It’s been a tough ride for Johnny Depp and Lone Ranger – a critical mauling lead to a poor box office performance and cemented the actor as officially ‘in a rut’, creatively, anyway. Depp, Armie Hammer and co may well have preferred to cancel the London premiere of their Western disaster, but they had to grin and bear it.

Lone RangerDepp and Armie Hammer in Lone Ranger

For Depp, this was another chance to tow the company line, as he defended his film after questioning from The BBC. According Pirates of The Caribbean actor, the twin concerns of poor critical reviews and a box office bomb don’t bother him. “No because I don’t have no expectations, but other people do,” he explained. “I think critics were especially upset that it didn’t really tank; I think they were hoping for it to really take a dive.”

Check out the Lone Ranger trailer

Bad reviews and poor sales are one thing, well actually they’re two things, but for a film to be accused of racism; that’s a whole new level of criticism. Again, though, this is something Depp didn’t regard as a problem. “We always knew going into it that there were going to be naysayers and that sort of thing, but we’ve had the full support of the Comanche nation, Apache nation, Navaho and to many more of the indigenous peoples.

Lone RangerIt's best we all forget about Lone Ranger

One of the least offensive things people have said about Tonto – Depp’s character in the film – is that he’s a bit like Depp’s imperious role in Pirates, which is due for yet another film – its fifth – in 2015. “I think there a lot of differences in Captain Jack Sparrow Sparrow and Tonto,” he told the BBC. “Captain Jack, he need people to manipulate to get what he wants. He wouldn’t work on his own. Tonto is sort of a lone wolf. If there are any similarities at all it’s because it’s born out of my head, I guess.”