'I'm lucky to be here' - Johnny Depp nearly died on Lone Ranger set

Johnny Depp, left, as Tonto in The Lone Ranger. Photo / Supplied

Johnny Depp says a horse saved his life.

The 48-year-old actor was thrown from the powerful animal while filming forthcoming Western movie Lone Ranger but he believes the strong bond he forged with the creature made it react instinctively to ensure his fall wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Johnny - who plays the Lone Ranger's Native American sidekick Tonto - said: "I'm lucky to be here. I've done a number of films on horseback and I've taken a couple of spills but this was a violent one.

"I had a good relationship with the horse, which was named Scout, and when I look at the tape I can see that Scout saved my life.

"I went down badly and I was dragged for 25 yards and in the end the horse just jumped over me and clipped me with his back legs."

Despite being a huge star, the Dark Shadows actor insists he isn't a very ambitious person and doesn't choose his roles by guessing how successful they might be.

When he embarked on his acting career, Johnny - who has children Lily-Rose, 12, and 10-year-old Jack with partner Vanessa Paradis - just wanted to be able to look back on his body of work and be proud of it.

He added in an interview with the Daily Mirror newspaper: "I never knew where I was going to go. I never really thought about where any of it was going.

"I only knew that, regardless of success or failure, I always wanted to some day be able to look back and go, 'I did alright. I'm proud of what I did. I didn't sell out.'

"I've never felt particularly ambitious or driven, although I like to create stuff, whether it's a little doodle, a drawing, a small painting or a movie or a piece of music, so I suppose I'm driven by that.

"Everything I've done has felt natural."

- Bang! Showbiz