Johnny Depp set for lead role in Ginger Man adaptation

Hollywood megastar Johnny Depp is being lined up for the lead role in an adaptation of the controversial J. P. Donleavy novel, The Ginger Man.

Depp, whose latest role was a reprisal of Captain Jack Sparrow in On Stranger Tides, the fourth instalment of the long winded and long since entertaining Pirates of the Caribbean series, reportedly met with Donleavy in New York recently to discuss a possible movie adaptation of his 1955 work.

The Ginger Man, which charts the adventures of a young American living in Ireland after World War Two, was banned in Ireland and the United States on its release because of obscene, blasphemous and even pornographic references.

Donleavy, who was born in America in 1926 but has lived in Mullingar for the last 65 years, based the novel on the raunchy and rambunctious exploits of some of his associates while he was studying at Trinity College.

The main character in the novel, who goes by the wonderful moniker Sebastian Dangerfield, is something of a wild rogue and instantly appealed to Depp, who was a bit of a free spirit in his youth before eventually settling down in France with wife Vanessa Paradis.

Depp had previously met Donleavy in Dublin to talk about the movie and reportedly touted Pogues singer Shane MacGowan for a role in the film and sought out Laurence Dunmore (The Libertine) to direct.

Depp is thought to be so in love with the role that he has offered to do it for free, but then again money should be no object after he repeatedly sold out for the extremely lucrative Pirates series.