Johnny Depp: Benedict's like my brother

Johnny Depp views Benedict Cumberbatch as his brother after working with him on Black Mass.

Oscar-nominated actor Johnny is garnering attention with his latest movie, in which he plays real-life gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger. Starring as his onscreen sibling Billy is Sherlock star Benedict, who Johnny describes as "a beautiful man of exceptional talent".

"He became like a real-life brother," Johnny told the BBC. "The set-up we were playing was an unusual one - one brother becomes a politician, the other is king of the underworld. They still meet up for family dinners and church, just from opposing sides. It takes an actor with a lot of ability, like Benedict, to make that credible."

After being on the run for 16 years, Bulger was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2013 for crimes including being involved in 11 murders and racketeering. Despite his offences, Johnny made sure he brought Bulger's humanity to the silver screen and reasons that violence was simply Bulger's "business".

Over the years Johnny has embodied a variety of characters in front of the camera, with Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Finding Neverland and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl all earning him best actor Academy Award nominations. But all that matters to him is that his legion of loyal followers is pleased with his work.

"(I took on the role of Bulger) for the joy of the part, I was fascinated by him for years," he explained. "He ended up on the FBI's Most Wanted list after informing for them. How did he evade justice for so long'

"You do things for the fans too, though I don't like that word. I like to call them my bosses, because they're the ones who employ me. So you turn up to work for them."