Ian McKellen Says Johnny Depp Is ‘in Spankingly Good Form’ in “Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol”

Jack SmartFri, April 10, 2026 at 1:18 AM UTC

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Ian McKellen; Johnny DeppCredit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty;Hoda Davaine/Getty -

Sir Ian McKellen stars with Johnny Depp in Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol, an upcoming Charles Dickens adaptation for the big screen

“He’s in spankingly good form,” McKellen said of Depp recently

During his six days on the Ti West-directed adaptation’s set, McKellen “fell in love with” Depp, he quipped

Sir Ian McKellen has nothing but praise for Johnny Depp as a costar.

The two veteran actors appear together in Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol (in theaters Nov. 13), a big-screen retelling of Charles Dickens’ novella A Christmas Carol.

“He’s in spankingly good form,” McKellen, 86, told Variety at the Wednesday, April 8 New York premiere of his new movie The Christophers. “Effervescent, funny, irreverent, serious — all at the same time.”

Thanks to Depp, 62, the Ti West-directed adaptation “was a bit of a love fest,” added the Oscar nominee, during his six days on set.

Sir Ian McKellen at 'The Christophers' New York premiere on April 8Credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty

“I fell in love with him,” McKellen said of Depp, calling him “very obliging to his fellow actors. [There was] a wonderful feeling on the set.”

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Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol also stars Rupert Grint as Bob Cratchit, Andrea Riseborough as the Ghost of Christmas Past, Tramell Tillman as the Ghost of Christmas Present and McKellen as Jacob Marley. As he teased to Variety with a chuckle, “I play a ghost!”

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Depp is making his return to major Hollywood movies with Ebenezer, his first since 2019's Waiting for the Barbarians and 2018's Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. The Pirates of the Caribbean star appeared in French biopic Jeanne du Barry and directed period drama Modi: Three Days on the Wing of Madness.

The Oscar nominee had stepped back from Hollywood movies following his defamation case with ex-wife Amber Heard, which culminated in a televised six-week trial.

It ended in June 2022 with a verdict that found the Aquaman actress liable on all three counts of defamation over a 2018 op-ed she had written. After making appeals, the exes agreed in a settlement that Heard would pay Depp $1 million, which he announced he'd donate to several different charities.

West’s upcoming movie is not the only screen adaptation of A Christmas Carol on the way; last June, Deadline reported that Robert Eggers and Willem Dafoe, director and star of Nosferatu, are taking the classic ghost story in a horror direction.

Andrea Riseborough and Johnny Depp on the set of 'Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol'Credit: Click News and Media / BACKGRID

Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol will be in theaters in time for Christmas on Nov. 13. Also among Depp’s upcoming projects is thriller Day Drinker, in which he stars opposite Penélope Cruz.

The Christophers costarring Michaela Coel, Jessica Gunning and James Corden, is in theaters tomorrow, April 10.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”