The famous American actor, producer and musician Johnny Depp says that his "Black Mass" co-star, Benedict Cumberbatch, is just like his real brother.

Benedict is an English television and film actor well known for his role as Sherlock Holmes in the TV series Sherlock.

Johnny Depp, 52, and Benedict Cumberbatch, 39, starred together as siblings in the movie "Black Mass." Depp has played the role of James 'Whitey' Bulger, a real- life gangster and Cumberbatch played his brother Billy. Depp praised Cumberbatch's acting talent as "exceptional."

"He became like a real-life brother. The set-up we were playing was an unusual one - one brother becomes a politician, the other is king of the underworld. They still meet up for family dinners and church, just from opposing sides. It takes an actor with a lot of ability, like Benedict, to make that credible," said Depp, in an interview with BBC, reported FILM-NEWS.

The plot of the movie "Black Mass" is inspired by the real-life events in the life of FBI's Most Wanted criminal, Bulger, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in the year 2013 after being absconding for 16 years. He was charged for 11 murders and racketeering. The story portrays Bulger's human side with all his criminal offences and violence just being his "business."

In his acting career, Depp has personified a large variety of characters and has been rightly admired for them too. He has been nominated several times and won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor. When asked about his decision to take on the role of a real-life gangster, he said the two key reasons were his fans and his keen interest towards the role.

"(I took on the role of Bulger) for the joy of the part, I was fascinated by him for years," Depp said. "He ended up on the FBI's Most Wanted list after informing for them. How did he evade justice for so long." added Depp in his interview with BBC, according to TV3.