Steve Pratt heads to London to chat to JOHNNY DEPP & PAUL BETTANY ahead of the release of Mortdecai

He likes nothing better than dressing up and speaking in a funny accent. Or as someone put it, "frequently plays freakishly eccentric outcasts whose oddities are misunderstood by society, and usually have a flamboyant appearance and mannerism."

His turn as Captain Jack Sparrow, inspired by Rolling Stone Keith Richards, in the Pirates Of The Caribbean movies is perhaps the showiest of the lot but his repertoire also includes a man with blades for fingers, an angora jumper-wearing director of bad movies, a throat-slashing London barber and a New York lawyer hunting a headless horseman.

He's nothing if not versatile and is at it again in his new movie Mortdecai, a moustachioed English art-dealer-cum-gentleman-thief seeking a painting that could lead him to a cache of hidden Nazi gold.

Paul Bettany and Johnny Depp in Mortdecai  

The Depp who arrives for the press conference on Tuesday looks like he's wearing the same clothes as at the previous night's London premiere (and possibly the night before that in Berlin).

"Portly" and "unkempt" is how the Daily Mail, unkindly you might think, described him. Mind you, he's with co-star Paul Bettany who's neither portly nor unkempt which only serves to exaggerate Depp's appearance.

Bettany plays Mortdecai's assistant, the unfortunately named Jock Strapp. It's their third film together and the pair obviously get along famously. Their families holiday together, with Bettany's daughter calling Depp "Uncle Fun".

Bettany explains: "My children call him Uncle Fun because he has an island" - a reference to the island in the Bahamas Depp bought for a reported 3.6 million dollars.

They had fun making Mortdecai. Too much fun perhaps, suggests Depp, who was introduced to the books by Pirates co-star British actor Jack Davenport. He was probably aware of Depp's love of all things British, including TV's The Fast Show on which he guest-starred and regards as one of the proudest moments of his life.

Bettany takes up the theme: "It's weird that a Hollywood star is that interested in British comedy. Even weirder that this poor kid who wanted to be a guitarist from Kentucky was into Peter Sellers and Ealing comedies. Peculiar that he was being raised on the same movies I was," he remarks.

Depp notes thinking that Alec Guinness "was the most amazing actor" referring to his multi-role performance in the Ealing classic Kind Hearts And Coronets. His Mortdecai as "a great salute to those actors who were able to pull off that kind of comedy caper. Peter Sellers certainly.

"Terry-Thomas has always been a favourite too. A great deal of Mortdecai is based on Terry-Thomas. There was a great French actor called Louis de Funes. He's like watching fire." 

The set appears to have been a happy one. Having laughed out loud constantly on reading the books, Depp carried on chuckling on the set: "We probably had too much fun. I'm sure at a certain point someone, one of the producers - oh, I'm one of them - got pretty annoyed at Paul and I losing it."

They weren't the only ones. Co-star Gwyneth Paltrow couldn't keep a straight face. "She kept busting... laughing," says Depp with Bettany adding, "I remember her standing there and begging you to stop being funny."

Gwyneth Paltrow and Ewan McGregor in Mortdecai 

Mortdecai is obsessed with art. Certain artists continue to inspire Depp with Banksy shining among the contemporary crowd as "unique and wonderful". The actor's own obsession is books, particularly first editions. Bettany loves guitars and so does Depp. "Actually your collection is bigger than mine," says Bettany, who has a barn in which his guitars hang.

Does he ever play them? "I look at them and stroke them," he says.

"I don't stroke them," says Depp.

While Depp's Mortdecai was inspired by British comedy stars and various aristocrats he's meeting while living in London, Bettany based Jock on Depp's two security guards who "stop this idiot getting into trouble".

But the message both want to give is that Mortdecai the movie is fun.

"It's a really fun, sophisticated caper of a movie. It's very rare that you do a film where you can predict that someone is going to wet their pants. Probably a couple of people so I think they should hand out adult diapers at the door," says Depp.

Mortdecai (12A) is on general release everywhere from Friday.