AceShowbiz - The Hollywood actor Johnny Depp will play the famous cowboy's sidekick in "The Lone Ranger" a new version of the cult adventure series, which began as a radio program before spawning a popular TV show and a number of film serials.

Depp has previously insisted his version of Tonto will help put right the number of times Native Americans have been "badly portrayed" in movies, and he has now revealed his interest stems from his own heritage.

He tells EW.com, "I guess I have some Native American (in me) somewhere down the line. My great grandmother was quite a bit of Native American, she grew up Cherokee or maybe Creek Indian. Makes sense in terms of coming from Kentucky, which is rife with Cherokee and Creek."

But Depp fears his ancestry may have stemmed from a tragic tale, adding, "The interesting thing, if you find out you've got Native American blood, which a lot of people do, is you think about where it comes from and go back and read the great books (on the subject)... you have to think, somewhere along the line, 'I'm the product of some horrific rape'. You just have that little sliver in your chemical make-up."