Amber Heard has returned to the screen in a limited but notable way, making an unexpected appearance in a documentary premiering at the Sundance Film Festival.

The “Drive Angry” star has stepped back from the limelight in recent years following her highly publicized court battle with ex-husband Johnny Depp.

Heard appeared in two film roles in the immediate aftermath of the legal drama, but has not announced any new major film or television roles since. Her appearance in the Sundance documentary marks a rare on-camera return.

Amber Heard will appear on the big screen at Sundance as part of the Australian documentary film “Silenced.”

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The documentary is directed by Selina Miles and produced in collaboration with human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson, who also features prominently.

Heard previously worked with Robinson during the UK libel case filed by Depp against News Group Newspapers, in which the barrister from New South Wales advised the actress as a defense witness.

Heard’s appearance “Silenced” follows this professional connection. In the film, she is interviewed as one of several subjects. Other interviewees include Colombian journalist Catalina Ruiz-Navarro and former Australian Parliamentary staffer Brittany Higgins.

In “Silenced,” Robinson fights against what is described on the official Sundance program website as “the weaponization of defamation laws to silence survivors.”

The documentary features Heard, Ruiz-Navarro, and Higgins, all of whom had accused men in positions of power of misconduct against them. They would all later be involved in defamation-related cases, though in different capacities.

Ruiz-Navarro was sued directly for defamation by Colombian filmmaker Ciro Guerra for publishing multiple cases of sexual impropriety reported against him. Heard and Higgins, by contrast, were called as witnesses in suits related to their allegations.

Robinson addresses how such legal actions can affect those who choose to come forward.

“In the post-#MeToo world, we saw women speaking out publicly about gender-based violence,” Robinson said in an interview with Variety. “What we then saw is their alleged perpetrator bringing a defamation claim, saying, ‘This is defamatory, and I’m going to sue you for a lot of money.’”

Heard’s limited and somber cameo in “Silenced” represents her first involvement in a film since the release of “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” in 2023.

Heard’s prolonged legal dispute with Depp began in 2019, a period around which she was reaching dizzying heights in her film career.

“Aquaman” had been released to widespread commercial success the previous year, with the Texan actress starring alongside Jason Momoa.

Following a verdict that was largely favorable to Depp in 2022, Heard returned to work with two films released the following year, including “Aquaman 2.”  The actress would not be seen on the big screen until her appearance in “Silenced.”

Stepping away from screen acting does not mean that Heard has deserted the craft altogether.

In June 2025, she landed her first acting role in two years when she joined the cast of “Spirit of the People,” a stage production by Jeremy O. Harris, presented at the Williamston Theatre Festival.

Heard portrayed a character named Genevieve, a role she really seemed to relish. In one Instagram post, she posed for a photo alongside Harris and captioned it, “In my theatre era x.”

Following the conclusion of the production, Heard returned to the platform to thank her fans for the “memories” and “support.”

Heard has been reflecting on the fallout from her legal tussle with her ex-husband.

Speaking to Variety ahead of the premiere of “Silenced,” she insisted that she was not in this film to tell her personal story.

“This is not about me. I have lost my ability to speak,” Heard said. “I am not here to tell my story. I don’t want to tell my story. In fact, I don’t want to use my voice anymore. That’s the problem.”