When Jerry Bruckheimer tweeted the first picture of Johnny Depp as Tonto in the new Lone Ranger movie (above), some people were left slightly bemused as to why the Native American hero looked suspiciously like a Goth Jack Sparrow with a bird on his head.

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly Johnny Depp has revealed that not only did he personally guide the creation of his latest eccentric look, but that he was specifically inspired by a particular painting

 “I’d actually seen a painting by an artist named Kirby Sattler and looked at the face of this warrior and tough… That’s It! The stripes down the face and across the eyes… it seemed to me like you could almost see the separate sections of the individual, if you know what I mean”.

For anyone unfortunate enough to never have been invited round Tim Burton’s house to play dress up, the philosophising star gave some further explanation of Tonto’s striped war paint.

“There’s this very wise quarter, a very tortured and hurt section, an angry and rageful section, and a very understanding and unique side. I saw these parts, almost like dissecting a brain, these slivers of the individual. That makeup inspired me”

As for why he chose to complete this brain slicing ensemble with a taxidermy themed bird hat…

 “It just so happened Sattler had painted a bird flying directly behind the warrior’s head. It looked to me like it was sitting on top. I thought: Tonto’s got a bird on his head. It’s his spirit guide in a way. It’s dead to others, but it’s not dead to him. It’s very much alive.”

Comparison between the original Sattler painting and Depp’s new look below:

So to sum up, Johnny Depp’s unique interpretation of a proud Native American warrior will most likely involve lots of scenes of him talking at length to the dead crow on his head.  It might sound weird but no doubt thanks to Depp’s immeasurable talents it could easily prove to be one of the most entertaining parts of the film.