Mortdecai director David Koepp has admitted getting his lead character’s moustache just right was so important that it was like casting another actor.

The film stars Johnny Depp as suave art dealer and rogue Charlie Mortdecai, and his moustache features heavily, with director David saying that there was a pressure to get it perfect.

He said: “It was critical, that was like casting another actor. [Johnny and I] traded photos back and forth for a long time and then I found a photo of some Austrian duke from 1906 which seemed right to me, so I showed it to him and he said, ‘Oh my god, look,’ and showed me a picture he had drawn of almost that same moustache. We said, that’s the one.”

David Koepp
David Koepp directed Mortdecai (Dan Steinberg/Invision)

David added that casting the actual stars of the film, who include Gwyneth Paltrow as Mortdecai’s wife, had been a much easier task in comparison.

He explained: “Johnny called me and said, ‘Have a look at this thing I’ve been working on. I think it’s hilarious and I know how to play this guy.’ I read about three pages and said, ‘Not only do I see why you want to play it, I see that you’re probably the only person who can play it.’ I was hooked immediately.

Johnny Depp
(Ian West/PA)

“It never happens, but I got my first choice on every actor. Everybody says that, but it’s true in this case. From the time we were working on the scripts, I pictured Gwyneth and happily she said yes.”

Mortdecai is in cinemas now.