Apparently drunk Johnny Depp cut off at Hollywood Film…

Apparently drunk Johnny Depp cut off at Hollywood Film Awards ceremony

Jonny Depp presents…

Johnny Depp opened the Hollywood awards season on a high note on Friday night, appearing to be drunk and being cut off while presenting at the Hollywood Film Awards in Los Angeles, which were being televised for the first time.

Depp was on stage to present the documentary award to Mike Myers’s Supermensch: the Legend of Shep Gordon.

“That’s the weirdest microphone I’ve seen in my life,” he began, before struggling with the recalcitrant equipment, to laughter.

He added: “I’m not very good at this kind of thing,” before broadcaster CBS blanked out a swearword or two.

“No-no,” Depp continued. “Watch, I’m going to read this thing.”

Attempting to focus on the autocue, the star, who was wearing dark glasses, slurring his words and was distinctly unsteady on his feet, said: “For decades, Shep Gordon has been one of the most beloved and respected talent managers in the music industry. He is also currently the star of the documentary Supermensch – because he is a mensch – and I have been very, very, er … lucky to have him in my life.

“He’s someone I consider a great friend, somebody … uh, yeah, uh … incredibly, uh … loyal, loyal friend. Um. And so … you have to watch the film. Yeah, there you go.”

After asking “What’s that say?” Depp appeared to swear and was blanked out again. After saying “I mean, it’s one of those nights”, he was cut-off by a clips package.

Gordon was pictured during the speech. Like the rest of a bemused audience, he was laughing. Depp carried out the presentation.

Other winners at the awards, which do not involve nominations and largely dealt with films not yet released to the public, included Benedict Cumberbatch as best actor for The Imitation Game, in which he plays the British second world war codebreaker Alan Turing. Morten Tyldum won for directing the film.

Depp’s current projects include Mortdecai, an adaptation of a trilogy of beloved cult novels by Kyril Bonfiglioli in which he plays a louche art dealer. It is due out in the US on 23 January.