sep 1, 2015 - DAILY MAIL Johnny Depp the star draw at Venice

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FROM THE DAILY MAIL:
Johnny Depp tops the cast of stars headed to Venice this week for what is shaping up as something of a watershed edition of the world's oldest film festival.

Pirates of the Caribbean star Depp will be treading the red carpet to promote his performance as Irish-American mobster James 'Whitey' Bulger in Scott Cooper's "Black Mass", one of two blockbuster productions being shown for the first time during the September 2-12 festival.

Depp's portrayal of the middle-aged, largely bald Bulger sees him return to the territory of 1997's "Donnie Brasco", in which he played an FBI agent who infiltrates an Italian American crime family.

Bulger also helped the FBI break up Italian organised crime, but used the protection he acquired as a result to build his own powerful criminal empire in Boston.

For Depp, now 52, the role marks a return to more conventional roles after several years in which he specialised in playing larger-than-life, fantasy figures, and his backers say his legions of fans will not be disappointed.

"He is playing a real life sociopath and he nailed it," producer Brian Oliver told The Hollywood Reporter.

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