi Moore) beautiful teenage 'daughter' with sex addiction and a penchant for hitting on her fake parents. She did really well in this intriguing comedy-drama and stole the show.
7 Zombieland
Zombie comedy at its best, this film has a fantastic cast (Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin, Bill Murray, and Amber Heard) and so enjoyable script you almost want to join the mess. Heard appears at the beginning of Zombieland as the main character’s (Eisenberg) gorgeous neighbor, a girl nicknamed 406. The awkward protagonist lets the ill-fated 406 into his apartment before realizing she is a zombie. Zombieland stands out among the most successful Heard films.
6 3 Days to Kill
In 3 Days to Kill, CIA Agent Ethan Renner (Kevin Costner) is trying to reconcile with his family during his last few months alive, a terminal cancer spreading through his body. However, CIA assassin Vivi Delay thinks he can help her find her target, The Wolf, and convinces him to do so by offering an experimental cancer drug that could extend his life, but he puts his family in danger as he does.
In this film, Heard plays the assassin Vivi Delay, a vital character to the plot. Without her, Renner would have never had the opportunity to try and fight his cancer, but he also would have been in a lot less trouble as he tried to reconcile with his family and find The Wolf at the same time. Heard shows she’s hard enough to keep him going when he needs to, but also has a soft side that proves she’s not heartless.
5 Paranoia
In this entertaining thriller, Gary Oldman and Harrison Ford play all-powerful tech billionaires who will stop at nothing to destroy each other. Our hero is the ambitious young techie Adam (played by Liam Hemsworth), recruited to spy on his boss’ rival. When Adam begins to feel his life is in danger, his love interest, Emma (Heard), helps him in his quest. Heard’s character in Paranoia is comely and dangerous, making it hard for audiences not to be captivated by her performance in the film.
4 The Ward
The Ward is a psychological horror film where a troubled woman named Kristen is admitted into a psychiatric ward after setting fire to an abandoned farmhouse. She meets several other patients there, but they all seem to be haunted by the same supernatural figure that no one else can see. It’s now up to Kristen to try and save the other girls from the monster before it kills them all.
Heard stars as Kristen, bringing the main character to life in a way only she could do. Dealing with a scary movie monster is one thing, but dealing with one that only you can see, and then having to suffer the consequences? It takes a lot of talent to make that believable to the audience, something she does a great job at.
3 All the Boys Love Mandy Lane
All The Boys Love Mandy Lane is a story about jealousy and revenge. Mandy Lane attracts the attention of many of her classmates but remains faithful to her best friend, Emmet (Michael Welch), who is bullied and humiliated by them. He leads one of them to jump off of the roof to his death later, the first of many ruthless deaths he executes.
Mandy Lane is brought to life by none other than Heard herself, taking on the unique role and becoming her first starring role. She needed to seem like the kind of girl guys might fight over while also hiding something much more dark than anyone could have expected, and there’s no doubt that Heard knows what she’s doing after watching this film.
2 The Rum Diary
The comedy The Rum Diary follows aspiring author Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp), who hasn’t been able to sell a book and decides to try journalism instead. The paper he is hired at is rumored to close soon, so he continues looking for alternate jobs and meets the realtor Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart) who offers a job writing advertisements. Trouble brews at both jobs for Kemp, who is just trying to stay afloat in this book to film adaptation.
Heard plays Chenault in this film, the fiancée of Sanderson who eventually falls in love with Kemp. She’s great at bringing the character to life, constantly pining over Kemp but not giving into temptation while she is still engaged. It’s just what’s needed from a love interest in a comedy like this.
1 Aquaman
In Aquaman, Arthur Curry (Jason Momoa) visits Atlantis for the first time at the request of Princess Mera, hoping he would be able to stop his half brother Orm from starting a war with the surface dwellers. In order to do this, Arthur must go through a series of trials and puzzles to be able to find the lost trident of Atlan, Atlantis’s first ruler. It would prove he is the rightful king, and let him stop the war before it could begin.
As previously mentioned, Heard plays Princess Mera, the atlantean warrior. She accompanies Arthur on his journey, and he wouldn’t have managed to get through it without her. It takes real guts to go directly against your own family to try and achieve peace, which is exactly what Heard brings to the table.