Johnny Depp has surprised viewers by staring Amber Heard's sister dead in the eyes during her testimony.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star behaved very differently when his ex-wife Heard was on the witness stand and he refused to look at her.
Depp and Heard are currently embroiled in a $50 million defamation trial in which Depp is suing his former partner over a 2018 Washington Post op-ed in which she claimed to be a survivor of domestic abuse.
Both actors are claiming that they were the real victim of their violent relationship, with Depp alleging that Heard's article wrecked his career and reputation, and Hear citing multiple occasions when he was supposedly physically abusive while they were together.
While their trial has been going on over the past few weeks, the celebrity exes have come face to face in Fairfax County Court, Virginia on an almost daily basis. However - apart from one awkward run-in - they have generally avoided interacting with each other directly, leaving it to their respective legal teams to battle it out.
When Heard took the stand, many viewers were quick to notice that Depp deliberately didn't look in her direction, instead keeping his eyes downcast.
Depp's lawyer Camille Vasquez gave an insight into why he was behaving this way when she pointed out how in 2016, the 58-year-old actor told his ex she would "never see his eyes again".
However, it's clear the same rules don't apply to Heard's sister Whitney Henriquez, who took the stand earlier this week. In stark contrast to when his ex-wife was testifying, Depp looked Henriquez dead in the eye while she told jurors about a violent argument she witnessed between the couple.
7News reporter Caroline Patrickis was one of the first to point out the change in behavior. She tweeted a picture of Depp's steady gaze in the courtroom, writing: "It appears Depp is looking Heard's sister straight in the eyes as she testifies."
During her time on the witness stand, Henriquez gave the court a detailed account of an alleged violent attack - which has become known as 'the staircase incident' - in which her former brother-in-law supposedly struck her and beat Heard while in a rage in March 2015.
