Roald Dahl wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in his writing hut in Great Missenden. Now Johnny Depp stars in the latest film adaptation. LINDI BILGORRI catches up with the Hollywood star.

AT first glance Charlie Bucket, in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Johnny Depp, who stars as Willy Wonka in the film, seem to be streets apart. But on closer inspection they could have more in common than you think.

Little Charlie lives in a tumbled down house with his family who are so poor they can only afford watered-down bowls of cabbage soup for dinner.

When Depp was growing up money was scarce. His father fell on hard times and was out of work taking the family from Kentucky to Florida where Depp and his mother and two older sisters were shunted from motel to motel.

"We led such a nomadic existence when I was a kid," says Depp. "By the time I was 15, 16, 17, we lived in probably 30 to 35 houses. I mean crazy, you know? So that has had a great effect on who I am today"

Even now Depp, who lives in France with his partner the French singer/actress Vanessa Paradis and their two children Lily-Rose Melody, six, and Jack, three, do not like to put their roots too deeply down into the soil.

"Me and my kids and my girl, we don't stay in one place too long, gotta keep on moving."

Depp stars in Tim Burton's adaptation of Roald Dahl's book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which tells the story of an eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka who makes the best chocolate in the world. Charlie (Freddie Highmore) lives in the shadow of Wonka's extraordinary factory. For nearly 15 years, no one has seen a worker going in or coming out of the factory and yet great quantities of chocolate are still being made and shipped to shops all over the world.

Then one day Wonka announces that he will reveal all of the secrets and magic of his factory to five lucky children who find golden tickets hidden inside five randomly selected Wonka chocolate bars.

Charlie is among the five children who find the golden ticket the others are Violet Beauregarde (Anna Sophia Robb), Mike Teavee (Jordan Fry), Veruca Salt (Julia Winter) and Augustus Gloop (Philip Wiegratz).

Depp says that it was memories of his childhood that helped to form the backbone of the character for Willy Wonka along with Dahl's writing.

"When I was growing up there were children's show hosts and that kind of strange cadence with which they spoke to children. "Hello kiddies..." And like game show hosts the mask they put on, the sort of perpetual grimace. In the States we had a guy called Captain Kangaroo. Even then it was strange but if you go back now and watch it, it's really out there. He had his pal Mr Green Jeans and Bunny Rabbit. It was memories of watching these guys as a child game show hosts like Wink Martindale those game show guys who were always smiling."

It wasn't only from Tim Burton the director who Depp took advice from for his character but also his six-year-old daughter Lily-Rose.

"Being a father helps to add depth and texture and all kinds of wonderful things. Early on when I was working on Wonka the character, trying to figure out what he was going to be, what he was going to look like, sound like and I would test the voice out on my daughter, Lily-Rose. It seemed to work on her so I kind of ran with it. Having children affect every aspect of your personal life, your working life, everything."

And it was his children who he wanted approval of when the film was made.

"They saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which made me real nervous. I was really scared that they were gonna come home and go "Nah, dad, better luck next time." But they came home quoting it, which was real fun."

This is the fourth time Depp has worked with Tim Burton. Depp starred in Burton's Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood and Sleepy Hollow .

"There's a built in language from having had other experiences together before, having explored other stories and characters before. So, it's great for me. working with Tim is like arriving home. it's very comfortable place for me."

Depp's rise to fame is not on the conventional route of drama school or bit parts. He dropped out of school at the age of 15 in the hope of becoming a rock star.

He formed a garage band, The Kids, then Depp moved to Los Angeles with his former wife Lori Anderson who introduced him to Nicholas Cage. That meeting launched him into an acting career. Depp made his film debut in 1984 in A nightmare on Elm Street. Then he shot to fame in an American TV cop show 21 Jump Street and became a teen idol. He then went on to make a number of films including Once Upon a Time in Mexico. And then won critical acclaim when he starred a Captian Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean which he is filming two more blockbusters.

But even with all his fame, Depp is still pinching himself and wonders if he will end up in Kentucky again.

"When I was growing up we weren't particularly overflowing with money - in my childhood and stuff. I never expected to last this long in this racket to be honest with you. I always expected to go back to playing guitar or pumping gas or whatever. And it still could happen.

For thousands of children in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory happiness is finding the golden ticket but for Depp sees happiness as something else.

He says: "As long as you have the ability to breathe, the gift of breath and life, your kids and your girl, sure, just keep moving forward."