HOLLYWOOD -- Johnny Depp has been haunted by Jack the Ripper for 30 years.

That's why he jumped at the chance to star as a Scotland Yard detective tracking the infamous London slasher in From Hell.

"I think I was about seven years old when I stumbled on a documentary film about the Ripper case. It immediately sparked my interest and I've been fascinated by the case ever since," says Depp.

"What intrigued me most was they were such grizzly murders that were left unsolved.

"I've probably read about three-quarters of the stuff that's been written about the Ripper, so I didn't have to do all that much research for this film."

Depp favours the theory put forth by Rippologist Stewart Evans in his book The Lodger.

"Stewart believes the Ripper was an American doctor, a quack doctor from the States who was in London at the time and was in fact brought in for questioning and held for a while. When he caught a boat back to the States, the murders stopped. Then similar murders started again in the U.S."


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