According to The Rolling Stone, Hollywood actor Johnny Depp said he’s on the verge of starting a new life after receiving the Gold Medal of Merit from controversial Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Tuesday, February 15.

In a ceremony marking Serbian Statehood Day in Belgrade, Depp got the award from Aleksandar Vucic, whose presidency has triggered several protests in the country over authoritarian control and corruption.

In his acceptance speech, Depp expressed gratitude to Vucic for the honour, comparing it to a “re-start” in his life.

“If I am granted the honour of walking away with this medal of excellence, I thank you for being nice enough to bestow it upon me,” Depp said, according to The Balkan Insight.

“I’m on the verge of a new life right now, and I like it.” I enjoy starting over. And I’d want for that to begin right here,” he added.

Depp received the medal for “exceptional accomplishments in public and cultural activities, particularly in the realm of cinema art and the promotion of the Republic of Serbia in the globe”; his recent film Minamata and television series Puffins were made in Serbia.

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