Tarnished actor Depardieu stars as 'magician' in friend's film

French icon Gerard Depardieu, who is awaiting a verdict in his sexual assault trial, is starring in a film directed by his friend, actor Fanny Ardant, a tale of love on a mysterious island, a producer said last week.

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Depardieu, 76, who has been accused of sexual assault or rape by around 20 women, is the highest-profile figure caught up in France's response to the #MeToo movement.

In March, he had complained that he had been out of work for three years.

"It's a love story about two women who find themselves on a mysteri-ous island," producer Ana Pinhao Moura said.

She said that the shooting of the scenes involving Depardieu began in April in Sao Miguel, the largest island in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores, and was due to end next week.