Depp and Cotillard wow at Public Enemies premiere

Johnny Depp and Marion Cotillard brought a touch of 1930s gangster glamour to London's Leicester Square last night at the European premiere of Michael Mann's Public Enemies. Depp, who stars as the charismatic bank robber John Dillinger, looked dapper in a three-piece pinstripe suit while his co-star Cotillard, who plays the gangster's girlfriend Billie Frechette, wowed the crowd in a strapless scarlet dress and killer heels.

Dillinger's bank heists saw him idolised during the Depression as a modern-day Robin Hood while J Edgar Hoover's fledgling FBI declared him America's 'public enemy number one'. Mann's film follows FBI top agent Melvin Purvis, played by Christian Bale, as he tracks down the gangster. Depp told reporters: "I had a sort of fascination, not so much that he was a criminal... that this guy took up arms against the establishment and he did it with a smile."

The actor also paid tribute to Michael Jackson, who many saw as the model for Depp's role as Willy Wonka in Tim Burton's 2005 film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But Depp said: "He was not the inspiration for Willie Wonka. I wish I could say I was inspired by him for the role. I was inspired by him because he was a great artist."

Cotillard spoke about Dillinger, who captured the imagination of 1930s Americans suffering great financial hardship. "People can love the movie and have emotions and great feelings... there is action, romance and an amazing character, Dillinger." The French actress, who last year won an Oscar for her portrayal of Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose, added that she was not a "bad-boy girl". Asked if Depp was as charismatic off-screen as on, Cotillard said: "He's a very nice person, a very, very nice person."