Johnny Depp says he owes fans who supported him “through thick and thin” as personal dramas consumed his public profile.

Depp, 63, has returned to the big screen as the titular character in Ebenezer, a dark fantasy adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

It is his first live-action movie role since 2023 and first major return to Hollywood since being at the heart of two public trials relating to his ex-wife, actress Amber Heard.

In 2022, Depp sued Heard for defamation over a 2018 article she wrote in the Washington Post, which his lawyers said accused him of being an abuser.

Jurors returned with a verdict in Depp’s favour.

It came after Depp lost a lawsuit in the UK against The Sun owner News Group Newspapers over an article that called him a “wife beater”.

A judge ruled in 2020 that the content of the article was proven to be “substantially true”.

Speaking at the UK premiere for Ebenezer in London on Monday, Depp said: “The welcome that I’ve received – there’s no explanation.

“There’s no way for me to explain how I feel. It’s deep. These are the people who have supported me through thick and thin.

“And I owe them. They’re my bosses.”

Depp has largely stayed out of the limelight since the trials.

Heard and Depp married in February 2015, but it was short-lived.

Heard filed for divorce and obtained a temporary restraining order in May 2016.

Their divorce was finalised in 2017.

The Pirates Of The Caribbean actor portrays Ebenezer Scrooge, the cold-hearted and bitter miser who despises Christmas until he comes face to face with the ghosts of his past, present and future who encourage him to change his greedy ways before it is too late.

Directed by US filmmaker Ti West, the film also stars Harry Potter star Rupert Grint, Sam Claflin, best known for The Hunger Games franchise, as well as Severance actor Tramell Tillman.

-AAP