French-born actor Gerard Depardieu has been public in his criticism of his native country since becoming a Russian citizen to avoid paying high taxes. Now, the actor is taking aim at the United States.
In a new interview with Russian journalists, the Golden Globe award winner, who was granted citizenship in Russia by President Vladimir Putin in 2013, said, “I adore my Russian passport. I feel very Russian inside,” The Telegraph reports.
Depardieu has previously praised Russia as a “great democracy,” which is disputable, given that country’s past.
He was lauded for his performance in the 1990 film Green Card, in which he played a character who marries a woman in order to obtain legal status in America.
The real Depardieu makes it clear that is something he would never do.
According to state-run news agency RIA Novosti, the 66-year-old said, “I have never wanted to be a U.S. citizen. That’s totally out of the question. They have a very aggressive culture. And I don’t like US films.”
“The US? They’re a people who have constantly destroyed others. They fought each other, destroyed the Indians, after that they perpetrated slavery, then there was the civil war,” added the actor. “After that, they were the first to use the atomic bomb. Everywhere they go, they cause s—t.”
Depardieu concluded, “If the Europeans stopped listening to the Americans, well, I’d be a lot happier.”
The actor has made headlines in recent years for his criticism of France’s high taxes, and has threatened to sell his properties in the country. Back in May, he told Newsweek of his new citizenship, “I am prepared to die for Russia because the people there are strong… I absolutely do not want to die in the France of today like an idiot.”
Mr. Depardieu recently admitted to drinking up to 14 bottles of wine a day.
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